Wednesday 14 August 2013

Boy Meets Boy - David Levithan


Pages: 223
Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s Books
Release Date: 1st August 2013
Edition: UK paperback, review copy

Other Titles by this Author: The Realm of Possibility, Are We There Yet?, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist (with Rachel Cohn), Wide Awake, Naomi & Eli’s No-Kiss List (with Rachel Cohn), Love is the Higher Law, Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with John Green), The Lover’s Dictionary, Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares (with Rachel Cohn), Every Day, Invisibility (with Andrea Cremer), Two Boys Kissing

He looks up at me. And then, after a beat, he breaks out smiling. “Hey,” he says, “I’ve been looking all over for you.” I don’t know what to say. I am so happy and so scared.

Paul has been gay his whole life and he’s confident about almost everything. He doesn’t have to hide his feelings like best friend Tony. Or even cope with loving the wrong guy like his other best friend Joni.

But heartbreak can happen to anyone. Falling in love changes everything...

How on earth has this book been out in the wild for ten years and I’ve only just read it?! I loved every word of Boy Meets Boy.

This novel opens at the perfect scene: a gig in a bookstore. That pretty much gives you an idea about Paul’s small, American town. The town that Paul, Tony, Joni and Noah live in is mind-blowing. The acceptance and normalcy of gay and lesbian relationships and transsexual (American) football players in the town in general and in their high school is astounding, but also how it should be. I hated that it was so weird and shocking to read as it really shouldn’t be. Obviously there were a few people that didn't take it in their stride, but they were in the minority and were clearly portrayed as being wrong.

Before Boy Meets Boy I’d only ever read David Levithan alongside another author and even then his writing shone. On his own, I was blown away. He captures the most unconscious, internal thoughts in the most natural manner and he made me think in a way that I wouldn’t usually. His prose is also strangely self-aware. The novel as a whole is sweet, thoughtful and incredibly romantic but so, so real. Can you tell I loved it yet?

When you throw in Infinite Darlene (and absolute legend), the tension between Tony and his family, the deterioration of life-long friendships and potentially damaging romances, Boy Meets Boy is so much more than a novel about a boy falling in love with a boy. It’s a coming of age novel in the truest sense. I novel that would be loved for its character development, quirks and atmosphere regardless of the sexuality of the protagonist.

Boy Meets Boy has made me a life-long fan of David Levithan and I’m so glad I have a whole backlist to work my way through. Gorgeous.


Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me a copy to review.

Sophie

2 comments:

  1. Yes! I have literally loved this book for like, half my life. I got a hardback copy out of the library years and years and years ago and I still consistently quote it as one of my fave YA contemps. I highly recommend The Realm of Possibility which is a poetry book and so, so amazing

    Cait x

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  2. Isn't this AMAZING?! I love this book so much.

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