LGBT Book Review; Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
Author: David Levithan
Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s Books
Published: 7th Feb 2005
Pages: 224
Format: Hardback
Source:: Library Copy
Add It: Goodreads, Amazon UK, Amazon US
Love meets love. Confusion meets clarity. Boy meets boy.
“There isn’t really a gay scene or a straight scene in our town. They all got mixed up a while back, which I think is for the best… And whether your heart is strictly ballroom or bluegrass punk, the dance floors are open to whatever you have to offer. This is my town.”
Meet PAUL. Gay his whole life, and finding love as wonderful, confusing and heartbreaking as every other teenager in his high school.
Meet Paul’s friends:
JONI – his best friend, who may not be his best friend any more;
TONY – his other best friend who can’t leave the house unless his parents think he’s going on a date… with a girl;
INFINITE DARLENE – homecoming queen AND star quarterback in the football team;
KYLE – the ex-boyfriend who won’t go away;
RIP – the school bookie who sets the odds;
And NOAH – the boy who changes everything.
Witty, engaging, refreshingly upbeat and slightly surreal, David Levithan’s debut has been attracting glowing reviews in the USA. After all, being in love at high school is a challenge for any teen – regardless of sexual preference!
A New
Even though I try to read a wide variety of books concerning different themes, I have found that I haven’t read that many books with an LGBT theme and so when I heard about Boy Meets Boy, I instantly requested it from the library. I was really interesting to try something new and interesting, and I am incredibly glad that I got around to reading this one. I wasn’t fully sure what to expect from this book but I found it to be a really lovely contemporary story that reminded me exactly why I love reading contemporary romance novels. It was emotional and compelling and I couldn’t recommend it more.
Relationship Can
David Levithan has written a book with so many powerful, realistic, and moving characters that it is difficult not to get drawn into this book while instantaneously falling in love with the town and everything in it. Paul has always been sure of his sexuality, but as he soon finds out, that doesn’t mean that life and love is going to be easy for him. I love how this book shows that everyone has things going on in their lives that make it confusing and challenging but I also admire how it paints all different kinds of ways of dealing with every kind of sexuality out there. It was a lovely story with many romantic moments that had me gushing, some emotional scenes that pulled at my heart-strings, and it was just a story that left me feeling warm inside and a little bit hopeful about the world we live in. It has a plot that really works and makes you feel attached to every single character.
Change Everything
There were so many wonderful characters in this story, as mentioned above, and each and every one of them was written incredibly well. Through the eyes of Paul, the reader is able to see and understand every other character in the story. Toby is one of my favourite characters in the book and his journey was incredibly brave and really swayed me. But it was Noah that kept me reading this story. There is so much more to him than meets the eye but really he is a sweet guy, caring and attentive who just wants to fall in love but is afraid of putting his heart out there. I really adored his relationship with Paul and how things happened for them. It pulled at my heart-strings so many times throughout the book but I was also so glad that it wasn’t the only relationship in the book. Paul was another character I truly adored. He was just learning how to be a teenager and I loved that about this book. It was an LGBT book but this wasn’t about them being gay, it was about them being teenagers – as it should be.
By Making You
If there is one thing that this book did, it swayed me into loving David Levithan’s writing style. When I read Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares, I wasn’t particularly impressed and really struggled to get to grips with the story but this was one book that I found myself struggling to put down. I loved the plot, I loved the way that Paul’s character really shined through the narration, and I loved how it all came together in the end. It is clear that David is an incredibly talented author and I am truly looking forward to reading more of his work. In my notes for this review, I have the word “wow” and I wrote this because this book completely moved me and left me feeling more alive after I put it down. David managed to make the story feel so very realistic that I could imagine – and actually hope – that some people get to live this way.
A Better You
If you want to read a book that has a full-bodied cast, is emotionally powerful, incredibly moving, and an inspirational “coming-of-age” story than I would truly recommend Boy meets Boy. This is a book that will make you think about the world we live in and the way we look at things as a society and wish that you could change things. It is not an LGBT book, it is just a book about a boy who is learning what it means to grow up and get into a relationship without screwing everything up. It is a story that gives you hope, and makes you wish that all of the characters get the happiness that they so very deserve. I was completely blown away by this romantic and passionate story that goes deeper then you may think to begin with and looks at the bigger picture without even mentioning it. So, if you want a book that will capture your soul completely, you should definitely be picking up Boy Meets Boy.
11 Comments
Lexxie
Great review, and this seems like a really good LGBT story :) Where the characters are just characters and some of them happen to be gay.
Adding this to my TBR :)
Anya
There really isn’t many LGBT books are there? But this one sounds really good, and I agree: it should be about them being teenagers and struggling with love, not them being gay.
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Kat (AussieZombie)
I loved this book! David Levithan created such a great story with amazing characters that were all so individual. Definitely one of my favourites :)
Great review!
Cayce
Boy Meets Boy was the first ya lgbt book I’ve read, reading your review made me nostalgic :)
Clover
Oh I loved this book so much! I love how most of the book is set in like this utopian little city where being out and open about it is fully accepted. It was nice to see gay characters with full support and understanding from their friends and family as well as their community.
But it does also show the otherside…
Pabkins
I do like emotionally powerful books but I don’t know I’d have to think on this one some more. I like the cover though – reminds me of a few poem books I have about love haha.
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Isa
*facepalm* I though I already left a comment on your review. I love reading books that have LGBT themes but I have yet to read Boy Meets Boy. I love that the book has so many wonderful and different characters, I have always admired David Levithan for never shying away from portraying diverse characters and situations. This books sounds amazing, really emotional and gripping. You review definitely convinced me that I should read it. Have you read What They Always Tell Us by Martin Wilson? I still need to post up my review on my blog but it’s a nice coming of age book about a sibling relationship and it deals with a boy falling in love for the first time.
Rachelia (Bookish Comforts)
I can’t remember if Boy Meets Boy was the first LGBT book I read, but I remember browsing my library’s shelves when I was about 13 or 14 and the title and cover jumped out at me. I was struck while reading it how beautiful David Levithan wrote the romance between these two young men. Often it seems like LGBT books are about the characters internal struggles and external conflicts, so it was really refreshing to have a story that focuses on LGBT ROMANCE, you know? I’d love to re-read this one — I need to add it to my slowly growing David Levithan book collection :)
Christa
This was one of the first LGBTQ books I read and I absolutely loved it. I loved the characters, and David Levithan’s style and just the story itself. Great review!