This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance.

When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it. The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.

This is a happy-meaningful romantic comedy about finding love, losing love, and doing what it takes to get love back in a crazy-wonderful world.

Thoughts: This was a lovely book.  Short, sweet and, well, lovely.

When I bought Boy Meets Boy I was somewhat skeptical.  I wasn’t sure I would enjoy a book where the world was happy! with sunshine!and flowers! But, luckily, Levithan must have had the same thought.  Because although Paul’s high school is a gay kid’s dream come true – the rest of the world in the book is certainly not like that.  What Paul considers “normal” is a luxury to everyone else – including his new boyfriend Noah.  I think this scene between Noah and Paul kinda sums it up:

“Have you always known?” he asks.  I know immediately what he’s talking about.
“Pretty much so, yeah,” I answer.  “You?”
He nods, […].
“Has it been easy for you?”
“Yes,” I tell him, because it’s the truth.
“It hasn’t always been easy for me,” he says, then says no more.
– Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan, pg. 49

So while watching Paul come to the realisation that dude, did he ever luck out – there is also plenty of drama without all that pesky coming-out business.  Guys can be idiots, even when they are dating other guys.  And just because you don’t have to worry about getting bashed doesn’t mean you can’t royally screw up.  Which Paul does.  Very successfully.

I was also very impressed by Levithan’s writing style.  This is a short novel, filled with a rich and diverse cast of characters – Levithan made each of them shine bright.  Not to mention his writing style is elegant as hell and some of his ideas are out of another world.  The book opens with the boys dancing on a night out – in a bookstore.  Honestly, how brilliant is that?

Bottom line? This is a lovely, elegant tale.  Short and sweet, I was loath to put it down.

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Kay

Your ghost host at Dead Book Darling

Kay's been blogging about urban fantasy, young adult and werewolves since 2009. She's a firm believer in the many uses of the towel, the science of deduction and other fandom in-jokes. To support her book-buying habit, Kay keeps up a day-job as a science journalist (so feel free to ask her about Physics).

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