Boy Meets Boy

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

ISBN: 0375824006

New York:  Alfred A. Knopf, 2003
Kindle eReader version

Plot -Paul has known he is gay since second grade, and he has been out since then as well when his friend Joni tried to kiss him and he told her he was gay as one kid might tell another that chocolate is his favorite ice cream, duh.  His freedom to be who he is is made possible by the town in which he lives, where homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgendered folks are identified by who they are and what they do, not solely by their sexual or gender orientation.  In this lovely town, romance is afoot, and like any good love story, problems being true to oneself and to the one you love threaten to mess everything up.  Tony meets Noah in a bookstore and falls for him right away.  Although the fates conspire to keep them apart for a short time, they begin dating and fall in love with each other.  Kyle, Paul's ex, enters the picture surprisingly eager to make up and even begin a romance, after having dumped Paul in a cruel way.  Paul and Kyle wind up in a tight spot, a kiss happens, Noah, Paul's true love, decides that Paul is no different than his last boyfriend who raked his heart over the coals.  Meanwhile, Paul's friendship with Joni, strong as iron for so many years, begins to crumble when Joni starts dating a football player who hurt their mutual friend, Infinite Darlene, the school's cross dressing star quarterback/homecoming queen.  Running through all of these machinations of the heart is Paul's friendship with Tony who, through his own path toward courageous living, teaches Paul what being brave and true really is all about.

Critical Evaluation - The writing is witty, expresses teen love and angst fully and with deep respect for the narrator, and tells a great story.  The characters are round enough to become dear to the reader, and the narrator's internal dialogue is both funny and important.  The book fully deserves the Lambda Literary Award, and I hope it's considered for others precisely for its "utopian" setting. Levithan took the courageous step of imagining a town where people are who they are and defend one another's right to be so.  The name "utopian" is altogether mistaken for this setting.  Would we seriously label a fictional town written about in the 1940s "utopian" if it were set in the deep south, and where blacks and whites lived in peace and respected one another as individuals?  Utopias reach beyond human nature and known technological possibility, not simply beyond current political and cultural biases.  The book stands as a place holder in the future for us to grow into.

Reader's annotation -Boy meets boy.  Boys fall for one another.  Boy kisses another boy.  Friends grow, sometimes apart.  Love and courage meet in Boy's heart.

Information about the author - Levithan himself, according to his bio on his website, really does not like writing about himself.  He does so with his usual aplomb, though, revealing that he had a happy childhood, a happy adolescence ("give or take a few poems") and has been a happy adult thus far.  With that in mind, what interviews tell us is that this novel was his first and was born out of his gift to his friends of a new love story every Valentine's Day.  He writes easily, and as an editor himself, usually does not have to do complete rewrites, as he edits along the way.  Not surprisingly, he enjoys writing YA novels because they are the stories that come to him, and what happens when his books get into the hands of young adults is always very exciting for him.
Genre - LGBTQ YA fiction, YA fiction
Curriculum Ties - Possibly in an English class during a discussion of utopian visions--is this one?
Booktalk ideas - 

1.  Read Paul's hilarious description of Infinite Darlene, "She is dressed immaculately in vintage Charlie's Angels T-shirt and white pleather miniskirt. (I have no idea how she pulls it off.  In fact, I have no idea how she pulls it on.)" (location 2102).  Tell a paraphrased story of Paul's and Infinite Darlene's friendship from Infinite Darlene's perspective.  End with a cliff-hanger around the bets are being taken on Paul's love life.
2. Read the scene where Tony tells Paul he's ready to live honestly, not to run away and hide anymore, beginning with "I am so scared for him." and ending with "Footsteps on the stairs."  Let the text speak for itself.

Reading level - 12+, according to Publisher's Weekly.  I agree, especially on the plus end.

Challenge issues - Open homosexuality, transgender issues.  Implicit criticism of religious anti-gay parents.

Challenge defense ideas:

• Librarian must read the book carefully and include it as a resource intended for older teens.
• Librarian greets students and regularly discusses their reading choices; she provides individualized, age-appropriate guidance in book choice.
• Explain the ways in which the librarian accompanies and guides younger students looking for books, and knows students well as individuals.

Why I included this book - It's a Lambda Literary Award winner, and it's one of the sweetest love stories I've ever read.  It not only sets a bar for our society to reach towards in accepting young people's expressions of who they are, it sets a bar for young people about how they can handle themselves in relation to one another.  Doing the right thing may not be the first thing we do, but it can still be done.  A delightful and instructive read.