Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

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Bibliographic Information:

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

ISBN: 978-0375832994

2005 Alfred P. Knopf, New York, NY

Plot Summary:

Paul lives in this gay utopian community. He knew he was gay when he was 5. Everyone accepts that. In his group of friends are drag queen and star quarterback Infinite Darlene, Joni, Kyle, Paul’s ex, and Tony, their friend from a repressed religious family in a neighboring town.

Paul sets eyes on the new kid Noah and he is smitten. He and Noah hit it off and date casually, but then Paul screws it up by kissing another guy.

Meanwhile, Paul goes for a hike with his friend Tony and some friends of his parents come across them hugging. Paul and his friends decide they have to fix everything before the big Dowager Dance, so that the friends can all go together.

Paul woos Noah back with a series of romantic gifts and all of the friends join together to pick Tony up for the dance, figuring that his parents cannot argue with a crazy group of friends who adore him.

Critical Evaluation:

This book is told in the first person perspective from Paul’s point of view. We learn that Paul knew he was gay when he was 5 years old and because we can hear his inner thoughts, we know it’s not a big deal at all.

Paul tells us about his crazy group of friends, who support him after his ex Kyle burns him. They all study Bible verses to help socialize with their friend Tony. This group is tight, and honest.

One formidable and sad aspect of this story is that Tony’s parents cannot accept his homosexuality. This use of religious doctrine to repress Tony’s feelings is heartbreaking, it stifles him, his friends and it gets to the audience.

Tony poignantly explains that his parent’s don’t hate him, they’re just concerned for his salvation. They want him to be happy, but they also want him to be saved. In their rigid religious idea, Tony cannot go to heaven if he acts on his homosexual feelings

.

The imagery in the story is unbelievable. Just the description of Infinite Darlene shows you that this reality is not what we are used to. Infinite Darlene is a giant, star quarter back and she is a flamboyant drag queen. Her playing on the football team isolates her from the other Drag Queens and Trans kids in the school, but she does not care, she is all herself and she is proud.

The whole story is an absolute delight, even while it copes with some serious issues under the high school drama.

Reader’s Annotation:

Love should not be so complicated when you've always known who you are.

Author Information:

David Levithan is an editorial director at Scholastic, and the founding editor of the PUSH imprint, which is devoted to finding new voices and new authors in teen literature. 

Genre(s):

LGBTQ, Humor, Realistic Fiction

Curriculum Ties: N/A

Booktalk Ideas: This is a great connection to romantic themes. I would book talk this in February.

Reading level: Grade 7+

Interest age: 12+

Challenge Issues: Sexuality Challenge Defense File

Why I chose this book:

This book treats gay themes with humor. It is a great LGBTQ title to have in our collection.