Review : Boy Meets Boy
Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
Pages : 185
Genre : YA, Fiction, GLBT
Stand Alone
My Rating : 
What it’s about, in my words :
When Paul meets Noah, it’s something close to love at first sight. The boys immediately feel comfortable with each other and form a strong bond… until Paul’s actions puts a stop to their romance.
Paul must find a way to prove to Noah how he really feels, but it’s easier said then done : the school is taking bets on his chances to mend his broken relationship, his best friend is getting involved with the wrong guy while his other best friend is having a hard time being accepted by his family, and his ex is suddenly very present in his life. But even though the odds are supposedly against him, Paul is determined to try.
Ho, ho, I think I have a new YA author crush!
Boy Meets Boy was a surprising novel with colorful characters and a very sweet love story. The writing had humor, charm and sensibility, making the book a very heartfelt one. I have strong regrets for having borrowed it – meaning, I wish I would have bought it instead!
The story is a very straightforward romance, following the typical road : they fall in love, meet an obstacle, etc. But where Levithan is, in my opinion, brilliant, is how he uses stereotypes and gives them some depth. He’s not trying to prove them wrong, or right, but to show how there’s more to a person than the label they carry. Take Infinite Darlene, for instance : homecoming queen and quarterback, she used to be a guy named Daryl. But Infinite Darlene isn’t really defined by her sex or her sexuality; she’s a character of her own and I just adored her.
Even more, I loved Tony’s story. Tony is Paul’s best friend, and unlike Paul, he’s never had the chance to be who he is completely. His parents are religious and believe homosexuality is a sin, a sickness he must be cured from. Yup, that’s a story we’ve all heard before. Fortunately, Levithan writes it with great honesty, and makes it clear that, for Tony, it’s not that easy to go against his parents’s wishes. I don’t want to say too much, but this part of the story really felt good to me. I’ve seen many friends caught in such a situation, and I always hated when people suggested that they should “leave their home and do what they want”, as if it was this easy.
As for the romance itself, what’s not to love? Paul and Noah felt real and complete together, and I was rooting for them all through the story. Levithan manages to make me feel the chemistry between the characters, something that, for me, is really hard to find in a book.
Having read and loved Boy Meets Boy, it’s no surprise to me now that David Levithan collaborated with John Green to write Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Their sense of humor has some similarity and I can’t wait to read the result of their combine efforts!
This was my first Levithan and I loved it to bits!
I loved it to bits, too! Especially after reading a not-so-good YA novel for the GLBT challenge.
Have you read another of Levithan’s books since? I kind of remember you reviewing the one with a city skyline on the cover, but I could be wrong!
This one was just so-so for me. I would read more from this author but I’ve read better GLBT…IMHO. 😀
I apologize if my comment comes across as rude!! I just re-read it and thought, hmmmm..that sounds snotty! Sorry!!!
Lol Staci, don’t worry! I didn’t think it was rude, just a different opinion! 😉 But I would be curious to know which books have you read and preferred so that I could explore other books, too! 🙂
I agree with every word of this – especially the bit about Tony. And didn’t you just adore Infinite Darlene? What a character… 🙂
I haven’t read this one but I fell in love with “Nick and Norah infinite playlist” especially because of those parts written by Levithan,some passages were absolutely brilliant. I would love to read this one
*sigh* Isn’t David dreamy. Hee hee. I put him in the same category as John Green. If I ever met either I would turn into a fangirl mess. (Picture the Team Edward/Team Jacob tweens out there?)
I absolutely love this book. It felt real and not obsessed with the coming out story. (Which to say, is a story that needs to be told, but it’s always nice to have a change!)
It’s been a while since I’ve read this, so the details have long since fled my mind, but I do remember it being sweet and heartwarming without being overly gooey about it.
I’ve read two of his other books, Nick and Norah’s… with Rachel Cohn, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green, and absolutely loved both of them. Plus he’s got a story in an anthology that I just read that’s really good as well.