Title Boy Meets Boy
Author David Levithan
David Levithan was born in 1972 and graduated from Brown University. He is the author of several novels for young adults, including Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist which was adapted into a successful mainstream movie. For a day job, Levithan is the editorial director at Scholastic.
ISBN 0375832998
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf
Copyright Date 2003
Reading Level/Interest Age 12+
Genre Issues: Sexual Identity; LGBT Fiction
Plot Summary
Boy Meets Boy takes place in a town unlike any other and Paul is fortunate enough to have lived his whole life there. It is a place where differences are celebrated and where Paul, proud to be gay, is popular and has a supportive family life. The story follows Paul’s experience of his first serious love interest, Noah, and the complications that always ensue. But with his loyal friends, Infinite Darlene, a drag queen quarterback and homecoming queen, Joni who is slowly disappearing into a relationship of her own, and Tony who lives in the next town over and whose religious parents are not so supportive of his own homosexuality, Paul discovers what it means to love and what it means to let go.
Critical Evaluation
What a refreshing piece of LGBT fiction for teens. Whereas most of the books I’ve read focus on the fear of being discovered, the pain of coming out to family and friends who don’t understand and the struggle to be accepted, Boy Meets Boy breaks all the stereotypes. The main character, Paul, is strong, fearless and loved in every way. His town sounds frankly like San Francisco: a place where difference is celebrated and a boy with homosexual tendencies is fostered by his teacher rather than shut-down. A place where, when Paul calls a girl a “lesbian Club Kid” (their word for students who join every club), the tense moment after when Paul fears he’s insulted her, has to do with calling her a Club Kid, not a lesbian. David Levithan crafts a world that turns assumptions on its head, a world of “what if,” where kids are free to be who they are, to love who they want, to “architect” dances that they actually want to attend and to live their gender expression any way they choose. I think this book represents a fundamental shift in LGBT fiction for teens – as homosexuality is vilified less and brought more into the mainstream and as gender becomes more fluid, kids might not have the same tortuous coming out experiences that most of these books describe. This book would be particularly important to teens who grow up in places like San Francisco, where being gay is not a matter of coming out, but simply living your life. What a great read for someone who is comfortable with their sexual identity, but simply wants to read about characters that happen to be gay, doing all the normal things that teenagers do: date, go to pep rallies and have fights with their friends. Besides the content, Levithan is also an amazing wordsmith, describing things in new, unexpected ways and playing with language, particularly printed language.
Reader’s Annotation
“I’ve always known I was gay, but it wasn’t confirmed until I was in kindergarten. It was my teacher who said so. It was right there on my kindergarten report card: PAUL IS DEFINITELY GAY AND HAS A VERY GOOD SENSE OF SELF.” With that kind of a start, you can bet Paul’s high school years will be anything but boring.
Curriculum Ties Could be tied into lessons about LGBT issues, tolerance and prejudice.
Booktalking Ideas
1. Do character sketches of Paul, Infinite Darlene, Joni, Tony and Rip, encouraging the audience to read the book to learn more.
2. Do a sketch of the town in which the story takes place – just the description will make people want to read more.
Challenge Issues
Please see "Controversy & LGBT Teen Collections"
Why did I include this book?
Lambda Literary Award (2003); David Levithan is one of the main writers in this genre.
Author David Levithan
David Levithan was born in 1972 and graduated from Brown University. He is the author of several novels for young adults, including Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist which was adapted into a successful mainstream movie. For a day job, Levithan is the editorial director at Scholastic.
ISBN 0375832998
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf
Copyright Date 2003
Reading Level/Interest Age 12+
Genre Issues: Sexual Identity; LGBT Fiction
Plot Summary
Boy Meets Boy takes place in a town unlike any other and Paul is fortunate enough to have lived his whole life there. It is a place where differences are celebrated and where Paul, proud to be gay, is popular and has a supportive family life. The story follows Paul’s experience of his first serious love interest, Noah, and the complications that always ensue. But with his loyal friends, Infinite Darlene, a drag queen quarterback and homecoming queen, Joni who is slowly disappearing into a relationship of her own, and Tony who lives in the next town over and whose religious parents are not so supportive of his own homosexuality, Paul discovers what it means to love and what it means to let go.
Critical Evaluation
What a refreshing piece of LGBT fiction for teens. Whereas most of the books I’ve read focus on the fear of being discovered, the pain of coming out to family and friends who don’t understand and the struggle to be accepted, Boy Meets Boy breaks all the stereotypes. The main character, Paul, is strong, fearless and loved in every way. His town sounds frankly like San Francisco: a place where difference is celebrated and a boy with homosexual tendencies is fostered by his teacher rather than shut-down. A place where, when Paul calls a girl a “lesbian Club Kid” (their word for students who join every club), the tense moment after when Paul fears he’s insulted her, has to do with calling her a Club Kid, not a lesbian. David Levithan crafts a world that turns assumptions on its head, a world of “what if,” where kids are free to be who they are, to love who they want, to “architect” dances that they actually want to attend and to live their gender expression any way they choose. I think this book represents a fundamental shift in LGBT fiction for teens – as homosexuality is vilified less and brought more into the mainstream and as gender becomes more fluid, kids might not have the same tortuous coming out experiences that most of these books describe. This book would be particularly important to teens who grow up in places like San Francisco, where being gay is not a matter of coming out, but simply living your life. What a great read for someone who is comfortable with their sexual identity, but simply wants to read about characters that happen to be gay, doing all the normal things that teenagers do: date, go to pep rallies and have fights with their friends. Besides the content, Levithan is also an amazing wordsmith, describing things in new, unexpected ways and playing with language, particularly printed language.
Reader’s Annotation
“I’ve always known I was gay, but it wasn’t confirmed until I was in kindergarten. It was my teacher who said so. It was right there on my kindergarten report card: PAUL IS DEFINITELY GAY AND HAS A VERY GOOD SENSE OF SELF.” With that kind of a start, you can bet Paul’s high school years will be anything but boring.
Curriculum Ties Could be tied into lessons about LGBT issues, tolerance and prejudice.
Booktalking Ideas
1. Do character sketches of Paul, Infinite Darlene, Joni, Tony and Rip, encouraging the audience to read the book to learn more.
2. Do a sketch of the town in which the story takes place – just the description will make people want to read more.
Challenge Issues
Please see "Controversy & LGBT Teen Collections"
Why did I include this book?
Lambda Literary Award (2003); David Levithan is one of the main writers in this genre.
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