Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Title:  Boy Meets Boy
Author: David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf Books
Buy the book: Amazon

Blurb:

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.

Review:

The tagline on this book is “A dippy happy gay teen book.” This definitely describes the gay utopia atmosphere and the purposefully happy focus of the book and its message. Boy Meets Boy is a fantasy story set in a contemporary time. If you can indulge in the crazy city with its over the top antics, the story doesn’t fail to entertain and delight. The characters and details are whimsical and fantastical from the day trading janitors to the transvestite drag queens to the gay proud city. Yet the easy writing, witty prose, and fun characters carry the angst lightly and deliver a lot of fun. This is not an intense, true to life coming out story but a light hearted eccentric and thoroughly enjoyable tale about gay teenagers.

Paul is a sophomore in high school and he’s got a few problems. His ex-boyfriend Kyle can’t decide if he hates Paul or loves him while Paul’s best friend Tony is perpetually grounded. Paul’s other best friend Joni is dating a new guy Paul hates and Paul just met the senior of his dreams. As if all of this isn’t enough, the Dowager Dance is coming up and Paul agreed to architect it. Life as a sophomore isn’t easy.

This funny and entertaining ride is set in a gay utopia where everyone is proud of their differences and being gay or a drag queen is celebrated versus put down. The homecoming queen is also the star quarterback, a dramatic and over the stop character of Infinite Darlene, and the Joy Scouts broke away from the Boy/Girl Scouts due to their anti-gay stance. PFLAG is more popular than the PTA and no one thinks twice about differences. There are classic stereotypes thrown in but always with a humorous twist bringing all the antics over the top. Such as the school rally and the various clubs presented. The story constantly tries to inject whimsy and comic relief while acknowledging classic teenage angst. This may not be to everyone’s taste and it does make light of real issues. Sometimes this attempt to keep the story outrageous goes a bit far and includes a few too many details. This didn’t bother me but some may find the constant barrage tiresome after a time.

The characters are well drawn and exaggerated stereotypes while injecting realistic attributes. Each of these characters represents different kind of teenagers from Tony’s super religious parents to Joni’s early fag hag status with an edge of cruelty, mixed with Kyle’s confused bisexuality and even Paul’s mistakes. The characters aren’t fully developed and rely on these outlines but fit in well with the light hearted theme and intent. There is enough to get the idea the story is trying to present without spending too much time on background. Some of this leaves for some choppy moments such as why a senior would be so taken with a sophomore, given Noah’s past, but the easy prose, fast dialogue, and interesting cast all carry the story and smoothes over any problems.

There are a few hanging questions and some easy resolutions, but really this book highlights and celebrates the typical outcasts of high school in an amusing and entertaining manner. The story doesn’t take itself seriously so you can’t either. There is a lot of suspension of disbelief required but the comic overtones and willingness to laugh at itself allows this story and its characters to really shine. The shorter length ties really well into the story as the cute factor and over the top happiness at life may annoy some after a while. However at 160 pages, the fast writing has the story over before you can hate it for being too happy. It may not be a story you can read all the time but when wanting something easy, breezy, and engaging – check this out. Just sit back and enjoy the ride for what its worth.