Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Publication Date: May 10th, 2005
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group

“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:

I’ve read David Levithan before, and  I have to say that this doesn’t feel like something he wrote. I read You Know Me Well, that David Levithan co-wrote with Nina LaCour, and that seemed very serious and real. Boy Meets Boy seemed a little crazy in the beginning. It seemed a little ridiculous and I was waiting for it to get better. I think it did, but not too much for a five star rating.

There were some things that just seemed absurd. I mean this was also released over ten years ago so I tried to remain neutral about how times might not be the same. The problems that this book had seemed adult, and I think that turned it off for me. When I reached about half way through this book, it really started to pick up. There was a specific chapter named “Tony” that really had me feeling like I was going to cry.

There were so many differences in this book and the last book I read. I’m not comparing those two books, I’m just saying that I noticed the differences. You Know Me Well definitely seemed stronger and well written compared to Boy Meets Boy. As this was his first novel, I feel like that was expected.

I think it’s important to show that not every book written by an author is going to be the same. I think that this book was a blurb of David Levithan’s imagination and what it would be like in high school if he had it his way. By the end, I thought this book was good, and I’m going to try another David Levithan novel.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars