David Levithan

Narrated in the first-person plural by all the gay men who have ever died of AIDS, Two Boys Kissing is the story of just that - two boys, Craig and Harry, who decide to break the world record for longest kiss, and do it in front of their high school on a weekend.

From the narrators' omniscient perspective, this is the story of Craig and Harry, but also their friend Tariq, their schoolmates Peter and Neil, the isolated Cooper, and the falling-in-love pair Avery and Ryan. Levithan weaves the show more strands of these stories loosely together, and also shows the gay characters' families' reactions. Some straight characters are judgmental and abusive, but just as many others are supportive. (Aside: There are no lesbian characters. This is really just a story about boys.)

Two Boys Kissing is shot through with both nostalgia and hope. As Levithan said, ”Boy Meets Boy was about creating reality. With Two Boys Kissing I wanted to write something that reflected reality.” (http://jenny-arch.com/2013/11/27/david-levithan-and-rainbow-rowell-at-brookline-....)

Quotes:
Trust us: There is a nearly perfect balance between the past and the future. As we become the distant past, you become a future few of us would have imagined. (1)

He has no idea how beautiful the ordinary becomes once it disappears. (3)

Love is so painful, how could you ever wish it on anybody? And love is so essential, how could you ever stand in its way? (9)

We always underestimated our own participation in magic. That is, we thought of magic as something that existed with or without us. But that's not true. Things are not magical because they've been conjured for us by some outside force. They are magical because we create them, and then deem them so. (9)

Ignorance is not bliss. Bliss is knowing the full meaning of what you have been given. (11)

People like to say being gay isn't like skin color, isn't anything physical. They tell us we always have the option of hiding. But if that's true, why do they always find us? (36)

He doesn't know yet that doubt lingers around anticipation like bees hover around flowers. The trick is not to let the doubt intimidate you into walking away. Doubt is an acceptable risk for happiness. (44)

There is the hope that the world will get less stupid, less arbitrary, as time goes on. The good thing about human progress is that it tends to move in one direction, and even a fool who looks at the difference between a hundred years ago and now can see which direction that is. Moves like an arrow, feels like an equal sign. (67)

It's one of the secrets of strength: We're so much more likely to find it in the service of others than we are to find it in service to ourselves. (153)

This is the true tyranny - not the actual taunts or shoves, but the exhaustion that comes from living with it for so long, so relentlessly. (164) show less

The world inside Boy Meets Boy is the fantasyland where we all want to live, or at least visit whenever the mood strikes us. A place where kindness reigns supreme and hate just does not seem to exist. At. All. Main character, Paul, is unlike any teenage boy you will ever meet. He is sensitive, smart, funny, romantic, thoughtful, and a serious empath. His environment is a high school where students, dissatisfied with clubs of the cultural norms, create groups like the Joy Scouts, the French show more cuisine club, and the Quiz bowling team. The janitors are closet (pun totally intended) wealthy day traders. The parents form groups like P-FLAG (Parents and friends of lesbians and gays). The town itself is ultra-accepting - there is a bar called the Queer Beer bar where straight guys sneak in to hit on lesbians. It's like a paradise for the LGBTQ community: the perfect world where everyone is welcomed and joyfully accepted. Even insults are always playful and harmless. The quarterback can also be the homecoming queen - shoulder pads and manicured nails come together in one character, Infinite Darlene. Cheerleaders can afford Harleys. Mothers make pancakes that resemble the topography or states or continents. Imagine that.
But. In order to have an interesting story, you need conflict. Right? The conflict is love and all of its broken hearts. Paul was once dumped by Kyle. Now Kyle wants Paul back, but only after Paul has started something with a new boy, Noah. Noah has been burned himself. So when Noah finds out Paul kissed another boy, he's a goner. Now Paul wants Noah back while Kyle chases Paul. Then there is Ted who was dumped by Joanie for Chuck. Somehow, Paul tries to mend all these hearts, including the ones he has no business mending. The big question is, will he win Noah back or will Kyle win his heart? show less

Loved this clever, smart, fresh YA novel. These are the kind of teenagers I want to know! 16 year-old Lily is a little 'freakish' by her own definition, socially misfit, but worldly intelligent with a passel of relatives that are probably more fun than typical teen friends. A cousin that works at the Strand bookstore, a Grandpa who owns their apartment building, a brother who is named for Langston Hughes, a great Aunt (Mrs. Basil E. - nicknamed for the book character) who works in Tussaud's show more wax museum and parents who decided to vacation in Fiji for the holidays, leaving Lily in care of the older Langston. He and his boyfriend, Benny come up with an idea that form the basis of the book: leave a red Moleskine notebook strategically at the Strand with a scavenger hunt concept that will hopefully lead Lily to a boy her own age. She is all in favor and takes on the project from there. Dash is the bookish, misanthropic (snarly) teen who picks it up and takes on the hunt. Various family members of Lily are part of the back and forth plan, vetting Dash as acceptable and having good intentions. Dash relies on a network of friends on his end. His divorced parents are each out of town with significant others and Dash has played that off to stay home and mope for the holidays. Lily meanwhile couldn't be more Christmas obsessed, full of cheer and cookies and sparkle. They pass the notebook back and forth for days without meeting - coming up with clever places and activities the other must complete to get the notebook back, all the while getting to know each other in a way that has a intimacy and depth to it they hope will carry over in person. NYC makes a great playground! A series of events conspire to bring them together before they are 'ready': a missed phone call, a missing boot, an ex-girlfriend, an impromptu snowball fight, a social media alert and a big slobbery dog. Kaboom! Truly the legends of rom com, though it never feels forced or schmaltzy because the two authors are that good - and don't pander. This is a collaboration between Rachel Cohn and David Levithan who both know just how smart and savvy their teen readers are, making this a joy for adults as well. Sprinkled with poetry quotes from Marie Howe and Mark Strand, OED etymology, and plenty of self-reflective angst - so normal! this fun holiday read will make you smile and sigh and swoon. show less

After reading and enjoying "The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle," (another Quantum Leap-style novel) I was eager to read this as soon as I discovered it at 2nd & Charles. I got it used for only $5.

The story follows a protagonist who wakes up every morning in a different person’s body, unable to maintain relationships or possessions for more than a day. The concept is fascinating, and the author does a fantastic job of drawing you into the emotional and psychological toll and the ethical show more concerns of such an existence. It’s thought-provoking, unique, and utterly engrossing. show less