The classes I am taking this semester are the best batch I have ever taken. One of the highlights is my Young Adult Literature class that gives me a tangible reason to read books that were already on my “TBR” list.
One such book is Boy Meets Boy by David Leviathan. You’ve probably heard of him—he’s written a book with John Green (yes, that John Green) that is also spectacular. He is a fantastic author with imaginative, yet real and relatable plot lines.
I remember seeing the cover of Boy Meets Boy in my school library in middle school and always meant to pick it up. But for some unknown reason, I always got distracted and grabbed a different book. Perhaps that’s because I wanted to read what my friends were reading. The world may never know.
When I saw this book on the list of titles we’d be reading this semester I got so excited. I finally had a “reason” to pick up the book (even though I don’t need a reason to pick up books, let’s be real).
This is book turned out to be one of those novels that I read in two days. Whether that is due to its length, or because of how engaging it is as a story (perhaps it was both), I’m not sure.
The book follows the journey of Paul, a proud and out gay sophomore in high school, and his interactions with both new and old friends (and love interests). I deeply appreciate how this book is like any other YA love story, just that—a YA love story. It doesn’t function because of Paul’s sexuality, it functions because Paul is confused about which partner (Noah or Kyle) he should “choose”. This is particularly clear because Paul has not necessarily had to struggle with his identity as a gay boy (another side note—one of his friends literally calls him “gay boy” and he doesn’t think twice about it). His family accepts him, his school accepts him, and his friends accept him.
Although Paul is virtually without struggle (besides finding himself in a love triangle), we see glimpses of these struggles to become confident in one’s identity in his friends’ experiences.
One of the first conversations Paul and one of his love interests (Noah) have is how Noah has to struggle a bit more to come to terms with his identity. And one of Paul’s best friends (Tony) deals with an unaccepting family throughout the entire story.
These two experiences serve as foils for one another which creates a complex narrative in a seemingly simply story. And that is exactly why I love this book and its stories and characters. 15/10 would recommend.
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