Plot Summary: Paul is a high school sophomore in a town that doesn't have a gay scene or a straight scene - it's all gotten mixed together. In this town where the homecoming queen is the high school quarterback and is a drag queen named Infinite Darlene, Paul is used to being accepted and not having any issues with his sexual orientation, and has a group of friends that include Infinite Darlene, Tony (a gay kid who lives with strictly religious parents who aren't okay with his homosexuality) and Joni, his best girl friend since forever. On an average night out Paul meets Noah, a new kid in town who attends his high school and is also gay. After a bit of back and forth Paul and Noah connect and start to date. Of Course, life isn't that simple and eventually Paul's past and Noah's sensitivity because of past heartbreak get in the way, and things are changing with Paul's group of friends. Can Paul and Noah work out their differences? Will everything be all right in the end?
Critical Evaluation: This book is a fun read that profiles a magical town where every gay, lesbian and transgender teen is accepted and embraces. The character of Infinite Darlene (the football quarterback and the homecoming queen) is rejected by the rest of the drag queens at her high school because she also plays football, but there are enough drag queens at her high school to form a clique, which speaks volumes. I originally thought that this book was so naive as to be ridiculous and that it wouldn't connect with readers. However, as the novel progresses Levithan does a nice job of weaving the blessed life of Paul with the nightmare of acceptance his best friend is dealing with, giving some nice weight to the story. Further, not everything Paul touches turns to glbt gold and he does have a few issues to work out. It is a nice break from the doomsday titles that dominate the genre, showing readers that being gay doesn't have to be the issue in a story, sometimes it can just be part of who you are. Levithan's debut novel is touching and uplifting, which has proven to be a sign of things to come with this author.
Reader's Annotation: Paul has a pretty great life, he's gay, accepted by everyone he knows and he has a million great friends. What's missing is that special someone, someone like Noah.
About the Author: David Levithan was born in 1972 and graduated from Brown University in 1994. He published his first book, Boy Meets Boy in 2003 and since then has written several more novels and short stories. He's probably most famous for the success of his novel Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, co-written with Rachel Cohn which has been turned into the very successful movie of the same name.
When not writing, Levithan is editorial director at Scholastic and the founding editor of PUSH Imprint (http://www.thisispush.com/), a website dedicated to finding up and coming new talent in YA fiction.
Information retrieved from http://www.davidlevithan.com/
Genre: GLBT Fiction
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: Comparison of your town to the town that Boy Meets Boy takes place in. Acceptance of transgender youth in schools.
Reading Level: 12+
Interest Age: 14+
Challenge Issues: Homosexuality
Challenge Response: I would turn to the existing defense of GLBT fiction out there and use the extensive journal articles and interviews with authors in the genre.
Why is This Included: David Levithan is well known in the GLBT fiction genre and this is a happy read, unlike many others that deal with GLBT issues.
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