Boy Meets Boy

by David Levithan

Hardcover, 2003

Status

Available

Call number

PS3562 .E922175 B69 2003

Publication

Knopf Books for Young Readers (2003), Edition: First Printing, 192 pages

Description

Romance. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML: 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 heâ??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 Paulâ??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… (more)

Media reviews

User reviews

LibraryThing member andreablythe
When Paul meets Noah, he falls for him almost instantly. However, Paul's life gets complicated when an ex-boyfriend reenters his life and friendships fall awry. Suddenly Paul isn't sure what he wants. What follows as Paul begins to figure it all out is a sweet, charming, and funny romantic comedy
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that made me smile just about the whole way through.

Boy Meets Boy presents a near utopia in that the town is openly friendly to everyone, no matter the nationality or whether gay, lesbian, trans, or straight. One of my favorite characters, Infinite Darlene, a beautiful male-trans-female with flair, is both the quarterback and the prom queens. Prejudice is rare and when it does appear it does so weakly and without much malice, and is often instigated by people new to the town. This is my idea of an ideal society. One in which lifestyle doesn't determine one's worth, but behavior.

It doesn't eliminate sorrow or unhappiness, because human beings still screw up in love, act stupidly to the people they care about most, and in general make mistakes. So there's plenty of room for drama and growth and the joy of personal triumph.

Altogether a lovely book.

I also want to add the audio book from from Full Cast Audio is fantastic. Each character is acted out by a different actor and music is integrated between scenes to help set the mood. Full Cast Audio does a fantastic job and even has an interview at the end with three of the actors, who discuss and compare their own experience of high school life with gay-friendly high school in the book.
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LibraryThing member booknerdreviews
Paul lives in a near perfect world that completely embraces all sexualities. This book has gay boys in it, lesbians, straight kids, bi kids, and even a transexual football star/homecoming queen named Infinite Darlene.

I liked it’s positivity. I loved how cheery and happy this book was. Paul’s
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life is pretty easy. He has known he was gay ever since he knew was gay meant in kindergarden. His parents are perfectly accepting and his life is pretty stress free. But not everything in is life is easy – there is lots of drama around him.

Paul’s friend Tony doesn’t quite have the same upbringing as his extremely religious parents aren’t accepting of his lifestyle. However, even they end up being a lot more tolerant towards the end of the book than how they started out.

Joni, Paul & Toni’s friend seems to ditch them when she meets a boy, making them wonder if she’s even their friend anymore.

And then there’s the love triangle between Paul, his ex boyfriend Kyle and his new love interest Noah (who sounds totally cute btw). Kyle is continually trying to get Paul to come back to him. Paul isn’t convinced, even though he still cares very much for Kyle. And Noah, everything seems perfect with Noah until he finds out what Paul has done behind his back… is it too late to fix it?

Whilst I loved this book, I loved the characters also (Infinite Darlene is hilarious!) it’s not exactly realistic. I think it’s a popular lesbian/gay book primarily because it’s a nice book to read if you are gay. It’s positive, no one takes issue with gay people.. you can walk down the street holding your boyfriends hand if you want to, which is perfect escapism from reality. Anything that is still frowned upon in society here, is okay in this book. And that’s why I think it is as popular as it is.

Still, reality aside, the book is highly enjoyable and an easy read as well!
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LibraryThing member readingthruthenight
OMG. And really, this book definitely deserves an OMG. I absolutely ADORED this book.

My experience with David Levithan is only as a co-writer with Rachel Cohen. (Some of you might remember that I really enjoyed Nick & Norah, but not so much Naomi & Ely). After reading Boy Meets Boy I have to
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announce that I am a Levithan fan.

The story is quite simple. Boy (Paul) meets boy (Noah) and they dig each other. Boy's ex boyfriend (Kyle) comes into the picture and causes tension between the diggin' boys. Boy and boy separate. Boy and boy finally come back together.

But the writing! The writing is incredible. Levithan truly captures what it is like to be an adolescent and meeting *that* person. Y'know, that person that makes you believe that love at first sight can happen, life is going to change, love is incredible and it will conquer all. He gets that. The simplicity and beauty of these two boys falling for each other, thinking about each other, hesitant and yet very much vulnerable.

Oh and let me not overlook the high school that these kids go to. I mean, the quarterback of the football team is a fashionista. That's right, when s(h)e's not on the field, Infinite Darlene is the queen of the school.

Then you have the side story of Tony (Paul's best friend) who struggles with coming out to very religious parents who pray out loud to God that a nice girl will come his way and change him back. This is the story of Tony finding strength to stand up for who he is and what he knows is right for him.

Finally, it's the story of Joni (Paul's other best friend) who begins dating someone that the group doesn't approve of. Mainly because it's Infinite Darlene's ex.

Do you see the beauty of all of this? The simplicity of normal adolescence with the complexity of awesome writing.
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LibraryThing member trinityM82
Levithan's language in this is LOVELY, and he envelops you in the story of Paul's first love, with Nolan, in his utopian fantastical town (that couldn't really exist yet, though San Fransisco or Fayetteville probably come close). There is a cross-dressing star quarterback, Infinite Darlene, who is
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fantastic as a character, though because many of them are not very round, they seem like stereotypes. Really, its just a teenage love story, and because it is in first person, the reader isn't focused on the fact that the love is between teen boys. Paul is a blessed individual, to have parents and a community that accepts him so readily, and friends who truly care about him. IT is obviously something Levithan wants us to strive towards, but his use of language is GORGEOUS. Some critiques call it a "magical Realist" book because the reality is alternate (since it doesn't exist yet), but there is no magic other than pretty much absolute acceptance.
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LibraryThing member ViragoReads
The first thing I gotta say is, I'm mad at myself for not reading this the moment it arrived in the mail!

The other first thing I gotta say is, I want to go to this high school!!! There should be a television show about this high school because I would watch the hell out of it!

This book was just
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beautiful. I loved the story and the characters. It's about Paul, who is best friends with Joni and Tony, ex-boyfriends with Kyle, and very interested in the new boy, Noah.

Let's talk about Paul. This kid is really put together. And what I mean is, he comes from a loving home with understanding and fun-loving parents and a pretty cool older brother. They all accept Paul and his friends for who and what they are, no questions asked. Besides typical teenaged angst, Paul is very secure in who he is. He's out, he's dated boys in junior high and high school; he's even had his heart-broken. He's the kid all parents wish their kids could be, without him seeming ridiculously fake. He's a good person with family and friends. He goes to school and does well, he participates in school plays and helps to plan school functions. He's supportive of his friends. And, most important, he makes mistakes.

Then we have Tony who is gay and sort of out, but he has devout Christian parents who pray for his soul and fear that he is headed straight for hell if he doesn't get back on the right path. But the catch is, they truly, truly love their child. They haven't thrown him out or tried to send him to a facility to geared to force him straight. But they do continuously pray for his salvation, they are strict about what activities he can participate in, they (sort of) screen his friends and get super excited whenever a girl is mentioned. Tony is so sad and I just want to hug him and adopt him as my own child. His parents mean well, but they haven't gotten to the point where (good parents) realize that loving your child means letting them be who they are and not who you wish they would be.

There's Joni, who loses her damn mind a few chapters into the book. She becomes the epitome of love making you ditch your family and friends and making you do stupid things. She, in my opinion, is a bad friend, and she gets no redemption from me.

Kyle is Paul's ex who broke up with him when being gay and in a relationship freaked him out. He gets halfway to redemption in my book because (and I can only imagine) having an identity crisis at 15-16 years old is insane and would make you do crazy, stupid things that teenagers often do, and then later regret.

And Noah is the new boy in town who is sweet and artsy and has been hurt before. I just wanted to hug him as well because he has the travelling-for-work-parents. They're never really home and have moved him and his sister around quite a bit. He doesn't even realize what he's looking for when he meets Paul and gets a little freaked-out himself. Only he handles his freak-out much better than Kyle did.

Infinite Darlene. She is a drag queen, the star quarter back, and the homecoming queen. 'Nough said.

There are more characters that I won't get into. But they are all wonderfully written. I feel like we were given a glimpse of who they all are as people and teenagers just struggling to get through high school life. The story is funny and sad and sweet and lovely. All-in-all this is a well-written tale of old love, new love, friendship, betrayal, growth and redemption. While I wish it was longer, the length was perfect. It left me wanting more, but I wasn't left unsatisfied.
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LibraryThing member krystal_osmond
My Review: This book is set in a time and place where lesbians and gays are accepted and embraced by everyone (well, almost everyone). And when I say accepted, I mean the teenagers can walk through the school hand in hand with their partner, there peers call them names like "gay boy" and it's
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totally okay, and no one is truly offended by it. There is even a drag queen as the star quarterback AND homecoming queen! Ideally, I believe that this should be okay, and that gays and lesbians should be accepted by everyone and be allowed to walk hand in hand without ridicule and bullying, but this book went a little over the top I think. It was a quick and easy read, funny and altogether entertaining. The characters didn't have much in character development but for this novel it seemed to work alright.
I think that a lot of teens (gay or straight) would be able to relate to the book in one way or another - sneaking out saying you're doing homework when there isn't much or any homework getting done. Seeing your ex walk by and remembering what you once had. Having that one friend who is right to the point, no matter what the point may be. We've all been there, and it's good to read a book and know that even the characters in them are just like us.
Overall, Boy Meets Boy was an alright book. I'm not going to tell you to rush out and read it, but if you stumble across it, it wont hurt to give it a try. You'll see that no matter the relationship (gay or straight) we all have trouble sometimes, "I wonder if it's possible to start a new relationship without hurting someone else. I wonder if it's possible to have happiness without it being at someone else's expense." (Boy Meets Boy, page 59)
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LibraryThing member thelibrarina
It's a sad commentary on our society that a town that cheerfully embraces its LGBT population should seem so much like fantasy.

Paul has always known that he's gay--in his town, it just isn't a big deal. He's had some good relationships and some bad ones, but when he meets Noah he knows that this
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time is different. He falls head over heels for Noah's whimsical charm--but even in this high school, where the quarterback is also the homecoming queen, relationships are tough. After an incident with Tony (just a friend) and another with Kyle (Paul's ex) the school bookie gives Paul 12-to-1 odds of ever winning Noah back.

It's nice to see a book with LGBT characters where the biggest danger is a broken heart. It's a straightforward (heh) romance, with no fear of violence or hate crimes. Sure, some bits of Paul's world are a little outlandish, but it's a world that I'm glad to have lived in--even if just for a few hundred pages.
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LibraryThing member shojo_a
I'll be honest. I actually picked this book up (which was recommended to me) because I know a Paul who has an ex named Kyle. It took me a while to get into - everything seemed too easy, a little too fantastical until the conflict actually started. Once it did, I really got into the book and into
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the characters, and what had seemed too easy started to seem enlightened and beautiful. In a way it reminds me of Francesca Lia Block's books, where everything is in a heightened reality where things like a drag queen quarterback and a teenager who know just who he is and what he wants exist naturally.
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LibraryThing member SheReads
I liked this book, yet I thought it was very unrealistic--I wish it wasn't. I wonder what the author's intent is...Is it how he wishes our culture to be orhas he seen a situation like this. It is refreshing to see a romance about guys in a homosexual relationship--something that is becoming more
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common, but doesn't happen very often.
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LibraryThing member yaminon
Boy Meets Boy is one of those books that I feel as though I would have otherwise not found myself reading if it did not have an overall gay theme. However, that would be a shame, as it's very cleverly written, captivating and incredibly unique. Though so much of the book is overall difficult to
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believe, the way it is written and the relationships that are depicted and the way the characters exist within these relationships somehow make you feel as though everything in it could be entirely true. Though it is, at times, painfully cliche even amongst all of the individuality the book presents, somehow it is forgivable.

It's refreshing to see a book written for gay youth that isn't brainless or embarrassing. I recommend this book to all of my gay and bisexual friends, even the ones that are well past adolescence. There is an element to this book that makes you feel as though you have regained some of your innocence back, and that is something that anyone, gay or straight, can appreciate.
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LibraryThing member jniehof
I adored this book. I listened to a full-cast audio recording of it, which I can only imagine heightened the humor and sadness of the story. From the writer of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Boy Meets Boy takes place in a sort of gaytopia of acceptance in anywhere, USA. The language has hints
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of Diablo Cody, with lines such as:
"we have a compatible randomness"
"as if I know the lyrics to a song called She's All Mouth"
I found myself smiling from ear to ear and squealing when something exciting happened. I would have given anything to attend this high school.
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LibraryThing member verbafacio
This is my younger sister's current favorite book, and I can see why. Levithan writes a sweet, relatable teen romance with a twist -- most of the main characters are gay. It's about time.
LibraryThing member welkinscheek
Imagine living in a place where gayness is unremarkable, where there is no separation between gay and straight communities and life styles, where “boys who love boys flirt with girls who love girls…[and] the dance floors are always open to whatever you have to offer” (Levithan, pp.1-2). In
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Boy Meets Boy, David Levithan creates such a place; the town where Paul has lived all his life. As this sophomore in high school narrates his experiences and recounts his memories, he seems to be inviting and welcoming readers into his world. In his town, the high school quarterback is a drag queen, PFLAG membership rivals that of the PTA, and Paul feels safe kissing his boyfriend in a paddle boat named Adaline on a sunny Saturday in the city park.

This setting leaves the residents of the town free to live their lives without worrying over weighty identity and safety issues. Paul and his peers rarely fret about their sexualities, but, in typical teenaged fashion, they obsess over their love lives, their friendships, and planning the best school dance possible. Their freedom to be who they are contrasts their dear friend Tony from the next town over. Tony has to hide his gayness from his parents, who fear for his soul whenever they see him with another boy. Tony’s plight reflects what a gay teen may expect when living in a society that judges and disdains his sexuality. But when his world is held up against that of Paul and his friends, the reader may wonder, why all the fuss?

Together, Paul and Tony tactfully begin to introduce Tony’s parents to the reality of his gayness, and demonstrate that with great positivity, proactiveness, and cooperation, anything is possible. That is the message of this excellent book written in first person from Paul’s perspective as he falls in love, is conflicted over his feelings for an ex-boyfriend, wrangles with a difficult best friend, and juggles all this while heading the theme committee for the legendary Dowager’s Dance. Boy Meets Boy is funny, sweet, and romantic, and would be enjoyable for any reader aged 13 and up.
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LibraryThing member edspicer
There is a joke in some circles that a book featuring gay characters must take those characters and crash them in a car. Gay characters are victimized and troubled and disowned. Levithan, however, dares to have a popular character, dares to give this character accepting parents, dares to allow him
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to fall in love without causing communities to go into shock or riots to start. While the comments on Paul’s report card will cause teachers to do a double take (“Oh, I get it, this book is a fantasy”), the voice will delight. Paul accepts his life warts and all and he tries to make it better. Many of the issues, especially those concerning Tony’s family, will generate useful conversations. Unfortunately the cover will discourage some teens from even considering this well written book. Too bad! Infinite Darlene is worth meeting.
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LibraryThing member 4sarad
The town in this story is practically the main character. It's amazing. Being gay is just as normal as being straight, the quarterback wears high heels and changed his named to Darlene, and every store in town has a quaint story. The story itself in this book centers around Paul, a popular gay boy,
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and a new boy named Noah. They fall quickly in love, but things get in the way, as they so often do. It's a really quick, easy, fun read.
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LibraryThing member kikilon
Very literary, and very cleverly written. I didn't enjoy it much because of that, but I could appreciate its beauty. Sort of like a really good art gallery. I know it's great, I just don't care. If you like beautiful prose and youth issues dealt with in a deep, stylised way, you should read this
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book. Also if you hate teen fluff.
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LibraryThing member mochap
lovely story, great romance. takes place in a world not too far from our own--gives us somethhing to aspire to!
LibraryThing member ewyatt
Paul tells the story of his sophomore year. He falls for new-kid Noah, but his ex-Kyle has a change of heart that definitely complicates things. In Paul's town there is incredible acceptance of people of all types. Best friend Tony has to struggle a lot more as he lives a town away with parents
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whose religious views don't jive with their son's homosexuality. The one character who gets lost is Joni, who loses herself in her relationship with Chuck and her friends decide she's worth the wait to come back to her senses after their attempts to intervene fails.
A lovely romance.
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LibraryThing member francescadefreitas
Fantastic! I listened to the Full Cast Audio version of this, and I was laughing inappropriately loudly on the bus for the full thing.
Paul's world get complicated when he meets and fancies a new boy at school, his best friend from small starts dating a dreadful guy, his ex starts talking to him
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again, and his other best friend is stuck at home with religious parents horrified by his sexual preferences.
The descriptions of high school life are hilarious, from Infinite Darlene, the drag quarterback, to the Joy Scouts - the town's inclusive version of the Boy Scouts.
But all the fun aside, Paul is a sympathetic character with a gift for description, and I felt for him from the very beginning. I really cared about what happened to him.
There are some beautiful lines - the sense of belonging when hanging out with his friends feels like his a few notes in the middle of a song.
The town the story takes place is almost feels like a fantasy - a place where sexual preferences are pretty much evenly distributed, so no group is a minority. Paul was the school's first openly gay third grade president, and the Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays
group is more influential than the PTA.
I'd give this to anyone looking for a story with well-drawn queer characters, a high school romantic comedy, or a YA book with quirkyness to match the cameos (if not the tone) of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
Once again, Full Cast Audio did a wonderful job, the music introducing each chapter set the mood very well, and there was even a very appropriate musical serenade. The voice effects to show characters thoughts was used effectively.
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LibraryThing member spinsterrevival
I loved this book! Paul lives in a town that is practically a gay-friendly utopia, and this is one month of his life as he falls in love with Noah and deals with the ups and downs of his friends. Paul is charming and his friends are eclectic but real, and the language is simple and beautiful and
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quirky. Levithan has created a town and school and characters that seem part of a wonderful dream, and it's almost heartbreaking to wake up to the real world.
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LibraryThing member phoebesmum
Gay romance set in a world where 'gay' is not a stigma. Should have been more interesting than it actually was.
LibraryThing member ahooper04
Paul lives in a town where the quarterback is a drag queen named Infinite Darlene, the cheerleaders ride Harleys, and the Gay Straight Alliance is one of the most popular organizations in the school. He falls in love with a new boy, and must deal with losing one of his best friends and keep his new
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love while helping fellow friends with their drama and planning the biggest school dance. It's a story that celebrates love and friendship between all genders, all while shedding light on the romantic and friendship struggles of all teens. Very well written.
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LibraryThing member mhg123
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
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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.
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LibraryThing member megmcg624
Paul, a sophomore, knows from the minute he sees Noah that they have a special connection, but high school drama threatens their romance.

This charming novel depicts a town as fantastic in its perfection as those in hetero romances; this world, however, is perfectly suited to gay alternative liberal
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teens. The local fast food joint, for instance, has been taken over by vegetarians, and Paul's good friend is both the quarterback and the homecoming queen.

The perfection falls on the good side of believability; Paul's good friend struggles with his parents' refusal to accept homosexuality. This is truly a fantastic recommendation for any reader who likes a good love story, middle school or older (the romance is chaste enough for a 13-year-old).
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LibraryThing member sofia.tong
Cheesy to the extreme. I respect Levithan's attempt at creating the ideally accepting high school, but even if this were not the point of the novel the dialogue between characters and the actions of the characters are so fake it is glaringly obvious that Levithan is out of touch with teenagers.

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2003

Physical description

192 p.; 8.5 inches

ISBN

0375824006 / 9780375824005
Page: 2.941 seconds