Title: Boy Meets Boy
Author: David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf
Pub Date: May 10, 2005
Format: Paperback
Pages: 223
Source: Library
Genre(s): YA, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT
Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads || Buy on Amazon

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

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My review:

“I could point out that it isn’t always easy knowing who you are and what you want, because then you have no excuse for not trying to get it.”

Paul knows who he is and what he wants. He has loving parents, he’s unabashedly gay, and he lives in a town that is totally cool with that. It’s like the entire city is a Gay-Straight Alliance.

It’s refreshing to read a book in which being gay or trans* is not how a character is defined, but simply who they are as a person. It’s also wonderful to read about a place where being anything other than straight is completely normal, and it’s accepted by everyone (for the most part). Besides all of this lovely queer stuff, this is still a typical high school story. We have drama with exes, fights with best friends, strict parents, new crushes, and lots of angst. There is no escaping the teen angst, no matter how idyllic the place is.

Noah and Paul are ridiculously cute though! The romance was adorable and cheesy. This probably won’t make sense but I found it endearing and off-putting at the same time. Love at first sight. Too much cheese.

And Tony. Dear, dear Tony. My precious little cinnamon roll. My heart hurts for him. I shed a tear for him. And then I smiled for him. He’s my favourite part of this book.

You may or may not like this book. It’s definitely a preference thing. It was short, fast-paced and fun, but it lacked some real conflict and development (other than Tony’s story). I guess I was just expecting a little too much.

*3.5 stars