Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan **Review**

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Series: None
Pages: 185
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Release date: 10th May 2005 
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Waterstones

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Goodreads synopsis:
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.

When I finally decided to pick this book up, it was a long time after I had first intended to do so, and I honestly don't know what took me so long; David is an author I've enjoyed before (albeit with either John Green or Rachel Cohn), I loved the sound of the story, I'd been told it was a great read, and it's a really short book that I could (and did) read in a day.
Boy Meets Boy follows the story of Paul, a confident, sociable, homosexual teenage boy, which begins when he meets Noah, while out with some of his other gay (and straight) friends. Paul's story has its ups and downs, and plenty of drama, but at its heart is a beautiful and unique love story. This book is definitely unlike any I've read before.
This was David Levithan's first novel (originally published in 2003), but it still contains the same humour and wit that I've seen in his later work - and it's certainly just as quirky!

I love the way he plays with language so well. One particular example, from the very beginning, sticks out in my mind; Paul, our protagonist, out with his friends, is listening to live music, and he describes a group of people there as 'gaystafarians', then later goes on to say that the gaystafarians had 'planted' themselves in the gardening section (the live music was being played in a bookshop - a pretty cool idea for an evening out, if you ask me. Dance in the YA section anyone?). His play on words never fails to make me laugh.

The characters were another thing about the book that I really enjoyed. There was a wonderful variety of personalities on show; obviously there's Paul, but we also have Tony (very sweet and brave, gay like Paul, but unable to be open about it because of his parents), Kyle (who grew on me as the story progressed), Infinite Darlene (a great source of humour and entertainment), and of course, Noah (who I'd want to be friends with, if I could rip him out of the pages). There's such a vibrant mix of characters, and I couldn't help but love them all.
I did notice that there are an awful lot of gay characters - which is absolutely fine - but half of Paul's school seemed to be gay, and I found that a little hard to believe. But despite that, I loved the story and characters so much, that it didn't really matter to me. Paul's story had me mesmerised, enchanted and enthralled!

I don't want to give too much of the story away for those who want to read it, so I shall end by saying that Boy Meets Boy is a love story unlike any I've seen before. It's a fun, beautiful and uplifting story that will warm your heart, and it's one that I would definitely recommend to fans of YA contemporary or romance.
David Levithan has not let me down yet!