YA LGBT Books discussion

This year, rather than talking about one book a month, we're going to pick an author whose works we want to discuss.

You can read a new book by the author, or just comment on what you've already read by them. If you want to discuss a major plot point in a book, please put it into <*spoiler> tags so it is hidden from view. (If you don't know how to do this, PM me.)

You can discuss one book, or several, or the author's work in general. Hopefully, we'll help each other find authors and books to enjoy.

This month we will look at the work of David Levithan

His YA LGBT Books include:
Boy Meets Boy
Two Boys Kissing
Wide Awake
The Realm of Possibility
Every Day
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List
He has short stories in collections like 21 Proms
He has also helped create collections like : Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Other Identities

I happen to be a big fan of David Levithan's and I've read a lot of his work.

Boy Meets Boy was a Book of the month for us here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

and we discussed Two Boys Kissing here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Two Boys Kissing made the YA finals for the Goodreads award last year.

Wide Awake is the story of a possible future, two gay boys helping with the presidential campaign of a gay man for US president. It's sweet and hopeful, as much of his work is.

The Realm of Possibility is my favorite prose-poem book. In it, a group of high-school teens interweave their stories, of life, love, pain, and all the things they face. It pays to watch the names of the narrators at the top of the chapters, as many of them know each other. The first and last chapters compose a lovely gay couple's thoughts about each other.

What I love most about Levithan is his use of language. More than any other writer in YA, he seems to find the words that ring like crystal in my mind. He turns the phrase that evokes just the right emotion, poetic and yet not flowery.

What I like least, perhaps, is his tendency to be a bit unreal and utopian - I write romance, and I love a happy ending, but in some books (notably Boy Meets Boy) I wish I could see his characters in just a little more realistic background, acting as real teens do and not idealized. But then, the poetry of the stories is something I love, so I'm a bit torn. Either way, a favorite author with true gift for language and images.

If you haven't tried him yet, consider Wide Awake for a sweet M/M couple, and a future that warms the heart without too much incredulity. Or if you like prose poetry, maybe The Realm of Possibility with the array of characters, male and female, making their way through the pages.

I'm a fan of Levithan as well, though I'm not as well-read in his work as you Kaje.

I read Wide Awake and Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which he co-authored with John Green.

Wide Awake really appealed to me because I like stories that explore politics, without being too preachy; and as you say, I thought it was a sweet love story.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson was a great combination of things - funny, quirky, and poignant in that coming-of-age way. The story is told from alternating viewpoints, and Levithan wrote the darker one about a clinically depressed gay teen. But it's not a sob and despair coming out sort of story. I liked that the gay characters have more depth than that, since hey, there are a lot of things for teenagers to get depressed about including and beyond homophobia and bullying. :)

The story comes together at the end in a way that provides a lot of hope for the characters.

I'm looking forward to Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story. Coming in March 2015 apparently. Tiny was my favorite character in WGWG.

I too loved Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I read Boy Meets Boy over four years ago, so I don't remember much, but apparently I was put off by the utopian aspect, too, as I gave it three stars and this review:

Ok, so it's a fairy tale. If one wants to read something very light about an issue that's still unfortunately fairly heavy, this is a good book. But the implausibility & inconsistency of it all was just too much for me, personally.

I mean, never mind that there are no chain stores in the town. What's up with Noah's folks, that the one and only time we see one of them, jet-setters that they are, is in a thrift (? consignment?) store? What's up with all this acceptance and support, but Kyle still being totally messed up just cuz he's bi?

I do hope I get a chance to read Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story, and I'll see what else I can get before the end of the month.

I've read several of David Levithan's books and enjoyed all I've read. My favorite among his young adult titles is probably the collection How They Met, and Other Stories , which would make a good sampler for someone who just wants to dip their toe into a little Levithan at a time. I haven't yet read Wide Awake, but I'll take Kaje's recommendation as a push to get it at the top of my to-read list next -- unless the publisher approves my request for an advance e-galley of Hold Me Closer first. ;-)

Cheryl wrote: "I do hope I get a chance to read Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story, and I'll see what else I can get before the end of the month."

Since Tiny isn't out till March...
Two Boys Kissing was very evocative for me, although I did think the voices of the ghosts of gay men past held more connection with older readers. Still, I did enjoy it and there were some lovely lines in it. And that cover - two boys kissing on mainstream bookshelves and center displays. I actually went into a Barnes and Noble when it came out, just to see that cover front and center in the YA section.

Ooh, Kim - advance reading, eh? I hope you get it.

I enjoyed many of the mix of stories in "How They Met" - Starbucks Boy and What a Song Can Do were perhaps my favorites.

I've read all of David Levithan's individual works and most of his collaborative ones and they're all pretty fantastic, but if I had to give recommendations I would go with Two Boys Kissing or Wide Awake.

I agree with Kaje that Two Boys Kissing is incredibly evocative, though I disagree that it holds more connection specifically to older readers. I think it holds connect to anyone who knows the 80's AIDS History and is emotionally invested in the lives of community members who were active during this time. If you're young and you have an education about what it was like to be a part of the LGBT community during the 80's, and you've heard members of our community speak their truths about love and loss then this novel can be just as evocative for the younger members of the community. I'm only 24, and I cried my way through this novel because I heard the stories of so many of my community members in the words David Levithan wrote. I can't conflate my learned knowledge with the lived experience older readers might have, but most of the young LGBTQ folks I've talked to had a similar experience to me while reading. This book is stunning, and it devoured us whole. I consider Two Boys Kissing to be David Levithan's pièce de résistance; it is a masterpiece and a crucial tool to be used in the LGBTQ Movement's effort to eradicate AIDS. Everyone should read this novel.

I'm young enough that I went through middle school and high school waiting for David Levithan's novels to come out. While I can't remember many of the finer details of his novels, I remember exactly how each one of them made me feel. Reading Wide Awake was incredibly empowering for me as a young, closeted queer person. This book, along with the movie Milk are what inspired me to become involved in the LGBTQ movement. I personally think the novel is often underrated, but maybe that's because I'm from WA state, where something like 80% of voters are over the age of 65, and youth often toss aside anything having to do with politics. This book contains a quote which I often share with my social justice friends: "The more kindness and justice are challenged, the more we must embrace them. Only when you are challenged - and only when you challenge yourself - do you discover what truly matters."

Daneil wrote: "I disagree that it holds more connection specifically to older readers. I think it holds connect to anyone who knows the 80's AIDS History and is emotionally invested in the lives of community members who were active during this time. If you're young and you have an education about what it was like to be a part of the LGBT community during the 80's,..."

I think it's great that you are connected enough with the wider community to have this perspective. I agree that this book has moments and lines that shine like gold - truths from men who should have had far longer in life to share them. I'm in fact delighted that you think younger readers will connect with this, because it says so much I really want young readers to hear.

And YES to being politically active and voting - look at the mess we are in for the next two years, because apathetic voters didn't bother to go to the polls, including a large fraction of younger voters. There are some very anti-LGBT politicians taking office this term. VOTE!!

Thanks, Kaje, I hope so too! If not, well, I suppose I can make myself be patient and wait like everyone else.

I can't remember the story title off the top of my head, but the ballet dancers' story was what I liked best out of the How They Met . . . collection.

Well, I've got Two Boys Kissing nder my belt. Impressive, and beautifully written. But (please don't hate me) boring. I read plenty of the beginning and the ending, but I just couldn't engage enough to read every word.

It really is too bad that something so educational, so heavy, so simplistic, is still necessary and special enough to get so much praise. Someday, hopefully soon, this will be (as the narrator does imply) of historical interest only.

Interesting. And yes, I could see that - I think as a parent what engaged me was these narrators saying all the things I'd said or wanted to say to teens, over the years, and articulating things I'd felt, better than I ever could. Which was why I questioned its appeal to young readers, because it was my adult experience that connected. But from Daneil's response, obviously we all bring something different to it, not just our generational experience.

I can see why you find it too bad that educational and heavy fiction is still necessary, but I don't understand pinpointing that as the only reason the novel gets praise, Cheryl. The use of dead narrators is still a fairly novel process which gives the book a unique perspective, and you yourself say it's impressive and beautifully written. (also, I definitely don't hate you, no worries!)

It is unfortunate that we live in an unjust society (speaking specifically about the US), and that books like this are necessary, but we can't really alter society without tools to educate, imo. History is still written centered around identities of privilege (white, cis, straight, Christian, having citizenship, able-bodied and minded, etc.) and the only way to change this - that I can see - is by creating narrative like the ones found in Two Boys Kissing.

For me it was the emotions, not the information content, that made me love it. Those were my generation, those men we lost. The clarity of some of the lines, the way they got to the heart of what I felt, was crystal and almost painful sometimes. I just wasn't sure how widely that would translate.

So I agree - not just for the educational value.

Well, my review goes into more depth. But I did say that TBK was simplistic, too. And my problem is that I didn't feel an emotional narrative. To me it seemed more like a literary exercise. I didn't feel like I was getting to know real boys, but rather icons, almost as if there were a checklist of character profiles and r'ship styles Levithan felt he needed to include.

Thank goodness that's just my opinion! Different readers will definitely have different experiences... which is, of course, a good thing.

I admit the emotion I felt came more from the narration than the boys themselves, so I can see that. Still loved it.

And yes, clearly, those differences in opinion are what allow more than one single author to have a viable career. ;

It's always interesting to see what appealed and didn't to a range of readers.

Boy Meets Boy was my first LGBT love story book EVER. I had never read a book with two male characters - and I actually had no idea there was such a "genre" (people in Brazil don't read much, so we tend to just get the biggest best sellers translated, and there's virtually no national producing of M/M romance - though we recently got Boy Meets Boy, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and Will Grayson, Will Grayson).


I've also read Wide Awake - loved the book and think that was a nice vision of a possible future; Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List - can't wait for the movie, specially if it is as funny as the book was; a couple of shorties from How They Met, and Other Stories; Will Grayson² - didn't like this one; and more recently Love Is the Higher Law - this was a beautiful and hurtful story, and probably my favorite book from him.


I love the fact that his writing is really poetic and that his books are not just boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy gets boy back (though the first one really is ;D).

I've just started Are We There Yet? and though I don't know if it's really an LGBT story, I have already been charmed by Elijah's friend Cal, who is apparently a bi female.

Is every gay/queer character in YA lit adorable, or at least delightful/ charming?

Daneil wrote: "If you're young and you have an education about what it was like to be a part of the LGBT community during the 80's, and you've heard members of our community speak their truths about love and loss then this novel can be just as evocative for the younger members of the community."

I absolutely agree. I was born a few months after indinavir was approved by the FDA and "changed the very nature of the AIDS epidemic from one of a terminal illness to a somewhat manageable one" (thanks Wikipedia! :P), but I could still appreciate those stories. I read Two Boys Kissing a few weeks after finishing The Story of the Night by Irish writer and journalist Colm Tóibín, which isn't YA, but it describes the "gay scene" during the 80s and 90s — and of course that includes AIDS.

From that book (just a story they tell, not a big spoiler, don't worry):

"[***] asked the doctor how long he had to live. The doctor said he could not say, but [***] insisted on some prognosis. The doctor said he had also drawn blood for a full blood count test, including a CD4 count—at the time we did not know what this was—and that was low, it suggested that [***] did not have much time. 'How long?' he asked again. The doctor said it was always hard to judge, and it depended on the person, but he thought a year, maybe two. [***] said nothing. He asked no more questions, even though the doctor had a counselor who was ready to come over. He said he wanted to go home. (...) I told him that I would stay with him, but he was locked up in his own mind all that night and for days and nights afterward. He did not want me to come too close to him, he did not want me to contact his family who lived in New Mexico. He was on his own in a way which I did not believe it was possible for anyone to be. He would have given anything, I think, to have lived. He would have given the disease to me or to anyone, he would have paid any money, or moved anywhere, or promised anything for this not to happen."

I read Two Boys Kissing with Tóibín's world of fear, pain, sorrow, shame and internalized homophobia still in my mind, and I found those voices profound and authentic enough.

Anyway, I went to the only English-language bookstore chain in this country and I couldn't find anything by Levithan—they're out of stock until next month, I think. I guess LGBT books are becoming less of a niche market after all. =)

Well, it's cool if they sold out because he's becoming more popular there :)

Sorry you didn't find any though. His books are available on OmniLit in epub and a few in "Secure Adobe eBook" also, which might be pdf for reading on your computer. I know they sell worldwide. https://www.omnilit.com/storeSearch.h...

Finished Are We There Yet? and it's a charmer. Of course, the bi girl, Cat, is adorable. Everyone else, not quite as bewitching, but not unlikable, either.

I just don't understand Julia, though. And as I said in my review, this reads, to me, like a retelling of a myth or classic - especially the bit about Julia. Does anyone know of a Literary work with similar plot & themes?

I am currently reading Every Day and so far it's really interesting.

Madame Malice wrote: "I am currently reading Every Day and so far it's really interesting."

I enjoyed that one - it's an interesting take on the question of identity.

Yeah I think I'm going to really like this one!

I've got so many of his titles on my 'to read' shelf. I only read one book at a time. I keep like 3 or 4 books in my 'currently reading' section to act as a next up queue. Will Grayson, Will Grayson, the collaborative work he did with John Green, has been staring a hole in me because I keep bumping others in front.

After reading the positive reviews on this thread for Levithan, I don't think I'll be able to put in off anymore.

There's a range of opinion as you can see - Will Grayson wasn't my favorite of his, but some loved it. He does have this way with language - the ear for the very perfect word.

Kaje wrote: "There's a range of opinion as you can see - Will Grayson wasn't my favorite of his, but some loved it. He does have this way with language - the ear for the very perfect word."

Hmm. Well as you know I'm relatively new to the genre, having made the transition to digital books recently. So a couple of weeks ago I kind of went on a gluttonous book shopping spree, much to my wallet's dismay, lol. But I also bought Boy Meets Boy as well as Every Day. Maybe I should start with one of those?

Depends on what you like - Each is a favorite of someone I know. Boy Meets Boy is a little bit utopian-fantasy-high-school with romance and coming out - some love that, others find it too happy (although there is some sad too.).

Every Day is interesting - an exploration of gender and identity in a paranormal ( or SciFi) context. I found it a cool read, but didn't fall in love with the MC as much as in Boy Meets Boy where I did really like the character.

Will Greyson - I enjoyed Levithan's sections a lot, Green's less so, but again there are huge John Green fans out there.

All are good reads. My personal favorites include Two Boys Kissing, The Realm of Possibility (interlinked prose poems), and Wide Awake. But I've never read a bad book from him.

Thanks for the insight, of course I'm going to read them all anyway, guess I'll decide based on my mood at the moment.

Btw, on an unrelated note, *your book*, had me crying last night "Daniel. I'm looking for Daniel. Have you seen Daniel?".....Beautiful.

*edited - realized I had referenced a book not appropriate for YA, my bad, took the title/link out

<3 And yeah, the only thing of mine that I can link here is "Rainbow Briefs" - all the rest of mine are too explicit. But I'm glad you're enjoying the story.