Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

*** 1/2

Have you ever been interested in an author but then put their books off in favor of something that more suit your immediate mood.  And then when you finally got around to reading that author you wonder to yourself "Why on earth did I wait this long?!?".  If you have done this then you know how I feel about David Levithan.  I had been interested for quite some time but just never got around to it.  Then Shel and I had the opportunity to see and meet him at a YA  panel at Anderson's Bookshop and we both were absolutely charmed.  Before the panel began I had bought his latest novel Every You, Every Me.  Of course after meeting him I put it at the top of the "To Read" pile.  And enjoyed it immensely.  Since then I have had the opportunity to read a couple more of his books (Boy Meets Boy and The Lover's Dictionary) and he continued to charm me even more.  Now I have added all his other books to my BN Wishlist...hint, hint Mr. Executive Officer.

So now that I have shown you how much of a fangirl I have become let's get on with this review. 

Boy Meets Boy takes place in an unnamed utopian town.  A place where the LGBT community both young and old live openly with little to no social censure. A town where "P-FLAG is as big a draw as the PTA."  Our hero, Paul is a gay teen who has always known who he is and has never doubted it for instant.  He knows what he wants out of life and love and he isn't afraid to grab it. 

The story is fairly simple.  Paul meets Noah at a bookstore concert.  They have an instant connection.  Unfortunately the joys of first love are quickly put to the test with the re-entrance of a past bi-sexual boyfriend, a gay friend from another town that is struggling with how his parents view his sexualtiy, and a female BFF that is ignoring Paul for her new narrow minded boyfriend that is responsible for cruelly breaking the heart of the transgender star quarterback. 

Hey, I told you it was a Utopia of sorts.  But it works.  It really does.  I finished this book feeling upbeat and hopeful which is always a wonderful feeling to have when finishing a book.

Don't grab this book if you are looking for emotional read with high drama.  This is a lighter read meant to make you smile, meant to show us how we should and should not be as a society and meant to give a little hope and sunshine to teens out there that struggle everyday with coming out.

Nat