Boy Meets Boy

Reader reviewed by LJK

Our hero, Paul, lives in a very unusual town, one that has more in common with the world of Weetzie Bat and Francesca Lia Block than with Sweet Valley. P-FLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) draws as many participants as the PTA, and Paul's friend, the drag queen Infinte Darlene, is both the Homecoming Queen and the quarterback. Paul, however, is just as confused as every other teen age boy when he meets Noah, a seemingly perfect match, just as Paul's confused ex-boyfriend, Kyle, returns to the scene. Add to this a friend closeted by intolerant parents, and another who "breaks up" with Paul because of her boyfriend, and Paul's seemingly easy existence in this tolerant community becomes very challenging indeed.

In Boy Meets Boy, David Levithan has created a town (and a high school) like no other, and in doing so he has written a thoroughly modern romance. Although the book bogs down a little in its opening descriptions of life at Paul's high school (a trivia bowling team? ), once the reader fully enters Paul's world, the novel zips along, never losing its mix of realistic teen problems in a fantastical community.

Ultimately, Boy Meets Boy is a love story, not just for gay teens, but also for fans of the unique world of Francesca Lia Block and for any teens who love the romance genre.

Reader reviewed by Meg

I really really really enjoyed this book. The story takes place in something like an alternate universe, or rather an alternate town, where everyone is really accepting of the gay community (for example the high school quarterback is also the Prom Queen). This set up allows for a gay romance to blossom without all of the "gay issues" that muddle up other gay romances. These issues aren't totally thrown out the window however, the main character's best friend lives in another town which is not so GLBT friendly. This balance allows this book to do something totally cool...present a romance between two boys uninterrupted by prejudice, while not neglecting to show the difficulty of the queer experience.

Reader reviewed by Khy

[from the back of the book]

Love is never easy. Especially if you're Paul. He's a sophomore at a school like no other- and these are his friends:

Infinite Darlene, the homecoming queen and star quarterback.

Joni, Paul's best friend who may not be his best friend anymore.

Tony, his other best friend who can't leave the house unless his parents thinks he's going on a date...with a girl.

Kyle, the ex boyfriend who won't go away.

Rip, the school bookie, who sets the odds.

And Noah. The Boy. The one who changes everything.


Everything about this novel worked. The characters, the plot- everything just worked together in good way. Even though the characters aren't normal, they're real. They deal with normal problems, but the book presents them differently. Paul, the main character, may be a gay boy who goes to the weirdest high school in the weirdest town I've ever heard of, but he still has the same problems that people in normal high schools in normal towns deal with. He's losing his best friend because she can't stay away from her boyfriend, he's trying to find a way to help his slightly depressed friend deal with his sexuality and overprotective parents, his ex still has feelings for him and won't go away, and he likes a guy who likes him back and then they start going out but then Paul messes EVERYTHING up and has to fix it. The book may have an unrealistic setting, but the problems and plot are still realistic. It may not sound like those things work together, but they do.


I only disliked one thing about this book. In the end, I felt as if some things weren't resolved. Some of the problems in the book weren't really solved in the end, and if they were, the book didn't tell me. I could guess about what happened, but I don't want to guess. I want to know for sure.

All in all, it was a magnificent story.

Reader reviewed by looneytunez8

When I first read the title of the book, Boy Meets Boy, I could tell right away that it was a part of LBGT genre. It caught my attention once I started reading the first few pages. I ended up reading more than I excpected in the first 30 minutes of me reading it. This is a really great book. If you enjoy any books from the LBGT genre, Boy Meets Boy should be a good read for you.

Reader reviewed by megannx3

This book is about two boys who find love in each other. I'm not gay. However, i loved following their lives. I was so happy in the end. This is such a teen book, and well written, great plot-line and i love it! Paul is a shy highschool boy that knows what he wants. and what he wants is Noah<3!
+ this book is by my favorite author!

Reader reviewed by Piper M.

 A must read for anyone who has ever seen someone cute across a room and wished they knew them.  As the title shows it is about a gay couple in an open minded world. Classic romance with a modern twist, Boy Meets Boy is filled with humor and young love.  There wasn't a moment I didn't love this book. It was absolutely perfect from start to finish. It deals with the difficulties of being gay in a straight mans' world, but shows that with a little tolerance everyone can be happy. For fans of: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, The Shirmp series, The Rainbow Boys series, and Geography Club.

Reader reviewed by Natalie

This is the best book I have read since A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb (read that too, it's great). And, that has been my favorite book for two years. This almost passed it on my favorites list, but, that book is beautiful. So this one is second (Still a great honor with me---Im hard to please.)
So, this book is about Paul, an openly gay high school sophmore, and his friends. The characters are addicting, and so is the plot. I understood every single decision that Paul made, even some of the worse ones.
If I had to say something about this book, it's that the world is sort of unrealistic. Nobody cared that Paul was gay. I mean, no offense, but somebody always cares. It doesn't matter how accepting your school/parents/friends/churches are, someone is going to care. And, it might not be in a bad way, but it will happen.
The rest of this book was ridiculously perfect, and David Levithan is my hero. And, even if you're straight, or a girl or whatever, I guaruntee you will love this book, and even if you don't (you will) you will love at least one of the main characters. They're that great.
So, overall, this is the best book I've read in a very long time. And I've read a lot of great books. So, if you love reading, definately check this out!
You won't regret it!

Reader reviewed by Nis

I am straight, but reading about gay people is interesting and gives you a greater knowledge of ALL people. The main character is very realistic, even though I was surprised at how little the highschool thought being gay was weird. But in other senses, it was nice to have a book that seemed as if gay was normal, which I guess it can be. Anyway, this book was just very funny, easy to read, and something you want to finish, just to see what happens to the main character Paul and his love, Noah. There are also many other characters that really make a great addition to the story!

Reader reviewed by A-Rae =]

This book is now one of my favorites! It's comical and romantic. It's defenately something new and exciting, its as if everything in that school is backwards, i wish my school was like that! Paul is irresistibly charming, him and Noah are absolutely perfect for eachother! =]

Reader reviewed by Nikki

I liked this book. I thought at times it was a little bit dull, but it was a good read in the end. I did like the plot, and the characters were great. Seemed to me like one of those books that's hard to get into and takes a while to like, but it gets there and its worth the wait. I thought it was a charming book. Something new. Rather than the boy meets girl and they have a happy ending, it was a book about the same concept with two people of the same sex.