Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan Published by Random House Children's Books on August 27th 2013
Pages: 208
Amazon-Indiebound
Goodreads
New York Times bestselling author David Levithan tells the based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record—all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS.
While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term relationships, coming out, navigating gender identity, and falling deeper into the digital rabbit hole of gay hookup sites—all while the kissing former couple tries to figure out their own feelings for each other.
My Thoughts:
David Levithan is a genius. I feel like I could end my review there. What else is there to say? I love the way that he conveys important truths with everyday situations. There are always multiple moments when reading his books where I think, “Yes! This. This exactly.” Two Boys Kissing is representative of this reaction.
I was so captivated by the way this story was told. There are so many different perspectives. I was impressed by the way they all came together (even if they were seemingly unconnected at the start.) The glimpses of the different characters from the perspective of other characters really gave the reader a more complete picture. I became so invested in them.
I guess I’m not really sure what more to say. It seems no matter what I write I’m not able to convey how truly remarkable I find this story. This is not a long book but it packs a punch. Highly recommended.
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