BOOK REVIEW: Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

This is a book review for Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan.

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. 

Wow . . . this book. There are not enough words to describe how incredibly beautiful this book is. I do believe it is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. This book is about way more than two boys attempting to break a record for longest kiss. It is about coming to terms with who you are, it's about falling in love, it's about family and friendship and so much more. Yeah, I am going to be a sap over this book. I'm not even sorry.

I loved every single character in this book. There were so many different types of relationships. There were Peter and Neil, who have been together for several months. They are in love and spend all of their time together. Neil's parents know he is gay, but never ever talk about it. The kiss between Harry and Craig forces that important conversation in a very touching scene. That was one of many scenes that brought tears to my eyes. Then there are Ryan and Avery, who meet at a gay prom. Avery is transgendered and struggles with when to tell Ryan and whether their relationship will continue once he does. Then there is Tariq, a gay black kid who gets beaten up because he is gay. It is that story that prompts Harry and Craig to do this. They don't know Tariq well until they learned of his assault. Then they realized how easily that could happen to any of them and they become closer. Harry and Craig do this test and stream it online, partly to show everyone that there is nothing wrong with two boys kissing. Finally, there is Cooper. Ahhh, Cooper . . . the most heartbreaking of them all. No one knows Cooper is gay, no one except the men he chats with online. He starts chats with older men in gay chat rooms, lying about his age and having very sexually explicit conversations. These men are the only ones he feels he can be honest with and he even lies to them. But then his father finds out about these chat conversations and I just got so angry and so sad. Cooper's father called him horrible names and even hit him. Then Connor runs away and becomes suicidal. I won't give away whether he actually commits suicide or not, but I will say that I think I cried more for his character than any of them.

Now I have no idea how David Levithan was able to so beautifully describe Harry and Craig's kisses for pages and pages, but somehow he did. It wasn't just about the physical act of kissing though. There was so much communicated between these boys without ever saying a word. And can I just talk about the narration? You wouldn't think that narration by a group of men would be very good, but it just worked. Everything about this book just worked for me. The ending was just perfect. With everything that happened with all of the relationships, there needed to be a good conclusion and there was. The conclusion was so hopeful and had so much meaning. And now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go and devour everything David Levithan has ever written. 

Notable Quotes:

"Love is so painful, how could you wish it on anybody? And love is so essential, how could you ever stand in its way?"

"We wish we could show you the world as it sleeps. Then you'd never have any doubt about how similar, how trusting, how astounding and vulnerable we all are."

"The first sentence of the truth is always the hardest. Each of us has a first sentence, and most of us found the strength to say it out loud to someone who deserved to hear it."

"Some of our parents were always on our side. Some of our parents chose to banish us rather than see us for who we were. And some of our parents, when they found out we were sick, stopped being dragons and became dragonslayers instead."

"The phrase rush to judgment is a silly one. When it comes to judgment, most of us don't have to rush. We don't even have to leave the couch. Our judgment is so easy to reach for."

"There is the sudden. There is the eventual. And in between, there is the living. We do not start as dust. We do not end as dust. We make more than dust. That's all we ask of you. Make more than dust."

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy!!!