Wednesday 10 October 2012

GoodRead - Boy Meets Boy

It's actually Jo from Once Upon A Bookcase who got me to read this book. She tweeted about it one day and I, who vaguely knew this title (but nothing else), tweeted back, asking questions. Within seconds, A TON of people tweeted me, saying that I had to read this book (I forgotten who must of you are. Sorry. But I'm pretty sure that @FitzChivalry_, @IanLamb1 & it was either @LizUK or @PortraitofWoman [or was it both of you?] all said "read this!"). When I found that there was no Kindle version, Jo kindly sent me her copy with a small letter that described this book as "sweet, beautiful story."

One of the main reasons why I love the UK YA book bloggers. Everyone is so nice! And happy!

Anyway, Boy Meets Boy. The story follows Paul, a young gay man who had to tackle the joys and pitfalls of high school in a town that really doesn't have a straight scene or gay scene as it got "mixed up a while back" (aka he lives in a town where there is no discrimination against a person sexual orientation). He has two best friends, Joni and Tony, and is close to Infinite Darlene (homecoming queen and star quarterback). He has an ex - Kyle - who refuses to talk to him. So when Paul meets Noah, a boy that makes his heart skip a beat, he knows he want to be with him. So when his life goes nuts (Joni starts dating a jerk, Tony [who lives in another town] having quite religious patents who think being gay is the work of the devil, Kyle suddenly starts talking to him and Paul makes a mistake that could ruin everything between him and Noah), Paul has to makes sure he gets his Happy Ever After...

Am going to try and keep this short: this is one of the best YA LGBTQ books I have read in a very long time! It's was refreshing and fun. It was like watching a chick-flick where you knew how the story was going to end and yet, you were hoping that it would end with a happily ever after!

I know I should talk about the book as a whole, but I wanted to write briefly about two characters: Tony and Infinite Darlene. Tony, to me, is one of the bravest characters in the whole story. I just wanted to take him out of the book and hug him.

And as for Infinite Darlene. When I first met her (I'm making her sound real, aren't I?), I first thought "She's going to be a characterture, isn't she?" but within pages, I fell in love with her (as Jo will tell you from our tweets!). I kinda wanted to be her friend, yet not tell her any of my secrets. Not sure if I could trust her...

Yes, there are flaws. But I think the author did these to show the characters as people with flaws who make mistakes. The amount of time I mentally wanted to strangle Paul... But this is what made the relationship between him and Noah more real and endearing.

I really liked this book! And I do hope that if you can lay your hands on a copy, you treat yourself into this book's wonderful love story (because is first and foremost, a love story)! And now I can not wait to get my hands on another David Levithan novel...

(And again, thank you Jo for lending me your copy!)



8 comments:

  1. This sounds great. What a shame it's not on in ebook form
    Caroline

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    1. It's not but when I tweeted HarperCollins, they did say they were looking into it so fingers crossed! I think the YA needs a few more love stories like this!

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  2. I am SO gad you enjoyed it, Andy! And no worries for lending it to you! Isn't it just beautiful? And romantic? And AWWW!

    I totally agree about Tony. It's that his parents weren't just homophobic, it was their deeply religious beliefs, and they were terrified for him. I found that really heartbreaking; it wasn't hate, it was fear and love. I'm not religious nor homophobic, but I can understand their reaction, even if I hate it; if you have had the idea that gay people will go to hell drummed into you your whole life and therefore believe it whole heartedly, and then discover your son is gay... I can completely understand their fear. But it sucks. What happened to "Love thy neighbour", huh? Pfft.

    But Infinite Darlene! Oooh, I love her! She's so amazing! And I just want to pick this book up again! Awesome review, Andy!

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    1. It was! It was wonderful read! I think it's one of those books I will be recommending for a while...

      I completely agree. Tony's parents are very religious and the idea of Tony being gay and going to Hell scared them. But we saw that they were going to try to be more accepting with how they reacted at the end of the book. They were going to try for their son's sake and that speaks volumes...

      And Infinite Darlene... We could talk for ages about her! I think we did on Twitter. She was a character and I loved her!

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  3. It really is a shame it's not avaible as an ebook. A YA gay love story sounds interesting and if it is as good as you say, I'll definitely pick it up.
    Samina
    Escapism from Reality

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    1. It isn't, but HarperCollins are looking into this when I tweeted them last so FINGERS CROSSED! If not, we should make some noise!

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  4. I have nothing but love for this book! I LOVED it so much. A book I'd happily reread.

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    1. I think we might have to make more noise over this book. It deserves the praise. Maybe we should make it a book group's read...

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