Thoughts about Boy Meets Boy

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan certainly raised many questions for me while I was reading. After the discussion in class it seemed like the book did a good job of raising questions for everyone else as well. First and foremost I wonder if Boy Meets Boy is written as a "feed good" novel for young adults, specifically GLBTQ readers. The main character, Paul, does not experience any discrimination based on his sexual orientation at all. This aspect of the novel could be have two different ramifications. Readers who are GLBTQ could respond openly to this Paul character and feel as if he gives them confidence to accept their identity and live it as happily as Paul does. The second result could be students feeling as if Paul's character isn't easy to relate to. From this standpoint, perhaps a reader would be able to relate to Tony's character easier because he deals with the hardship of having disapproving parents. Paul's parents welcome his sexual orientation openly, whereas Tony's parents feel as if they need to "save" him from hell and they eventually ban him from seeing Paul. I like the insertion of Tony's character and the struggles he faces because they feel real. However, I wondered what would the story be like from Tony's point of view? I feel like, after having thought about it further, that the story from Tony's point of view may be too heavy. The issues should be brought up and discussed, but the book would certainly lose its light-hearted comedic aspect.

While I have already briefly touched on the subject of "relatability", I will say that at first I felt like this novel would not be relatable to any young adult readers. However, after further thought and re-reading passages, I realize that many of topics/issues present in the book can be seen as universal. The friendship conflict between Paul and Joni, Paul's feelings when he first meets Noah, fighting with a loved one, sibling relationships (specifically the dynamic between Noah and his younger sister), and love between two friends (Tony and Paul) are some of the universals I discovered. Also, on the behalf of GLBTQ readers, this novel does touch on some of the topics that may be running through their minds, such as when Noah asks Paul "Have you always known?" and when Kyle doesn't want the label of being bisexual and says "Can't it just be what it is?"

One other point I'd like to make after our class discussion is that I like the genre David Levithan chose to "label" this novel as. It really fits in the space between contemporary realistic fiction and fantasy after showing how its a reality that so many people would really like to be true. Its a way to escape into a world with less of a struggle with sexual identity and more focus on friendship and love.