How They Met and Other Stories

November 26, 2007
With entries dating back to Levithan’s (Boy Meets Boy
) student years, this diverse collection gathers 18 stories about love: gay, straight, young, old, inspiring, silly, heartrending—one is even written in a mix of verse and song lyrics. In “Breaking and Entering,” Peter misses his ex-boyfriend, now away at college, so he sneaks into his house and falls asleep in his bed, while in “Flirting with Waiters,” a 12-year-old girl falls for an older pizza boy, saying, “It was enough for me to have Seth come to my house
in his own car
and say 'the usual’ with a smile.” Even the early entries showcase his trademark love of wordplay (in “A Romantic Inclination,” written when the author was a high school junior, physics students James and Sallie decide not to pursue each other because “the friction of a merging of their hearts wouldn’t be beneficial. It would be theoretically and realistically wrong.” They demonstrate, too, his love of fantasy: in the story he wrote in his last year of high school, the somewhat jejune “Memory Dance,” elderly Mary literally flashes back to when love was new. Throughout, the author quickly brings his characters to life, and he explores concepts that will resonate with teens, such as the randomness of love (“Person after person after person... they all converge at one moment, irrevocably changing the course of a thousand more lives. As it is with accidents, so it is with love”). Sweet, sometimes bittersweet, these stories will leave readers satisfied. Ages 14-up.

January 1, 2008
Gr 9 Up-These 18 short stories are about love-from unrequited, to longing, to being smitten, to family love and friendship. Levithan leaves no form untouched, and tells each tale passionately. This collection contains stories with such poignancy, brilliance, and warmth that anyone who has ever been in love (or wished they were) will enjoy them. In one selection, a teen awkwardly waits in line to catch the eye of a handsome Starbucks barista behind the counter. In another, Lucy learns what it is like to feel a broken heart, but comes out an independent, self-sufficient young woman. A Chinese-American girl is fixed up by her parents with the son of a Chinese business partner; two stories later, a gay boy tries to figure out the difference between lust and love. The portrayal of these teenagers' feelings across different sexual orientations and races is at once believable and accurate. An excellent choice for fans of Levithan's "Boy Meets Boy" (2003), Rachel Cohn and David Levithan's "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist" (2006, both Knopf), and Francesca Lia Block's "Necklace of Kisses" (HarperCollins, 2005)."Marie C. Hansen, New York Public Library"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2007
Wonderfully depicted characters (mostly teenagers) dance, fumble, fly, and talk their way into romance.In settingsranging from classrooms and blind dates to an airline flight, a Bar Mitzvah, and a few bedrooms, the stories focus largely onaffection and love, with a few instances ofsexual activity. Many of the main characters are gay or lesbian, but there are straight characters, too, as well as a few whose sexual orientationis still forming. Among the stories is one Levithan wrote in high school, which, like the others here, is nicely written, witty, and quick to read.An impressive collection by a single author, this will pair well withAm I Blue? (1994), edited by Marion Dane Bauer.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)