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betweentheshelves's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is my second time reading this, and I opted to listen to it this time. Which was an excellent choice! David Levithan is such a poetic writer, hitting such strong emotional beats in this book. And in light of so many kids and YA LGBTQ+ books getting silenced, the narration lens just hits so much harder. The older queer generation is imagining a world where the younger queer generation gets to be free. Or at least, freer than they were. And yes, that's the case in some instances. But it's also not the case as people are continuously trying to silence their voices.
This just makes me think about the fact that there was an article I read in the last year or so that said that we're in a sort of golden age for queer literature. Could that be the case? Maybe, I don't much pay attention to any sort of adult publishing market. But even if it is--queer literature has still been a major target in the rash of book bans that have been happening in the US over the last 4ish years. Not the only target, but you know. Definitely a major one. And it's books like this they want to get rid of; books that show queer teens that they're not alone. That show how hard it can be to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community. And I don't much think we're in a golden era of queer literature when there is a whole audience of queer books getting silenced.
Also: David Levithan has been publishing queer YA books for years. Since the early 2000s. Way before there was a boom in LGBTQ+ YA publishing (which still needs work!). And I'm pretty sure he's championed for way more queer books as an editor. I've read almost all of his books and it's his prose that always hits home for me. He's got a knack for writing emotional, poetic lines. Seriously.
Anyway, that was a bit of a rant, my apologies. But this book is lovely. It will spark excellent discussion at our Banned Book Club. And I'm glad I got to visit it again.
This just makes me think about the fact that there was an article I read in the last year or so that said that we're in a sort of golden age for queer literature. Could that be the case? Maybe, I don't much pay attention to any sort of adult publishing market. But even if it is--queer literature has still been a major target in the rash of book bans that have been happening in the US over the last 4ish years. Not the only target, but you know. Definitely a major one. And it's books like this they want to get rid of; books that show queer teens that they're not alone. That show how hard it can be to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community. And I don't much think we're in a golden era of queer literature when there is a whole audience of queer books getting silenced.
Also: David Levithan has been publishing queer YA books for years. Since the early 2000s. Way before there was a boom in LGBTQ+ YA publishing (which still needs work!). And I'm pretty sure he's championed for way more queer books as an editor. I've read almost all of his books and it's his prose that always hits home for me. He's got a knack for writing emotional, poetic lines. Seriously.
Anyway, that was a bit of a rant, my apologies. But this book is lovely. It will spark excellent discussion at our Banned Book Club. And I'm glad I got to visit it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Self harm
rafacolog's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Suicide
scarhatesjeffybezos's review
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Pedophilia
zluke's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
nannahnannah's review
3.0
I'm torn . . .
On one hand, I LOVE that this is a beautiful, poetic tribute to gay boys, but on the other hand . . . I'm not sure if I actually enjoyed the book?
Two Boys Kissing is a plotless, read-for-the-experience type book from the collective PoV of gay AIDs victims. They visit Cooper, a depressed boy who runs away after his parents find out he's gay, two boys who meet at a gay prom (one of whom is a trans boy), two boys who are trying to break the world record for kissing, and two more boys already boyfriends. They sort of also visit Tariq, a black gay boy, whose entire purpose in the book is to support the two boys kissing--even so much so that he has the solid word line: solidarity (which seems slightly backward), and his pov doesn't get a separate chapter as often (or barely) as the others or as much focus or care.
I could also tell the book was written by a white author when I read this: "People like to say being gay isn't like skin color, isn't anything physical. They tell us we always have the option of hiding. But if that's true, why do they always find us?"
Why do people always feel the need to compare sexuality to skin color when they're two different experiences and are not really comparable? People keep trying to find ways to make being gay on the "same level" of oppression as being black, asian, latinx, etc.. . . and it's such a tiny paragraph here, but it still makes me roll my eyes.
Characters often break into lectures, too, that seem awkward and preachy. I expect it from the narrators, but it's strange coming from the characters' mouths in casual conversation. It feels like David Levithan just has so many points he wants to cover that he loses track of them and whether or not they're placed in the right spots. They're just kind of thrown in to make sure they actually made it in the book somehow.
I guess I'm not sure if I'm the right audience for this. Maybe it's for gay boys or for people who should be educated/more exposed to the LGBT+ community (which is like, pretty much everyone). However, as a sapphic woman, this book was kind of isolating, too, only mentioning girls as a side note or as friends to the characters, and only once mentioning LGBT+ women. Only once. This book was mostly written from a white experience, too, which can be isolating as well.
Anyway, it was a nice read, but I probably won't read it again.
On one hand, I LOVE that this is a beautiful, poetic tribute to gay boys, but on the other hand . . . I'm not sure if I actually enjoyed the book?
Two Boys Kissing is a plotless, read-for-the-experience type book from the collective PoV of gay AIDs victims. They visit Cooper, a depressed boy who runs away after his parents find out he's gay, two boys who meet at a gay prom (one of whom is a trans boy), two boys who are trying to break the world record for kissing, and two more boys already boyfriends. They sort of also visit Tariq, a black gay boy, whose entire purpose in the book is to support the two boys kissing--even so much so that he has the solid word line: solidarity (which seems slightly backward), and his pov doesn't get a separate chapter as often (or barely) as the others or as much focus or care.
I could also tell the book was written by a white author when I read this: "People like to say being gay isn't like skin color, isn't anything physical. They tell us we always have the option of hiding. But if that's true, why do they always find us?"
Why do people always feel the need to compare sexuality to skin color when they're two different experiences and are not really comparable? People keep trying to find ways to make being gay on the "same level" of oppression as being black, asian, latinx, etc.. . . and it's such a tiny paragraph here, but it still makes me roll my eyes.
Characters often break into lectures, too, that seem awkward and preachy. I expect it from the narrators, but it's strange coming from the characters' mouths in casual conversation. It feels like David Levithan just has so many points he wants to cover that he loses track of them and whether or not they're placed in the right spots. They're just kind of thrown in to make sure they actually made it in the book somehow.
I guess I'm not sure if I'm the right audience for this. Maybe it's for gay boys or for people who should be educated/more exposed to the LGBT+ community (which is like, pretty much everyone). However, as a sapphic woman, this book was kind of isolating, too, only mentioning girls as a side note or as friends to the characters, and only once mentioning LGBT+ women. Only once. This book was mostly written from a white experience, too, which can be isolating as well.
Anyway, it was a nice read, but I probably won't read it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Suicide
sapphics_reads's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve had this book sat on my shelf for many years and only just picked it up whilst I’m trying to tackle my tbr but my, I wish I read it sooner.
Personally didn’t like the narrative style and lack of chapters at first but the more I read, I understand why it’s written the way it is, it’s so devastatingly beautiful.
Personally didn’t like the narrative style and lack of chapters at first but the more I read, I understand why it’s written the way it is, it’s so devastatingly beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Homophobia, and Suicide
gothicpluto's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Self harm
gaynerddemon's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicide
maxtiu's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
this is the exact book i needed in surgery recovery
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Homophobia
asipofcozy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
For such a short book, I took my time reading it. I can't even count the number of tabs and annotations I made. This book was impactful in so many ways. I found a piece of myself in the characters, in the situations they faced, in the narrator's past, and in their own personal struggles. I found that missing piece that I have been looking for all this time.
There were moments have tears, joy, inspiration, hope, and love. There were moments of sadness, despair, and loneliness. That fear of death and the fear of life. It was all here in a tiny book that I believe the world needs to read, that schools need to adopt into their curriculum. Maybe then, there would be less hatred and more understanding.
There were moments have tears, joy, inspiration, hope, and love. There were moments of sadness, despair, and loneliness. That fear of death and the fear of life. It was all here in a tiny book that I believe the world needs to read, that schools need to adopt into their curriculum. Maybe then, there would be less hatred and more understanding.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Mental illness, Self harm, and Eating disorder
Minor: Death, Racism, and Outing