My latest for the Boston Globe.

queer books for pride month: day 11

Two Boys Kissing- David Levithan

Genre: Contemporary LGBTQ+ Rep.: Gay MCs, trans ftm MC, mlm relationships CW: AIDS, attempted suicide, death, homophobia (inc. violence & slurs), hospitals, illness, abuse (physical, parental), self-harm (mentioned)

Plot: As two boys attempt to break the world record for the longest kiss, they become a focal point for other gay boys navigating coming out, first love, and discrimination.

Why I'd recommend this book: This book both tragic and hopeful but, ultimately, optimism wins out. The look into the past and future of the queer community feels especially relevant to the increasing challenges the queer community have been facing recently. This book can provide a spark of hope for many queer young people.

I'm recommending queer books for each day of pride. If you want recommendations for any specific genres/rep, then let me know :)

Make more than dust.

David Levithan, from Two Boys Kissing

PEN America and Penguin Random House are suing Florida over book bans.

Authors involved in the lawsuit are LGBTQIA writers such as George M. Johnson (All Boys Aren't Blue), Kyle Lukoff (Too Bright to See), and David Levithan (Two Boys Kissing) , as well as Ashley Hope Perez (Out of Darkness) whose historical YA is about a segregated town in Texas. Two parents from the district are also participating in the lawsuit.

There has been a concerted effort across America to ban books by queer and BIPOC authors by calling them "pornographic."

so I went to the ER for ✨suicidal thoughts✨ again & they sent me home the next day but literally it was just bc I read two boys kissing & got really happy abt it

Day 5: JOMPBPC: High Fantasy

I didn't know what to do for this prompt, so I took a photo of this wonderful book! 💙

"Pensamos nos garotos que beijamos, nos garotos com quem transamos, nos garotos que amamos, nos garotos que não retribuíram nosso amor, nos garotos que estavam conosco no final, nos garotos que estavam conosco depois do final. O amor é tão doloroso; como podemos desejar para alguém? O amor é tão essencial; como podemos atrapalhar o progresso dele? (David Levithan)

this one's for you, edwin paine

Review of Two Boys Kissing

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

CW: Discussion of Death, Discussion of Suicide, Discussion of Homophobia, Discussion of Transphobia, Underage Drug Use, Drug Use, Violence, Racism, Homophobia, Unhelpful Cops, Serious Injury, Discussion of AIDS (both physically and socially), Swearing, Slurs, Described Hook-Up, Negative Body Image Thoughts, Fainting, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Mob Mentality

5/5

When I put Two Boys Kissing on my TBR list way back in 2020, I never expected the book to be as intense as it is. I think I put it off so long because I thought it would be kind of boring. I was way off! I have never read a David Levithan book before, which is surprising considering that he is Jewish and gay. I have seen some of the movie adaptions of his books, but I had no basis for what his writing would be like. I was blown away by this book. I am so glad that I finally read it.

Two Boys Kissing centers around two gay teen boys that are trying to set the record for longest kiss. They have to remain standing and their lips have to remain touching. These boys, their family and friends, and the town they're in go through a lot during the time it takes them to kiss. Told in Greek-chorus style by the ghosts of the queer people who died from AIDS, we get a glimpse of some pivotal days in the characters' lives. We experience some heartwarming and some devastating moments. As the ghosts are talking to us, we are a part of the story.

As I mentioned above, I didn't expect Two Boys Kissing to be so intense. This really is the fault of the blurb, so I hope I have provided a more transparent one here. This is the kind of book to make the audience cry while trying to uplift the readers. As the collective of ghosts telling the story have intentions, preferences, and a personality, the story is told in an order that makes sense. It's told with a steady pace and poetically. However, it does not shy away from the hard stuff. Pain and suffering are explored thoroughly. One character is dealing with a violent father and an enveloping depression. Another is throwing himself into helping his friends kiss after he was attacked. A third is dealing with his emotions towards his bullies. The book covers topics like suicide, AIDS, transphobia, homophobia, systematic oppression, and more. I had to take breaks while reading, and it's okay if you do too. Always read with self care in mind.

Although the record for longest kiss has since been broken by a man/woman couple, Levithan was inspired by real events. There were two college boys that broke the record at a longer time than the two in this novel. It had never been broken/set by a same-gender pair before. Levithan wanted to write a multigenerational story for a queer audience. Anyone can read the story, but it's a conversation between the queer people of the past and the queer people of the future about the queer people of the present (or 2012, when the book was being written). I'm writing this a decade later, but it's still so important to have gay and queer representation. Some things have changed for the better, but there are new bad things too. Unfortunately, it's clear that it's not completely safe yet for the queer community to just exist. We must continue the work to make it safer for future generations. As Two Boys Kissing shows, representation can go a long way.

The next time you have the emotional energy to read a heavy book, consider Levithan's Two Boys Kissing. It's well written and has aged beautifully in the 10 years since it was published. Read carefully, but please give it a go!

Crying in single

Two man falling in love in dystopian world.

Monsters are everywhere and they fight for survival.

Will they win or lose?

how does this keep happening

boys :]

I think queer stories would be better if people stopped assuming that queer representation hinges on if two characters are romantically involved at all. Like the moment you accept characters as being queer without needing romance to prove said queerness then i think we'd find ourselves with a lot more unique, nuanced, and interesting queer stories. but by limiting queerness to only romance you are stifling queer stories.

had a(nother) nightmare

konig is very good for ghost and soap in the soapbox saga finale <3

read the full comic (29 pages) on patreon!