6/28/2023 0 Comments Two Boys Kissing by David LevithanThe voices from the past give contextual relevance to the events taking place in the present, and you can feel the collective sorrow, joy and hope in their words. I remember the early days of the AIDS pandemic so that colored my reading experience and made it hit home all the more. The ghost narrators see the familiar and unfamiliar in the world of today’s gay teens, from bullying and unaccepting parents, to gay proms and the rally of support of two boys kissing. Cooper’s story probably got to me the most, and like the narrators of the book I wanted to reach out and help him through his crisis. Each person has their ups and downs over the course of the book, and there are examples of good and bad parenting and coming out experiences. We follow several teen boys throughout the book: The two boys kissing are exes Harry and Craig, Neil and Peter are in a long-term relationship, transgendered Avery meets Ryan, and Cooper is getting lost in the digital dating world. The backdrop of the two boys kissing for the Guinness Book of World Records is the link that binds the characters together. A series of character vignettes intersect to show the contrast between then and now- how things have changed and how they have remained the same. It’s narrated by the spirits of gay men who died of AIDS and watch and wonder over the current generation of gay males. Two Boys Kissing is a powerful book with a unique voice.
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