Kudos to Full Cast Audio

The first time I read David Levithan's "Boy Meets Boy," I was immediately drawn in by his stealthful command of language and how effortlessly he gave the voices of his characters meter and life.

Like many people who fear seeing a favorite book turned into a movie, I approached this recording with some hesitation. It's one thing for a narrator to simply read a book. It's another for actors to take on the roles of the characters. How would this match up with how I heard the characters in my head?

I was IN NO WAY disappointed. The performers did a remarkable job of capturing the nuances of the characters (or, at least how I had imagined them). I also like the interspersal of music which seemed so organic to the material.

This production is well worth a listen and I'll certainly be looking for other Full Cast Audio books in the future.

14 people found this helpful

A decent Vacation Read

As a 44 y/o gay man, I found this a pleasant, if somewhat juvenile fantasy. I guess if I were still a 15 y/o high school student, this might be instrumental to my escapism. In the 70's, when I was there, of course there was no such thing. If you're still trapped in Rural American and desperate for anything that's out there, this certainly fits the bill.

I bought it for the same reason that I buy my kids overpriced candy bars to send the Band to wherever -- it supports a good cause (in this case, gay fiction), and I want to see more of it especially on Audible.

It's a pleasant book to listen to, a "vacation read" that you can occasionally doze off during without missing much of the plot (at least, not so much that you're lost 20 minutes later). It's somewhat forgettable, though, in that I never invested in any of the characters or felt especially bonded to them.

In short, I probably won't ever listen to it again, but it was OK.

11 people found this helpful

A wonderful and touching book

Boy Meets Boy is a sweet, funny and moving story set in the Sophmore year of the protagonist, Paul. Paul likes Noah and Noah likes Paul, but everything conspires to try and keep the two apart.

David Levithan has written a story that manages, in the most pleasing way to paint a picture of the world as it should be.

The recording on Audible is a "full cast" production with different actors for each character; the recoding is extremely well done and engaging.

This is a wonderful book that will appeal to both young and old. I loved and I highly recommend it.

11 people found this helpful

World for Gays

Growing up as a homosexual in high school, I know how difficult it can be being openly gay around people who just don't understand. In Boy Meets Boy, David Levithan creates a world that all homosexuals dream about in high school. A place where we can be open about our feelings and honest with each other. A world that everyone accepts everyone else regardless of that persons feelings or decisions. Plus, we all think about finding our true love and David creates that world where that dream can come true; regardless if you are looking for a man or a woman. We realize that our dreams can come true if we just go after them. Boy Meets Boy was a really awsome book that allowed me to think back to my high school days and dream that they were different than what they were. But if they had been, I probably wouldn't be the person that I am today.

5 people found this helpful

A Wonderful Get Away.

I loved this book. Yeah it can be corny sometimes, and lets faces the school that Mr. Levithan wrote about in his book is truly fiction in this day in age. But it provided me and still provides me every time I read it with a since of hope and just an all around good feeling inside. I love the Characters, and the story line. I hope one day the place that Mr. Levithan writes about can be a real one and if and when that day comes I want to be apart of it.

Please know i do not write many reviews. Only one other in the 3 1/2 years that i have been an Audible member. So if i took the time to write this, that means this book is well worth it.

7 people found this helpful

A Resplendent Novel Beautifully Performed

David Levithan's novel Boy Meets Boy simply imagines what life would be like in an American suburb for high school students if there was no homophobia. It is a novel of heightened love, wonder, moral responsibility, grief,and transformation. In other words, it contains all the experiences that encompass the sentimental education of youth. The full cast audio family performs the novel with taste and style. As a theologian and Christian pastoral counselor, I didn't find any moral relativism in the text. The protagonist Paul, is a deeply moral young man, deeply concerned about right action and responsibility toward those he loves. If a reader has a problem with gay folks embracing their sexuality with joy, that person will have a problem with the book. But then, I've always seen a world without prejudice and unnecessary shame as the goal of divine immanence and true religion. A world in which we are accountable to God in our best selves, rather than to the shame and fear foisted on us by unnecessary fundamentalisms. David Levithan describes such a world, and one day, if we are blessed, we may find ourselves living in it. It was good, however, to visit it through such an excellent production. I unreservedly recommend it.

51 people found this helpful

adorable

i loved this book, i just wanted to hug all the characters. i don't think there's anything wrong with imagining a world where the football stars and trannies get along. the tough reality of being a gay teen in some places is definitely still in there with one of the characters. and for the record, i'm a girl who went to prom with a girl and had no problems - this book is nowhere near total fantasy as implied by some reviewers.

2 people found this helpful

Idealistic Approach to 'How it Should Be'

Every young adult should read this book - straight, gay, or still figuring it out. As I read the book, I kept thinking 'wow - if only my high school experience could've been like this.' Yes, it's very idealistic and often ignores the real issues and prejudices that challenge today's youth, but I welcomed its refreshing approach of assuming that we live in a much more enlightened and accepting world than we do.

6 people found this helpful

Teen angst in an It Gets Better world

Any additional comments?

I think every generation of LGBT individuals who are discovering themselves find something -- a movie, a book, an event, etc. -- that defines the journey they have started. I think for many young people who are coming to terms with their sexuality today, this book might very well be that touchstone. "The Front Runner" by Patricia Nell Warren was that story for me, clearly from a very different generation. Still, it is oddly satisfying that so many of the themes remain: the desire for honesty, strong relationships, and love that occurs without any costs to others.

Given my age - I'm sadly entering what is clearly turning out to be a "grumpy old man" stage of life - the events and situations in the story aren't entirely relatable to me anymore, but I do believe they will strike a chord with others, for which I am grateful. A very strong lead narrator definitely elevates the book, although I could have done without some of the more histrionic production affects (Charlie Brown-esque musical interludes, character thoughts voiced in a tunnel-like effect, multiple actors voicing comments in unison).

As for the story, in which the broad spectrum of sexuality and gender seems common-place, I was uneasy with what could easily be interpreted as LGBT fantasy hopped up on Skittles. It seemed a bit dismissive of the very real struggles so many youth continue to have, despite the great gains that have been made over the past few decades. Then again, perhaps we all need that dreamlike paradise to which we can escape the brutal realities we might be facing. I do know that I was left hoping that such a place and time will exist someday, in which teen angst and amped-up drama continue, but sexuality and gender are only side notes.

1 person found this helpful

Excellent Feel-Good Adventure

The innocence and beauty of young romance and high school life/angst are so very well communicated by both the words and the narration. This book leaves the reader/listener with a hopeful happiness. A fun, excellent experience. Take the ride! You'll be glad you did.

1 person found this helpful