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The Hilarious and Heartfelt Stories of David Levithan
There are important books—books everyone should read because of what they teach us about ourselves and others. There are entertaining books—books we delight in reading because they’re so compelling and fun. And then there are books that somehow manage to be both important and entertaining, books like those written by David Levithan.
Through his own writing and his work as editorial director at Scholastic, Levithan has created a safe space for any reader who has ever felt unsure of where he belongs. He has shown readers it’s more than okay to be different, that everyone is different, and that kindness is the path to happiness.
Levithan’s true talent lies in taking the most complex of ideas—about love, identity, and the universe—and distilling them into beautiful prose you want to read over and over and over again. Whether his narrator is a generation of gay men, as in Two Boys Kissing, or a nameless entity who speaks with a wisdom achieved from living thousands of lives, as in Every Day, Levithan’s work is filled with brutal honesty about what it means to grow up and fall in love.
His books are perfect for fans of Lauren Oliver, Libba Bray, and Stephen Chbosky, but his unique story structures and diverse narrators come together into something entirely new, with realistic characters, relevant problems, and empathy that pours off the page. He has collaborated with bestselling authors Rachel Cohn (three times), John Green, and Andrea Cremer, and his short stories have appeared in anthologies including My True Lave Gave to Me and Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd. Now that Levithan’s latest book, Hold Me Closer, has hit the shelves, it’s the perfect time to treat yourself to a reading binge. Here’s where to start.
Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story
In this innovative novel written in the form of a musical, Levithan returns to the world crafted in Will Grayson, Will Grayson, his 2011 collaboration with John Green. In this story, Will Grayson’s scene-stealing best friend, Tiny Cooper, answers all our prayers by grabbing the spotlight and turning it firmly in his direction. Over the course of his loud and spectacular autobiographical musical, rife with showstopping lyrics and hilarious stage directions, Tiny tells his story from his birth to coming out to his parade of exes, examining love, heartbreak, and friendship along the way. If you loved Tiny Cooper, this book is obviously for you, but it also stands alone as the life-affirming story of one queer teenager’s quest for love and meaning. Then, after you finish, maybe you can get started putting music to Tiny’s words. This is a show the world needs to see.
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Will Grayson, Will Grayson (cowritten with John Green)
When Will Grayson crosses paths with another guy named Will Grayson on a cold Chicago night, their lives intersect in unexpected ways, leading to lasting friendships and new love. While one Will Grayson just wants to shut up and not care, the other desperately wants someone to talk to and care about. In alternating chapters, we learn about the two teens’ struggles with love, high school, friendship, and—most importantly—their friend Tiny Cooper’s impending musical. The novel is full of laughs and heart, and the result is just so wonderfully enjoyable it’s hard to feel anything but love after reading it.
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Every Day
This exploration of identity and the true inner self centers around A, a 16-year-old being who wakes up every day in a new body. Whether that body is male or female, black or white, gay or straight, A experiences what its usual tenant would experience, complete with basic access to the person’s memories. A’s travels from body to body amount to a master course in empathy and the human condition. It’s a lonely life, though A has grown accustomed to it…that is, until A meets Rhiannon, a girl who makes A long for things A can’t have—like a permanent body or a permanent life. At times funny and always smart, Every Day crushes assumptions about love, gender, and sexuality.
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Two Boys Kissing
Just as the title suggests, two boys kissing play a central part in this uplifting and refreshing tale of identity and community. The book takes place on a high school lawn, where two 17-year-olds try to break a world record for the longest kiss at a 32-hour kissathon. Narrated in first-person plural from the collective voice of a generation of gay men lost to AIDS, the novel’s main duo share the spotlight as other characters move in and out of the narrative, deepening the community feel of the tale. Each character shines brightly for his own reasons, and the total result is as inspiring as it is groundbreaking.
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