Some time ago, I decided that I absolutely had to read a book written solely by David Levithan, for two reasons: a) I read a book solely by Rachel Cohn, and I didn't think it was fair that I hadn't read a book of his, and b) his protagonist would more than likely be a guy, and gay on top of that, thus - me broadening my reading horizens. 


This was part of my graduation present for me (the other half being Toy Monster - review to come).  It felt so good to check this off my Amazon Wish List.

Sophomore Paul has a lot of interesting friends.  There's Tony, who can't come out to his uber-religious parents; Joni, who takes crap from no one, even when all her friends can't stand her awful new b.f.; Infinite Darlene, fab football player and in the running for homecoming queen; and finally Noah, the new guy at school who seems to be as interested in Paul as Paul is in him.  The book basically chronicles Paul and Noah's budding relationship: first meeting, first flirtation, first date, bonding, first kiss, first fight - complicated by Paul's ex Kyle, who may want to get back together (or may just be majorly confused).  But before Paul can sort everything out, he needs to figure out what he wants, what he doesn't want, and what he can't control.

This book is cuter than Prama.  Most vivid are the scenes with Paul and Noah, whose chemistry together nearly leaps off the page.  Levithan succeeds at creating a unique yet realistic relationship, and I enjoyed watching it unfold.  I also loved Infinite Darlene, who is a crossdressing boy who prefers to be referred to with the female set of pronouns, which Paul and his friends do without any explanation. (To a girl who has never really left the state of Kansas, this was maybe slightly confusing.) Paul's friendship with Tony was adorable - smartly and sweetly written.  There was a lot of drama provided by Tony's predicument, and a hug at the wrong place and wrong time leads to several different climaxes.  I wanted to like Joni, but she was so blinded by her b.f. Chuck - whose narrow-mindedness is proven when he refers to Infinite Darlene as "he" - and there was no real reason as to why she likes him.  Noah is so great I think I have a crush on him, and he's a gay fictional character.

It surprised me that in this school and town, there are many people who are gay or bi.  Seriously, the way Paul describes growing up in his town makes it sound like some alternate universe (remember: Kansas).  Or is that what Manhattan, NY is?  Anyway, I rolled with it since Levithan makes it so believable.  Besides, it just sounds cool.

Rating: 4.5 secret painting rooms out of 5.