What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Craig and Harry want to set the world's record for the longest kiss. Peter and Neil are a couple who are going through normal ups and downs in their relationship. Avery and Ryan have just met, and Cooper is alone and depressed. Snapshots of the lives of each boy are described.
What I think (in 250 words or fewer): First of all, this book was one of the most challenged books of 2016, and a lot of the hype was caused by its cover, which is a picture of . . . two boys kissing. Duh. What else should be on the cover? Oh my goodness, teenagers will discover that gay people exist by looking at the cover even if they don't read the book!!!!
I'm clutching my pearls, guys, for real.
Anyway, now I'm going to start my actual review: I loved this beautifully poetic book. The narrators were "the generation before"--they were the ghosts of the men who died of AIDS during the epidemic in the 1980s. They acted as guardian angels of sorts, and definitely as the Greek chorus of the story, but could not interfere with the lives of the boys they observed.
Almost every observation they made was written so beautifully, I had to quit putting sticky notes on the pages to mark my favorite quotes, lest I have notes on every page.
The story tells only a couple days of the boys' lives. Ryan and Avery are the most hopeful; Craig and Harry the most courageous; Neil and Peter the most mundane. And if you can read Cooper's story without crying, you are made of stronger stuff than I.
Many issues (homophobia, supportive/unsupportive parents, suicide, and transgender, among others) are touched upon in this book, but the narrators remind the readers that life is getting better and will continue to get better in future generations.
This book is on the 2014 Rainbow Book List
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. This was just a good book, and I highly recommend you read it.
My favorite quotes: (this book is full of memorable quotes, but I managed to pick 4 somehow)
- "We were once like you, only our world wasn't like yours. You have no idea how close to death you came. A generation or two earlier, you might be here with us. We resent you. You astonish us" (hardback edition, pg. 2).
- "But that's all bad dates are: short stories. Good first dates are more than short stories. They are first chapters. On a good first date, everything is springtime" (pg. 30).
- "We want to shake him. We want to tell him what we learned from blunt experience: while you have to listen to the first message, it's the most recent message that matters the most. Tempers can calm. Rage can wear itself out. Sense can return" (pg. 95).
- "Every single one of us wishes our family had acted like our family, that even when we found a new family, we hadn't had to leave the other one behind. Every single one of us would have loved to have been loved unconditionally by our parents" (pg. 135).
Other reviews: The Guardian and The Denver Post
This book is available in the Greensboro Public Library.
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