Product Description

This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance.

When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it. The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.

This is a happy-meaningful romantic comedy about finding love, losing love, and doing what it takes to get love back in a crazy-wonderful world.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103150 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-10
• Released on: 2005-05-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780375832994
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
In this delightful young adult novel for readers 12 and up, high school sophomore Paul says, "There isn’t really a gay scene or a straight scene in our town. They got all mixed up a while back, which I think is for the best." And, as he observes at the end of the story, "It's a wonderful world." Paul has both gay and straight friends, and they all hang out together at terrific bookstores and concerts, and advise one another on the sometimes troubled progress of their various romances. Paul is smitten with Noah, and they are beginning a serious relationship when Kyle, Paul’s ex, complicates things by deciding that all is forgiven. Joni is going out with Chuck, who dominates her, much to her friends' disapproval. Tony’s conservative parents refuse to acknowledge that he is gay, so the others must bone up on Bible verses all week so they can pretend Saturday night is a study group. And then there's Infinite Darlene, football quarterback and Homecoming Queen, who deserves a whole romance novel of her own. Life in their town is gloriously accepting of differences and only occasionally verges on magic realism, in this first novel in which same sex preference is not the problem. --Patty Campbell

From Publishers Weekly
Levithan's groundbreaking novel—set in an idealized high school where kids are free to express themselves without repercussions or embarrassment—whisks listeners into a unique teen scene via the work of this cast of young actors. Though Robideau sometimes sounds melodramatic, and the brief characterization of "young Paul" in flashback is grating, these performers eventually gel into an effortless give-and-take rhythm. As Paul explores his feelings for new crush Noah, listeners meet a crew of memorable characters both gay and straight, wild and wallflower that include the football team's drag queen quarterback (played to comic effect by Joey Panek). Suffused with humor and heart, this recording is bound to get listeners thinking about what it means to just be yourself and truly embrace tolerance. In a bonus track, three of the actors and artistic director Daniel Bostick compare their own high school experience to the one in the book. Ages 12-up. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up-High school sophomore Paul lives in a present-day gaytopia, where boys come out of the closet to become class president, and the Gay-Straight Alliance has more members than the football team. The cheerleaders ride Harleys, and the cross-dressing homecoming queen is also the star quarterback. Paul meets artistic Noah in the bookstore. They pass notes rife with meaningful detail; paint in Noah's psychedelic, art-covered room; and fall in sweet, realistic teenage love, unencumbered by gay bashing, sexual-identity crises, and parental rejection. With these real-world plot constraints removed, the narrative is driven completely by colorful, literate characters at their unfettered best. Paul is the cerebral teen's dream narrator-reflective and insightful, occasionally snarky, and consistently hilarious. Levithan's whimsical, energetic prose and surreal setting draw comparisons to Weetzie Bat-era Francesca Lia Block. The sharp humor and thoughtful clarity of the narration are on par with those in Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower (MTV, 1999) and Ellen Wittlinger's Hard Love (S & S, 1999). Levithan's prophecy of a hate-free world in which everyone loves without persecution makes this a provocative and important read for all young adults, gay or straight.
Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Reader meets book, reader falls in love with book...
Let me start by saying that I am not a big fan of most gay fiction. Personally, I'm tired of stories which insist on revolving around either coming out or AIDS, the two topics every author in the field seems determined to address if only to exorcise their own personal demons. Well, David Levithan either dealt with those issues long ago or has, like me, had quite enough of the pontification and opted to take a different route by actually creating a novel that is entertaining! There's no denying that to enter Livithan's world, one must be prepared to suspend your disbelief for a while. It can, at first, be jarring to discover that these high schoolers live in a world where being gay is not only normal and accepted but, for the most part, not even something worth giving much thought to. But oh, what rich and wonderful characters populate the halls of Levithan's high school. Would that the world could actually be filled with the charming, witty, soulful creatures the author has created. If we lived in so perfect a world, Levithan's work would be required reading in every classroom, perhaps allowing everyone to see that love is love, no matter with whom it is shared. Want a read that will leave you charmed and - dare I say it? - swooning? Pick this up immediately. Better yet, pick up two copies, because this is the kind of book you'll want to share with friends, although you won't even consider letting your copy stray far from home which is, after all, where the heart lives.

A Different Place, a Different Town, and Different Time.
Pure and simple this book is a fantasy book. It is a book that takes every gay or lesbian "what-if-my-school-was-like" and rolls it all up into one very engaging and humourus story.

In the center of everything there is 15-year-old Paul. Has has known that he was gay every since kindergarden when his teacher told him so. But where Paul lives it is not only acceptable to be gay, but most of the town is. As we follow Paul throughout the turbulent month of November, he takes as on an incredible journey of friendship, self-discovery, and acceptance.

This book reads like Gilmore Girls on Steroids... At one moment, you can't help but to drop the book because you are laughing so hard, the next moment your face turns all red and your excited, and the next page your starting to tear up. The characters are real, yet they may feel like cartoons at times: Infinite Darlene ('nuf said if you read the book).

This is a wonderful book, and a great read for anybody. But I do have to tell that it is a fantasy... it is what people would hope the world will be like, but to contrast this "whimsical" place (as the author discribes it), there is a neighboring town, and is not very libral, and is where much of the acceptance plays a part.

THE BEST GAY NOVEL FOR TEENS TO BE PUBLISHED YET
This was the first gay novel that I ever read--I mush tell you that it was right around the same time I came out and was looking for something to relate to. Well, one morning me and two of my friends wore in the library at my high school ( I was a freshman) and I was scanning the shelf's when I came about this. After my friends finally persuaded me to check it out, I did. Im so glad that they did, becouse i didn't have the balls to. I even had a load of interests about it. So that morning I began to read it and 'bout two weeks later I finished it. WOW. I loved it so much. Since then I've read lots of other gay teen novels but haven't quite been able to find a book to stand up to its wit and humor, it love, and its originality. The only book that can acculy stand next to it is Brent Hartinger's two out of four gay high school book series: Geography Club and The Order Of Poison oak. But there still a long way from this novel. It has a reality of its own.
NOTE:who ever is looking for novel to relate too like struggles, homophobia and other, this is not it. Sadly its pure fantasy.

Mr. Levithan is an editor at knopf who was looking for the "Dream Novel" to publish. Well after a long time of waiting he decided to write his own DREAM NOVEL. This is it.

Hopefully one day it won't be jest fantasy, it'll be a realty for all who will grow up with this novel. I hope one day it will be like this in all high schools.

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