One of my New Faves of 2014

It's 11:43...way past my bedtime, and I'm writing a book review, which I hardly ever do anymore because there are so many books and so little time. I just go on Goodreads, assign stars, mark as read, and move on to the next one in the pile.

But I must write about this book.

I listened to most of it while driving to and from College Station, and it took my breath away. The fact that the audio book is read by the author, David Levithan, makes it even more magical. There is something spellbinding about listening to an author read his own work.Especially a work like this.

I met David Levithan at TLA and stood in his VERY LONG line to have him sign a copy of this book for a dear friend of mine. Now that I've finished this book, I love David even more.

I finished reading the last 10% tonight (thank you, trusty Kindle). And I must say that I am PROUD of the fact that I checked out both the audio and e-book versions from my school district's digital library. And I will buy a copy to put on our library shelves.

Unfortunately, some librarians will "self-censor" and not put it on their shelves out of fear and possibly judgement, which is NOT OUR JOB as librarians. This book is well-reviewed, well-written, and will save lives. It's won awards. END. OF. STORY.

I won't give a long summary because you can read it on Amazon. The title pretty much says it all: It's about two boys kissing. For the world record. Told through the eyes of a Greek Chorus of gay men who lost their lives to AIDS. But it's about SO MUCH MORE than that. It's about life, love, fear, acceptance, self-loathing, and truth.

If the title of this book makes you uncomfortable, READ IT. If the cover of this book makes you squirm, READ IT. Please.

It's a breath-taking, heartbreaking, beauty of a book. READ IT. And hand it to a teen you know. Because there are countless teens who need to read a book like this to show them that they are NOT ALONE. And it DOES GET BETTER.

Three of my favorite quotes out of many:

"There is the hope that the world will get less stupid, less arbitrary, as time goes on. The good thing about human progress is that it tends to move in one direction, and even a fool who looks at the difference between a hundred years ago and now can see which direction that is. Moves like an arrow, feels like an equal sign." 

"There are so many minutes and hours and days we spend taking life for granted, not feeling it so much as going along with it. But then there are moments like this, when the aliveness of life is crystalline, palpable, undeniable. It is the ultimate buoy against drowning. It is the ever-saving grace." 

"There are all these moments you don't think you will survive. And then you survive." 

Recently, there was a campaign on Twitter called #weneeddiversebooks. This book perfectly illustrates why we need books about ALL THE THINGS:

Books are windows; books are mirrors; books change minds; books save lives.