Book Thoughts: Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

New York Times  bestselling author David Levithan tells the based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record—all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS. While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term relationships, coming out, navigating gender identity, and falling deeper into the digital rabbit hole of gay hookup sites—all while the kissing former couple tries to figure out their own feelings for each other.

I was in the middle of a few fantasy novels when I picked up this book. It had been sitting in my kindle for a while now and I decided I needed a break from magic. Well, I failed myself there because damned if this book isn't magic. This is my very first taste of David Levithan's writing style and wow was I not disappointed. He had been recommended by more than one trusted reviewer and now I wish I hadn't waited so long to dive in. 

The book follows a few characters and at first it was a tad difficult to keep track. After a couple chapters though everyone had such different stories it became easy to differentiate. In addition, there is the narration by the "greek chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS" which again takes some getting used to. Aside from the initial style shock, this book was filled with wonderful and I flew through it. David Levithan has the ability to make you feel all the feelings with the beautiful language in this book. 

Highly recommended if your looking to add more LGBTQ representation to your shelves. I will say that as a straight woman there were plenty of moments where I felt the I am not the target audience vibes but in many ways that adds to the appeal. I don't seek out only books that are about people exactly like me (goodness know I would never read were that the case) and neither should anyone. 

Let me know if you've read this book or have it on your wish list in the comments!