It doesn’t take long for a reader of David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy to realize that the setting of the book is in a reality not quite our own. There are some very obvious clues tot his fact– such as the fact that a kindergarten teacher writes “Paul is definitely gay” on the main character’s report card, and the fact that the school’s most popular student is a fabulous drag queen (and football quarterback) Infinite Darlene, but there are other subtle differences that, depending on your ideas as a reader, can either immerse you in the new world or question its legitimacy. While at times, I personally found Levithan’s reality to be charming and a way to tell a certain story, I was occasionally jarred by what I saw as inconsistencies or unnecessary choices.

The most obvious example of such dissonance is the existence of homophobia in the novel. Despite the high school being an incredibly accepting place, with a huge variety of sexualities acknowledged and normalized, there are still certain characters, such as Chuck and Ted, who seem to be straight out of an anti-gay bullying tv special. Tony’s parents are also clearly coded as fundamentalist Christians and pressure him for what they see as a sinful lifestyle. These two attitudes somehow completely coexist in this world, with very little significant interaction or clash between the two– making me suspect that these were simply traits meant to label certain characters as bad or good rather than as meaningful world-building. On a much more petty note, we also run into the consistent problem of an adult writing for a teen, which includes the inclusion of “Personal Jesus” as a rally song for a Homecoming dance and an ex-boyfriend obsessed with Molly Ringwald. All of these little quirks do give the book a cute sale and different flair, but there are some points that have the potential to stop the reader’s immersion– a dangerous game for an author, especially one of young adult fiction.