Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Two Boys Kissing

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

44 reviews

capyval's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I like the way this book was written, but sometimes it sounded too melodramatic. Still, I think Levithan's writing is superb and a pleasure to read.

One big warning, though, if you are sensitive to descriptions of homophobia you will have a hard time with this book, and the same goes if AIDS is something that triggers you. Approach this book cautiously, because it has a lot of positive things on it, but also many sad parts

Content Warnings

mbrogs2024's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is my second time reading this, and I opted to listen to it this time. Which was an excellent choice! David Levithan is such a poetic writer, hitting such strong emotional beats in this book. And in light of so many kids and YA LGBTQ+ books getting silenced, the narration lens just hits so much harder. The older queer generation is imagining a world where the younger queer generation gets to be free. Or at least, freer than they were. And yes, that's the case in some instances. But it's also not the case as people are continuously trying to silence their voices.

This just makes me think about the fact that there was an article I read in the last year or so that said that we're in a sort of golden age for queer literature. Could that be the case? Maybe, I don't much pay attention to any sort of adult publishing market. But even if it is--queer literature has still been a major target in the rash of book bans that have been happening in the US over the last 4ish years. Not the only target, but you know. Definitely a major one. And it's books like this they want to get rid of; books that show queer teens that they're not alone. That show how hard it can be to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community. And I don't much think we're in a golden era of queer literature when there is a whole audience of queer books getting silenced.

Also: David Levithan has been publishing queer YA books for years. Since the early 2000s. Way before there was a boom in LGBTQ+ YA publishing (which still needs work!). And I'm pretty sure he's championed for way more queer books as an editor. I've read almost all of his books and it's his prose that always hits home for me. He's got a knack for writing emotional, poetic lines. Seriously.

Anyway, that was a bit of a rant, my apologies. But this book is lovely. It will spark excellent discussion at our Banned Book Club. And I'm glad I got to visit it again.

Content Warnings