Two Boys Kissing Paperback – May 12, 2015

“The first sentence of the truth is always the hardest. Each of us had a first sentence, and most of us found the strength to say it out loud to someone who deserved to hear it. What we hoped, and what we found, was that the second sentence of the truth is always easier than the first, and the third sentence is even easier than that. Suddenly you are speaking the truth in paragraphs, in pages. The fear, the nervousness, is still there, but it is joined by a new confidence. All along, you've used the first sentence as a lock. But now you find that it's the key.”Every now and then I read a book that I just know will stick with me forever. When I find one of these special books, I want every person I know – and even ones I don't – to read it. That was definitely the case with Two Boys Kissing. This book was truly something special and I can't recommend it highly enough.“If you let the world in, you open yourself up to the world. Even if the world doesn't know that you're there.”I read the audiobook version, which I was pleasantly surprised to find was narrated by the author himself. The book itself was powerful, but having the author read his own words made it that much more so. There's something about listening to an author reading their own words and realizing how much of themselves they put into the characters and the story, that made this one even more powerful and special then it would have been with a different narrator. You could hear his passion for the story in each word he spoke. And those words? They were beautiful and honest. The only drawback of reading this one in audiobook format is that there's no way to highlight the beautiful passages... and there were a lot of them. Had I read this in eBook format, I'd have highlighted half the book. I had to go seek out quotes on Goodreads.“...he hopes that maybe it'll make people a little less scared of two boys kissing than they were before, and a little more welcoming to the idea that all people are, in fact, born equal, no matter who they kiss or screw, no matter what dreams they have or love they give.”Two Boys Kissing is inspired by a true story. Many of them, actually. While it's true the book mostly centers around Harry and Craig's endeavor to break the Guinness World Record for the longest kiss, there are several other characters whose stories are every bit as important to this book. Harry and Craig's bold gesture has a huge impact on these other characters who are attempting to navigate tricky situations on their own.“Love is so painful, how could you ever wish it on anybody? And love is so essential, how could you ever stand in its way?”This book was gorgeous and thought-provoking. I know it will stick with me for a very, very long time. It moved me to tears, made me appreciate the struggle of my gay friends, and most of all, made me realize that while progress has undeniably been made, there's still so much more left to achieve. I've recently read that some parents are petitioning schools to remove this book from their libraries. Now, I'm not going to get on my soapbox on this, but all I can say is that I hope that while the parents aren't open-minded enough to give this book a shot, that the school officials will take a few hours and read this beautiful, powerful book and realize taking it out of libraries would do more harm than good, by far.“You can give words, but you can't take them. And when words are given, that is when they are shared. We remember what that was like. Words so real they were almost tangible. There are conversations you remember, for certain. But more than that, there is the sensation of conversation. You will remember that, even when the precise words begin to blur.”I wasn't sure how the Greek Chorus of gay men would work in this book. It took a little bit of time for me to fully embrace it, but it wasn't long before it became one of my favorite things about this book. Their voices were so honest and it was incredibly moving listening to their thoughts on the events taking place in current day, as compared to their struggles. I got entirely wrapped up in each individual character's story, though I don't think any moved me more than Cooper's. His voice – and the rest of the voices – were so authentic and believable. I've listened to friends talk about some of the same struggles and I think that's what made this book so personal to me."We know that some of you are still scared. We know that some of you are still silent. Just because it's better now doesn't mean that it's always good.”There's not one thing I would change about this book, except to maybe make it longer. The world needs more books like this, more writers like David Levithan. This was an emotional and hopeful read. We've come a long way, but there's still so much further to come.“We do not start as dust. We do not end as dust. We make more than dust. That's all we ask of you. Make more than dust.”

Wow . . . this book. There are not enough words to describe how incredibly beautiful this book is. I do believe it is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. This book is about way more than two boys attempting to break a record for longest kiss. It is about coming to terms with who you are, it's about falling in love, it's about family and friendship and so much more. Yeah, I am going to be a sap over this book. I'm not even sorry.I loved every single character in this book. There were so many different types of relationships. There were Peter and Neil, who have been together for several months. They are in love and spend all of their time together. Neil's parents know he is gay, but never ever talk about it. The kiss between Harry and Craig forces that important conversation in a very touching scene. That was one of many scenes that brought tears to my eyes. Then there are Ryan and Avery, who meet at a gay prom. Avery is transgendered and struggles with when to tell Ryan and whether their relationship will continue once he does. Then there is Tariq, a gay black kid who gets beaten up because he is gay. It is that story that prompts Harry and Craig to do this. They don't know Tariq well until they learned of his assault. Then they realized how easily that could happen to any of them and they become closer. Harry and Craig do this test and stream it online, partly to show everyone that there is nothing wrong with two boys kissing. Finally, there is Cooper. Ahhh, Cooper . . . the most heartbreaking of them all. No one knows Cooper is gay, no one except the men he chats with online. He starts chats with older men in gay chat rooms, lying about his age and having very sexually explicit conversations. These men are the only ones he feels he can be honest with and he even lies to them. But then his father finds out about these chat conversations and I just got so angry and so sad. Cooper's father called him horrible names and even hit him. Then Connor runs away and becomes suicidal. I won't give away whether he actually commits suicide or not, but I will say that I think I cried more for his character than any of them.Now I have no idea how David Levithan was able to so beautifully describe Harry and Craig's kisses for pages and pages, but somehow he did. It wasn't just about the physical act of kissing though. There was so much communicated between these boys without ever saying a word. And can I just talk about the narration? You wouldn't think that narration by a group of men would be very good, but it just worked. Everything about this book just worked for me. The ending was just perfect. With everything that happened with all of the relationships, there needed to be a good conclusion and there was. The conclusion was so hopeful and had so much meaning. And now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go and devour everything David Levithan has ever written.Notable Quotes:"Love is so painful, how could you wish it on anybody? And love is so essential, how could you ever stand in its way?""We wish we could show you the world as it sleeps. Then you'd never have any doubt about how similar, how trusting, how astounding and vulnerable we all are.""The first sentence of the truth is always the hardest. Each of us has a first sentence, and most of us found the strength to say it out loud to someone who deserved to hear it.""Some of our parents were always on our side. Some of our parents chose to banish us rather than see us for who we were. And some of our parents, when they found out we were sick, stopped being dragons and became dragonslayers instead.""The phrase rush to judgment is a silly one. When it comes to judgment, most of us don't have to rush. We don't even have to leave the couch. Our judgment is so easy to reach for.""There is the sudden. There is the eventual. And in between, there is the living. We do not start as dust. We do not end as dust. We make more than dust. That's all we ask of you. Make more than dust."