“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.”
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About the author
YESS
i love it! i spent a while reading this book, about three months haha but it was absolutely worth it, its so entertaining and i love how they tried to kiss and kiss even though they struggled, i really really love this book.
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Bruna Maria TeixeiraReviewed in Brazil on May 15, 2016
Todo mundo deveria ler pelo menos uma vez
David Levithan é um autor que lentamente anda tomando espaço nas minha prateleiras. Eu nunca ativamente vou atrás dos livros dele só que eu super deveria porque nenhum deles deixou a desejar. Principalmente Two Boys Kissing que no início me deixou decepcionada com o tamanho (muito fino para o preço que paguei) porém valeu cada centavo e ainda me deixou no lucro. A escrita desse livro é tão poética e profunda, principalmente porque o narrador é em segunda pessoa do plural: o conjunto de homens gays que morreram de AIDS durante o pico da doença (pesquise sobre The Aids Memorial Quilt se você quiser saber mais). Eles observam a vida de todos os meninos gays e nesse livro contam a história sobre Ryan e Avery, Harry e Craig, Tariq, Peter e Neil; e por último Cooper. No começo pode demorar um pouco para você se acostumar com a quantidade de personagens mas não demora muito, acredite em mim. E vale muito a pena. David Levithan não escreveu apenas um livro poético, ele mostra a realidade das situações, as duas faces: o lado bom, o amor, a descoberta de novos amores; e o lado ruim, o preconceito, o perigo da morte, o término de um relacionamento. Estamos apenas em maio mas eu já posso dizer que esse livro está pelo menos nos meus top 3 de 2016. Não hesite em lê-lo, basta apenas ver quantas tabs eu gastei marcando minhas passagens favoritas.Bruna Maria TeixeiraTodo mundo deveria ler pelo menos uma vez
Reviewed in Brazil on May 15, 2016
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