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So, I recently read two of Levithan's books: Wide Awake and Boy Meets Boy because I had heard such great things about him. Personally, I hated the books. Levithan writes as though he is writting for a preteen audience, but the some of the content is way too mature for him. In Wide Awake, he discusses the sensations of a boy's sex with another boy. I, (of course, being in the GLBT guild) have nothing against homosexual intercourse-but I would have felt no differently had the situation been between a straight couple. I concede that preteens are already exposed to sex, but why encourage it when someone is so young?!

Past having an ambigous appropriate age range, I feel that Levithan's books lack a strong, applicable plot. His stories (the two I read. I can say nothing about Are We There Yet?) seem to take place in an ideal world where most people are more accepting of diverse people than they are in reality. In this ideal world Levithan creates, all the issues his characters face seem realistic, however I feel that he does a poor job a conveying all the complex emotions that make life trails difficult. His characters also seem to be flawless except for one major flaw which Levithan focuses his main issues around, making both his characters and his plots less than believable. Both of the stories seem to lack an important depth to them.

One last petty thing: Levithan doesn't seem to like adverbs. It's literature- grammer should be more or less correct. Is it really so difficult to add an ly to words?

Please note: I know my opinion doesn't apply to everyone. I'm simply stating it for the point of disscussion. I'll respect your opinion, but please, respect mine.

Discuss:
Things you like or dislike about Levithan's work
My perhaps overly harsh criticism
Anything that seems appropriate

That's an intresting way of looking at it that I hadn't thought of, but I fear it'd simply lead youths into exploring it more. If all they read shows the good side of sex (what am I saying-there's only good in sex, right) without any of the potential consequences then, though the encounters they read about in literature may not be reckless, they may be reckless to try it. That's a bit much to blame on one story alone-it'd have to be continuous exposure from more than one source, but nonetheless, Wide Awake does it's part in encouraging it.

As for Boy Meets Boy, it was a "cute" story, but still, very juvinial.

I quite agree. I loved the book, but it does seem very...perfect. I'm talking more the setting than the characters. His parents are accepting, so isn't the society for the most part, and let's face it, there's always going to be that one a--hole that doesn't like it and keeps making a deal out of it. There isn't much depth to it, but...like the concenses seems to be, it is good, very fun and light, a quick read.

It is an ideal world, but that's why I love his books. They're how the world SHOULD be. So it's more like realistic fantasy, in a way. The world is fantasy, but the characters and how they live are realistic.

As for his adverbs or lack thereof, even as an English major, I don't pay that close attention to how someone writes. Everyone has their own style, and he has his. His editors don't seem to have a problem with it. So I don't care.

Personally, I loved Boy Meets Boy and Wide Awake. They were AMAZING books. The characters were great, the plotlines were great, and his writing is really good. He's one of my fave GLBT authors.

Also, he doesn't write for a pre-teen audience. He writes for teens, hence why his books are in the YA section. I like the fact that he incorporates sex in his book, and sometimes wish he'd write things more explicitly, lol, but that's just me and my pervy mind.

I've also read his book The Realm of Possibility, which was really good, and had a couple gay characters in it, but didn't focus on them. The book is written in verse, and goes between 20 different characters in the same high school.

And the book he co-wrote with Rachel Cohn, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, was really good too. Quite short, but still a good read.

So long story short, I completely disagree with you and, it seems, most everyone else in this thread. lol.

What is the problem with writing what people want to read? Besides, it's what he wants to write, and people like it when he writes books that are about what the world should be like.

No, it's not how things are, but it's what they COULD be, hence why it's idealistic, and not realistic.

I also believe his writing is really good. I love his books, they're absolutely amazing, and his characters are great. I think they're realistic, and while not the most complex, they're still very relatable and are somewhat complex, I think.

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree.

I love all his books and think he's an amazing writer of teen books, along with fellow gay authors Brent Hartinger and Alex Sanchez.

Brent's books are in the YA section. They're sorta similar to David's books, but more realistic. His gay books mainly consist of the Russel Middlebrook trilogy, which are Geography Club, Order of the Poison Oak, and Split Screen.

His non-gay books include Last Chance Texaco (really good), the middle grade novel Dreamquest (which is REALLY good; he sent me a review copy of it), and Grand and Humble (havent read yet).

Rainbow Road by Alex Sanchez is great! You'll totally love it.

I also enjoy YA authors Brian Sloan and James St. James.

So this is offtopic, but I dont know where else to post it. I JUST RECIEVED AN ARC OF "THE GOD BOX" BY ALEX SANCHEZ!!!! It looks amazing, and he included a two page letter to me. Well, a one page letter and then an attachment of emails he's gotten from teens who helped him get the idea for The God Box (or something like that).

I'm soooo happy!!

By the way, I got it so I could review it for my YA/chicklit book site on myspace. smile I'll also be interviewing Alex as well for my site.