Mini-Rambles: Contemporaries (Rachel)

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
From Goodreads:
This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance. 

When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it. The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.

This is a happy-meaningful romantic comedy about finding love, losing love, and doing what it takes to get love back in a crazy-wonderful world.

Boy Meets Boy is short, just under 200 pages, and it's a relatively light read. It's a fun and sweet romance between two boys, and it has all the simple beauty I've come to expect from a David Levithan book. I read this book in just a few sittings because the story just flies by. Boy Meets Boy is especially interesting when compared to Two Boys Kissing, David Levithan's most recent book. (You can read my Two Boys Kissing ramble here.) The two books explore the differences between a gay couple in 2003 and several gay couples in 2013. I read Boy Meets Boy right before I read Two Boys Kissing, and I really liked getting to experience both stories back-to-back.

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
From Goodreads:
As children, Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were both social outcasts. They were also one another's only friend. So when Cameron disappears without warning, Jennifer thinks she's lost the only person who will ever understand her. Now in high school, Jennifer has been transformed. Known as Jenna, she's popular, happy, and dating, everything "Jennifer" couldn't be---but she still can't shake the memory of her long-lost friend. 

When Cameron suddenly reappears, they are both confronted with memories of their shared past and the drastically different paths their lives have taken.

From the National Book Award nominated author of Story of a Girl, Sweetheartsis a story about the power of memory, the bond of friendship, and the quiet resilience of our childhood hearts.

I adore this book. It's a short and sweet (sweet! get it? sweethearts?! ...never mind) book about a powerful friendship. I love the way this story is told through a mixture of flashbacks of the main character's childhood as she reflects on her time spent with her old best friend, and scenes that take place during the present, when she's in high school and her childhood best friend comes into her life again. My heart ached for the characters in Sweethearts, and I was touched by their story. I guess I would say that this is a quiet and simple book. It's not the most amazing or unique or thought-provoking book, but it has a subtle beauty to it that made me fall in love with it. I highly recommend Sweethearts, and anything by Sara Zarr, for that matter.


The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle
From Goodreads:
For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now... not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are?

Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.

And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them...

Sexy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult fiction’s greatest writers.

I didn't like this book at all. I had really high expectations for it, which I based on the author (I loved Lauren Myracle's Shine), the intriguing summary, and the GORGEOUS cover. This book seemed like something I would love. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I found this book almost painful to read at times. It featured poorly written insta-love and frustrating characters whose actions rarely seemed logical or realistic. This book was not for me, and I can't say I'd recommend it to anyone. It hurts to say such negative things about The Infinite Moment of Us, because I honestly expected to love it, but this book really disappointed me.