Review: "How They Met and Other Stories" by David Levithan

I normally don't do reviews, but I just finished this collection today and thought I'd put my two-cents in.

How They Met and Other Stories by David Levithan

Book Description:

Just in time for Valentine’s Day comes a confection from David Levithan that is sure to appeal to fans of Boy Meets Boy. Here are 18 stories, all about love, and about all kinds of love. From the aching for the one you pine for, to standing up and speaking up for the one you love, to pure joy and happiness, these love stories run the gamut of that emotion that at some point has turned every one of us inside out and upside down. What is love? With this original story collection David Levithan proves that love is a many splendored thing, a varied, complicated, addictive, wonderful thing.

My Thoughts:

This is a great collection of short stories by an amazing writer. David Levithan is able to show and convey that love just is. Sometimes it lasts, sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not, but it exists all the same.

Some of my favorite stories were (in order of appearance): “Starbucks Boy”, “Miss Lucy Had A Steamboat”, “The Number Of People That Meet On Airplanes”, “Princes”, and “Skipping The Prom”.

I also really liked “Without Saying”. It was mysterious and confusing in the best way possible. As soon as I finished, I went back and read it over again.

Overall, if you’re looking for a story with heart, there is a good chance you’ll find that story in this collection. I urge anyone who believes that love can defy gender, age, and sexuality to check this book out because as Levithan himself puts it:

“It doesn’t have to be on Valentine’s Day. It doesn’t have to be by the time you turn eighteen or thirty-three or fifty-nine. It doesn’t have to conform to whatever is usual. It doesn’t have to be kismet at once, or rhapsody by the third date.

It just has to be. In time. In place. In spirit.

It just has to be.”

5 Stars