The first chapter is absolutely stunning and one of the most heartwarming things I can remember reading in quite a long time. It set a high bar that Ryan and Avery only occasionally met in subsequent chapters. This is a lyrical, moving exploration of first queer love, gorgeously realized and expressed by David Levithan; it more than makes up for some of the more rote setups and conversations and story beats.

4.5 stars

4.5 stars

Ryan and Avery first met at a queer prom, where they felt an almost instant connection. One blue-haired boy (Ryan) and one pink-haired boy (Avery) knew that they had to see each other again outside of the dance. But jumping into their first serious relationship might not be the smooth ride they initially expected.

Told through their first ten dates, Ryan and Avery experience all kinds of things: a snowstorm, being grounded, meeting the parents, cast parties, and everything in between. As they experience these things together, their relationship just grows stronger and stronger.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy of Ryan and Avery by David Levithan to review! David Levithan has always been on my list of top authors. In this book, his poetic prose is on full display. There are just some gorgeous lines scattered throughout this book that, while the story is not told in a linear fashion, you still get relationship growth. It really is an overall gorgeous piece of writing.

Case in point, here’s one of my favorite quotes from the book:

“Queerness is stolen moments and stolen victories. It is stolen time and stolen glances. It is the thrill of the theft, for sure, but also the knowledge deep in your heart that none of this stealing is wrong. It is, in fact, the most honest thing you can do.”

There are just these gut-punch quotes throughout the book, about identity, about queerness, and about relationships. Overall, this is very much a quiet, character-driven novel, and I appreciated that about it. Some of those novels end up being favorites.

David Levithan is definitely one of the pioneers of queer YA lit; he was writing about happy gay teens before a lot of people were. While this book isn’t quite the utopia presented in Boy Meets Boy, there is such an element of hope to the overall story. Yes, there are darker parts, but they are outweighed by Ryan and Avery’s love for each other.

If you’re a fan of quieter, more character focused stories, I’d definitely recommend picking this one up when it comes out this September!

I really wanted to love this book, but alas I did not. Ryan and Avery are character from a previous book that I have not read, and perhaps that is part of the problem. It describes a series of dates of these teenage boys, one of who is trans. One of my problems was that the dates were out of order, so there was not a sense of continuity or progression in their relationship. The writing is also very introspective, so the reader is inside the heads of the two characters, much more than they interact with each other or anyone else. I think I might have felt like I knew them better if I had seen more interaction. That said, I really liked these two characters and was cheering them on. I would recommend this with some reservations based on the organization and character development.