"How They Met, and
Other Stories" by David Levithan (Knopf Books for Young Readers,
9780375848865, $16.99, ages 13 and up)
David Levithan has a knack for conjuring perfect moments of bare-hearted
honesty; many of these stories began as Valentine’s Day letters to friends,
and they carry just the right note of Valentine’s sweetness and bite. A few
are forgettable, but several stand-outs are utterly memorable and totally
tuned-in to the perils of teenage affection and heartbreak. As one character
laments, “We were trapped in the limbo between where we were and where we
wanted to be. The limbo of our age.”
The opener, “Starbucks Boy,” tells how a big-city summer nanny job leads one
young guy to encounter the perfect barista, who makes “all the nervous
static in my heart empty into my bloodsteam.” In contrast to his dithering
lack of sophistication, his pampered charge is a whip-smart kid who
immediately arranges to set him up with the boy behind the counter by
locking herself in the coffee-shop bathroom: Voila, instant meeting!
“The Number of People Who Meet on Airplanes” follows a man as he recalls
meeting his wife when they both were teenagers randomly assigned adjoining
seats on a flight. When he learns that chance was aided by the matchmaking
magic of an airline ticket agent, it leads him to ponder the million small
chances we each have to improve and influence the lives moving passed us.
“Miss Lucy Had a Steamboat” plows into choppy waters alongside a young woman
heavily in love with a new girl who doesn’t love her back. After struggling
to keep hold of her, Lucy eventually realizes, “The trouble I felt coming
when I first met Ashley was nothing compared to the trouble I felt when I
first realized I didn’t need her or anyone like her.” It’s a story of messy
first love that colors every feeling right.
The collection’s finest story, “Princes,” watches a suburban dancer try to
find Real Life during his escapes into the city for dance lessons. His
growing-up runs parallel to a boy dancer’s successive roles in the
“Nutcracker”: “First you’re a mouse, then you’re a Spaniard, then you’re a
prince.” Just when he thinks he’s ready to break free of his mousy home and
his Spanish family life, his astonishing brother’s bar mitzvah moves him to
stay, convincing him it’s never to late to really meet the one’s you love,
never too late to be a good brother and a prince.
Levithan’s legion of teenaged and adult fans will find just what they’re
looking for in this diverse collection of wise and wonderful stories. It’s
full of truth, honesty, and sparks.
Review by
Mark David
Bradshaw, January 8, 2008
Read a review of
Levithan’s recent teen novel “Naomi & Ely’s No-Kiss List” here:
http://www.watermarkbooks.com/review0807-014.html
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