How They Met, and Other Stories

Just in time for Valentines 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.

"With entries dating back to Levithan's (Boy Meets Boy) student years, this diverse collection gathers 18 stories about love: gay, straight, young, old, inspiring, silly, heartrending — one is even written in a mix of verse and song lyrics. In 'Breaking and Entering,' Peter misses his ex-boyfriend, now away at college, so he sneaks into his house and falls asleep in his bed, while in 'Flirting with Waiters,' a 12-year-old girl falls for an older pizza boy, saying, 'It was enough for me to have Seth come to my house in his own car and say 'the usual' with a smile.' Even the early entries showcase his trademark love of wordplay (in 'A Romantic Inclination,' written when the author was a high school junior, physics students James and Sallie decide not to pursue each other because 'the friction of a merging of their hearts wouldn't be beneficial. It would be theoretically and realistically wrong.' They demonstrate, too, his love of fantasy: in the story he wrote in his last year of high school, the somewhat jejune 'Memory Dance,' elderly Mary literally flashes back to when love was new. Throughout, the author quickly brings his characters to life, and he explores concepts that will resonate with teens, such as the randomness of love ('Person after person after person... they all converge at one moment, irrevocably changing the course of a thousand more lives. As it is with accidents, so it is with love'). Sweet, sometimes bittersweet, these stories will leave readers satisfied. Ages 14-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

David Levithan is a childrens book editor in New York City. His books for Knopf include the critically acclaimed Boy Meets Boy, The Realm of Possibility, Are We There Yet?, Wide Awake, The Full Spectrum (co-editor), and Nick & Norahs Infinite Playlist, and Naomi and Elys No Kiss List, both written with Rachel Cohn. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.