19 Love Songs by David Levithan (review)
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- 19 Love Songs by David Levithan
2020 [320p]
Library ed. ISBN 978-1-9848-4864-2 $20.99
Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-9848-4863-5 $17.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-9848-4865-9 $10.99
Reviewed from galleys R* Gr. 9-12
With this heartfelt anthology, Levithan brings diverse voices to the fore to celebrate love in its many forms. From friendship and family to crushes, first dates, and forever loves, these stories effectively showcase love's layered reality, while recognizing that even the shortest stories don't need to focus on just one relationship. Many draw on characters from Levithan's previous works and most have his classic boy meets boy focus, but there are also girls falling in love in a library, transgender Infinite Darlene's night out with a possible soulmate, and the true romance of Levithan's own parents. The collection's narrative forms are similarly varied, including first-and third-person stories, lyrical poems, and reflective essays, alternatively narrated by children, teens, and Levithan himself looking back. While individual pieces are compelling, the book's real power lies in its collective impact and unified understanding of love as a journey to self-awareness. In the hands of lesser writers, this might read like navel-gazing, but Levithan's deft touch reveals self-knowledge as necessary for a genuine connection with others. The well-read reader will catch allusions to classic literature and children's books as well as Levithan's novels, reinforcing an intertextuality that allows the book to express a love of stories alongside its stories of love. Just over half the pieces are reprints, available in other anthologies, but they're here collected and arranged like a playlist to give the stories new life, sure to please fans of the author and to create new ones. [End Page 265]
