Boy Meets Boy is narrated by Paul, a sophomore in high school who falls in love with Noah, the new kid in town. The story is centered around Paul's relationships with his friends and more-than-friends, as he tries to navigate the difficulties of high school relationships. The book takes place in a small town in New Jersey, where the gay community is loud and proud. Almost all of the main characters are LGBT high schoolers. As Paul deals with a gay best friend whose parents are ultra-religious, another best friend who is slipping away from him, and an ex-boyfriend struggling with his attractions, Paul must figure out how to prove his love for Noah while discovering things about friendships, new and old.
The book overall seemed to me to be a typical romantic teen comedy. It deals with themes of love, friendship, and relationships which every adolescent is familiar with. In this way, it is an attractive book for middle school because these themes are relevant in adolescents' lives. Of course, the pervading issue is the LGBT setting, which might be tricky to teach to middle schoolers. There is no inappropriate language or content in the book, but I would recommend it only for seventh or eighth graders and up.
The interesting thing about the book is the fact that almost all of the characters are confident in their sexuality, especially the narrator, Paul, who came out in third grade. The book's setting might be unfamiliar to many readers (including me) who might not have experienced life in a community where LGBT young people are so confident and included. This could be an interesting point of discussion. I would suggest this book more for small reading groups for middle schoolers who can maturely read LGBT literature.
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