David Levithan: Answers in the Pages (Alfred A. Knopf 2022)
David Levithan is an American writer and editor who became famous for his books written for young people, which always feature strong LGBTQIA+ characters. His works have already won numerous awards.
A book needs both a writer and a reader. Because one sentence can be interpreted in many ways. Especially if that sentence is the last sentence of a novel. Donovan’s class is currently reading an exciting book, The Adventurers. Donovan’s mother also reads it, but she is not at all satisfied with what she sees. Soon however, the whole town is speculating whether the book’s main characters are gay or not. But does it matter?
Gideon really likes turtles. He also collects them. Roberto is a new student in the class. They start working together on a school project and get close to each other.
Rick and Oliver are the two protagonists of The Adventurers, who want to save the world from an evil genius.
The three stories are intertwined around the book.
The story is incredibly sweet and shows how diverse we are. And that is also very good in itself. I also really liked the fact that the book presents the perspective of the older age group on the subject. I think it is very important for children, regardless of gender identity or nationality, to find protagonists with whom they can identify themselves with. For me personally, this was one of the best reads of this year.
