Ryan and Avery by David Levithan
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on September 12, 2023
ISBN: 0399553096
Pages: 320
Genres: Realistic Fiction, Romance
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
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As the kid from The Princess Bride movie would put it, Ryan and Avery by David Levithan is a kissing book. The omniscient third person narrator starts the novel by showing us Ryan and Avery’s fourth date where they are very much already smitten with each other. The story floats between earlier and later dates allowing us to witness their improbable beginning and the mostly parental obstacles trying to keep them apart. Their love is simple and innocent, but Levithan never shies away from the harder parts of teenage life, so it may be helpful to let your patrons know that there are mentions and instances of homophobia, transphobia, and eating disorders.

The narrator spends more time soliloquizing about love than developing the characters or plot in the beginning chapters, so this should only be recommended to serious fans of the romance genre. Non-romance readers could get cavities from how earnestly sweet this love story is at times. This book could also be recommended to parents whose queer teens are starting to date as it demonstrates the difference between logical boundaries placed with love and irrational rules imposed with fear. That being said, Ryan and Avery reads like a contemporary fairy-tale romance and would be a lovely spoonful of sugar in YA collections that too often focus on the harder aspects of queer youth experiences.

Reviewed by Ivy Burns, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth