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How They Met and Other Stories

Author David Levithan
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Paperback
$9.99 US
RH Childrens Books | Knopf Books for Young Readers
5.25"W x 8"H x 0.57"D  
On sale Dec 22, 2009 | 256 Pages | 978-0-375-84323-5
| Grade 9 & Up
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies
  • English Language Arts > Genre: Fiction > Love & Romance > More Love & Romance…
  • English Language Arts > Genre: Fiction > Social Themes > Emotions & Feelings
  • English Language Arts > Genre: Fiction > Social Themes > Friendship
  • About
  • Author
  • Excerpt
Just in time for Valentine’s Day comes a confection from David Levithan that is sure to have fans of Boy Meets Boy eager to devour it. Here are 18 stories, all about love, 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.
© Beth Levithan
When not writing during spare hours on weekends, David Levithan is editorial director at Scholastic and the founding editor of the PUSH imprint, which is devoted to finding new voices and new authors in teen literature. His acclaimed novels Boy Meets Boy and The Realm of Possibility started as stories he wrote for his friends for Valentine's Day (something he's done for the past 22 years and counting) that turned themselves into teen novels. He's often asked if the book is a work of fantasy or a work of reality, and the answer is right down the middle—it's about where we're going, and where we should be. View titles by David Levithan
STARBUCKS BOY    
 
It was my aunt who pimped me out.
We had this arrangement: I would get to live with her for a few weeks over the summer and take a pre-college course at Columbia before my senior year. In return, I wouldn't have to do a thing besides stay out of the way. It sounded like a good plan to me, except that when I got to Columbia on the first day of summer classes, I found that my course had been dropped. Apparently, there'd been a notice that nobody in my family had bothered to notice.
I thought Aunt Celia would be mad. Or at least concerned. But instead she said, "Well, this could actually solve Elise's problem."
Elise was a friend of Aunt Celia's who lived in the same apartment building. She had a six-year-old daughter.
"I'm sure you're wonderful with children," Aunt Celia told me.
This was an especially strange statement coming from Aunt Celia, who (as far as I could tell) considered the continued existence of children to be something akin to a plague. We have a picture we love to look at in my immediate family, taken right after my brother, Jonathan, was born. It's Aunt Celia's turn to hold him, and from the look on her face and the positioning of her body, you'd think that someone had asked her to cradle a ten-pound turd. Nothing personal against Jonathan--I'm sure she was the same with me. As Jonathan and I grew up, Aunt Celia always gave us presents to "save for later." For my seventh birthday I received a pair of Tiffany candlesticks. For my eighth, it was a matching finger bowl. I freaked out, thinking a finger bowl was meant to hold fingers. (Aunt Celia left the room so my parents could explain.) When I turned thirteen, Aunt Celia actually seemed relieved. She finally stopped maintaining any pretense of treating me like a child, and started treating me like a lesser form of adult instead.
"Aren't you?" she now prompted. "Wonderful? With children?"
I didn't know where we were going with this, but I was sure that if I had no reason to stay in New York, Aunt Celia would ship me back to suburbia faster than she could dial out for dinner. Even if I found a way to avoid being underfoot, she would be unnerved by the concept of me being underfoot.
"I'm wonderful with children," I assured her. Various instances of me "babysitting" Jonathan flashed through my head--we hadn't been allowed to have pets, so I'd often encouraged him to act like one. I thought it best not to mention the particulars of my sitting experience, which, at its most extreme, stopped just short of accidental lobotomy.
"Perfect," she said. Then she picked up her cell phone off the front table, speed-dialed, and told the person on the other end, "Elise, it's Celia. I have a solution for the whole Astrid affair. My nephew . . . yes, Gabriel. The one I was telling you about. . . escaping my sister, yes. Well, it seems that his course has been canceled. And I happen to know he's wonderful with children. A complete charmer. . . . Yes, he's entirely free. . . . I'm sure those hours would be fine. . . . He's delighted. . . . You'll see him then. . . . Yes, it's quite a loaded potato. . . . Absolutely my pleasure!"
She hung up and looked at me like I'd just been checked off a list.
"It's all set," she said. "Although you'll have to dress nicer than that."
"What's all set?" I asked. If I couldn't do it in a T-shirt, I was worried.
"Why, your job. For the next three weeks."
"Which is . . . ?" I coaxed.
She sighed. "To take care of Elise's daughter, Arabella. You'll love her. She's wonderful."
No follow-up questions were possible. With an air kiss and a trail of perfume, Aunt Celia was off.
Copyright © 2009 by David Levithan. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

About

Just in time for Valentine’s Day comes a confection from David Levithan that is sure to have fans of Boy Meets Boy eager to devour it. Here are 18 stories, all about love, 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.

Author

© Beth Levithan
When not writing during spare hours on weekends, David Levithan is editorial director at Scholastic and the founding editor of the PUSH imprint, which is devoted to finding new voices and new authors in teen literature. His acclaimed novels Boy Meets Boy and The Realm of Possibility started as stories he wrote for his friends for Valentine's Day (something he's done for the past 22 years and counting) that turned themselves into teen novels. He's often asked if the book is a work of fantasy or a work of reality, and the answer is right down the middle—it's about where we're going, and where we should be. View titles by David Levithan

Excerpt

STARBUCKS BOY    
 
It was my aunt who pimped me out.
We had this arrangement: I would get to live with her for a few weeks over the summer and take a pre-college course at Columbia before my senior year. In return, I wouldn't have to do a thing besides stay out of the way. It sounded like a good plan to me, except that when I got to Columbia on the first day of summer classes, I found that my course had been dropped. Apparently, there'd been a notice that nobody in my family had bothered to notice.
I thought Aunt Celia would be mad. Or at least concerned. But instead she said, "Well, this could actually solve Elise's problem."
Elise was a friend of Aunt Celia's who lived in the same apartment building. She had a six-year-old daughter.
"I'm sure you're wonderful with children," Aunt Celia told me.
This was an especially strange statement coming from Aunt Celia, who (as far as I could tell) considered the continued existence of children to be something akin to a plague. We have a picture we love to look at in my immediate family, taken right after my brother, Jonathan, was born. It's Aunt Celia's turn to hold him, and from the look on her face and the positioning of her body, you'd think that someone had asked her to cradle a ten-pound turd. Nothing personal against Jonathan--I'm sure she was the same with me. As Jonathan and I grew up, Aunt Celia always gave us presents to "save for later." For my seventh birthday I received a pair of Tiffany candlesticks. For my eighth, it was a matching finger bowl. I freaked out, thinking a finger bowl was meant to hold fingers. (Aunt Celia left the room so my parents could explain.) When I turned thirteen, Aunt Celia actually seemed relieved. She finally stopped maintaining any pretense of treating me like a child, and started treating me like a lesser form of adult instead.
"Aren't you?" she now prompted. "Wonderful? With children?"
I didn't know where we were going with this, but I was sure that if I had no reason to stay in New York, Aunt Celia would ship me back to suburbia faster than she could dial out for dinner. Even if I found a way to avoid being underfoot, she would be unnerved by the concept of me being underfoot.
"I'm wonderful with children," I assured her. Various instances of me "babysitting" Jonathan flashed through my head--we hadn't been allowed to have pets, so I'd often encouraged him to act like one. I thought it best not to mention the particulars of my sitting experience, which, at its most extreme, stopped just short of accidental lobotomy.
"Perfect," she said. Then she picked up her cell phone off the front table, speed-dialed, and told the person on the other end, "Elise, it's Celia. I have a solution for the whole Astrid affair. My nephew . . . yes, Gabriel. The one I was telling you about. . . escaping my sister, yes. Well, it seems that his course has been canceled. And I happen to know he's wonderful with children. A complete charmer. . . . Yes, he's entirely free. . . . I'm sure those hours would be fine. . . . He's delighted. . . . You'll see him then. . . . Yes, it's quite a loaded potato. . . . Absolutely my pleasure!"
She hung up and looked at me like I'd just been checked off a list.
"It's all set," she said. "Although you'll have to dress nicer than that."
"What's all set?" I asked. If I couldn't do it in a T-shirt, I was worried.
"Why, your job. For the next three weeks."
"Which is . . . ?" I coaxed.
She sighed. "To take care of Elise's daughter, Arabella. You'll love her. She's wonderful."
No follow-up questions were possible. With an air kiss and a trail of perfume, Aunt Celia was off.
Copyright © 2009 by David Levithan. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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  • The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily
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  • Every You, Every Me
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  • Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
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  • Will Grayson, Will Grayson
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  • Love Is the Higher Law
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  • Wide Awake
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    Oct 18, 2007
  • Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
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  • Are We There Yet?
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  • The Full Spectrum
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  • The Realm of Possibility
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  • Boy Meets Boy
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    May 10, 2005
  • Ryan and Avery
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    $18.99 US
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    Sep 12, 2023
  • Every Day: The Graphic Novel
    Every Day: The Graphic Novel
    David Levithan, Dion MBD
    $24.99 US
    Hardcover
    May 02, 2023
  • The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. (as told to his brother)
    The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. (as told to his brother)
    David Levithan
    $8.99 US
    Paperback
    May 10, 2022
  • Take Me With You When You Go
    Take Me With You When You Go
    David Levithan, Jennifer Niven
    $18.99 US
    Hardcover
    Aug 31, 2021
  • 19 Love Songs
    19 Love Songs
    David Levithan
    $10.99 US
    Paperback
    Dec 08, 2020
  • Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily
    Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily
    Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
    $10.99 US
    Paperback
    Nov 03, 2020
  • Sam & Ilsa's Last Hurrah
    Sam & Ilsa's Last Hurrah
    Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
    $9.99 US
    Paperback
    Feb 11, 2020
  • Random Minis: Every Day
    Random Minis: Every Day
    David Levithan
    $12.00 US
    Paperback
    Oct 22, 2019
  • Someday
    Someday
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    $11.99 US
    Paperback
    Sep 03, 2019
  • Every Day Movie Tie-In Edition
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    $10.99 US
    Paperback
    Jan 23, 2018
  • The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily
    The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily
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    $10.99 US
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    Oct 17, 2017
  • Another Day
    Another Day
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    $10.99 US
    Paperback
    Jan 03, 2017
  • Hold Me Closer
    Hold Me Closer
    The Tiny Cooper Story
    David Levithan
    $10.99 US
    Paperback
    Apr 12, 2016
  • Two Boys Kissing
    Two Boys Kissing
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    $10.99 US
    Paperback
    May 12, 2015
  • Every You, Every Me
    Every You, Every Me
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    $9.99 US
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    Sep 11, 2012
  • Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
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    $9.99 US
    Paperback
    Oct 11, 2011
  • Will Grayson, Will Grayson
    Will Grayson, Will Grayson
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    $11.99 US
    Paperback
    Apr 05, 2011
  • Love Is the Higher Law
    Love Is the Higher Law
    David Levithan
    $9.99 US
    Paperback
    Aug 10, 2010
  • Wide Awake
    Wide Awake
    David Levithan
    $8.99 US
    Paperback
    Sep 09, 2008
  • Marly's Ghost
    Marly's Ghost
    David Levithan, Brian Selznick
    $7.99 US
    Paperback
    Oct 18, 2007
  • Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
    Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
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    $9.99 US
    Paperback
    Aug 28, 2007
  • Are We There Yet?
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    David Levithan
    $8.99 US
    Paperback
    Mar 13, 2007
  • The Full Spectrum
    The Full Spectrum
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    David Levithan, Billy Merrell
    $10.99 US
    Paperback
    May 09, 2006
  • The Realm of Possibility
    The Realm of Possibility
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    Paperback
    May 09, 2006
  • Boy Meets Boy
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