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My dad got a new book in the mail today. Wide Awake, by David Levithan. Some of you might have heard me squee about David Levithan before, but, in case you haven't, he is omgsogood. Like, amazingly good. Incredibly good. REALLY REALLY GOOD, OK. And this book is about. about government. and politics. campaigns and road trips and rallies and phone banks and speeches and omg *ded* I LOVE IT I LOVE IT SO MUCH IT'S SO GOOD I'M GOING TO CRY WASKDFSLDKJFKJFDIERUWJKLFSDSDA
*flails*
That was the short squee. The longer and more coherent one is
There are many things that I really, really love. Four of the biggest ones, though, are as follows:
People. I love people. I love their thoughts and ideas and how they work together, and why they work together. I love hearing about their triumphs and defeats and random interludes of their day to day life. I love people.
Literature. I love good literature. I love people who can put words together well. I love the kind of writing that gives you the chills, and that makes you forget about everything else except for that. I love good writing.
Government. I love that every vote counts. I love one person, one vote. I love that everyone has a voice. I love that everyone can get involved, that everyone can do something, big or small. I love that we as a body of citizens have a say over what happens to our county. I love fighting for my country--fighting to defend it and improve it and protect it and everyone in it.
Love. I love love. I love small personal loves (person-to-person) and I love big public loves--loving your neighbor like yourself, loving your country, loving life. I love that everything gets better when people love each other. I love that.
David Levithan's newest book is a beautiful medley of these four things. I contain multitudes, and this book appealed to all of them. It was the story of a beautifully realized cast of characters who felt so real, I was half expecting them to be able to step out of the page and have a cup of coffee with me--and not just the main character or two, but a whole host of side characters as well.
It was the story of an election. The election of a Jewish man with a husband. An election that the American people refused to have stolen from them. The story of individuals making choices to help their county, and standing up for their choices, even when it was difficult. It was the story of a small group on a journey cross country to Do The Right Thing. It was the story of a huge group untied together, and proving to the country, the world, and the close minded that the thing that will "Keep America Great" is uniting.
It was a story of love--both the adorable main character and his boyfriend, and some of their other friends' relationships, and love of citizens for their country, and their country loving them right back. The love that everyone ought to have, and many do, for doing what is good, of loving their neighbor, the love of the strong standing up and the way that gives courage to the not so strong. The love of protecting the rights of every goddamn person in the country, even the ones calling us fags and niggers and damning us to hell. That is what my country is about. That is what this book is about. That's it.
Wide Awake is also incredibly beautiful. The writing is superb, as pretty much everything Levithan writes is. I had to pause in my reading to take a breath, sometimes. I read a whole heck of a lot, and I have never come across another person who can put words and sentences and paragraphs together to make, not just pages and chapters and books, but people and stories and lives.
The book isn't out yet; this is a (signed! oh my god!) pre-release*. It's scheduled publication date is September 12, which is my birthday! If you want to really do something for me--buy this book. Read it. Loan it to your friends. Buy it for your library. Talk about it. This book--this book is a beautiful painting of what could be. Let's make it true. Let's make this future happen.
*although we might get a few more pre-releases in a few weeks...I'll keep you updated.
*flails*
That was the short squee. The longer and more coherent one is
There are many things that I really, really love. Four of the biggest ones, though, are as follows:
People. I love people. I love their thoughts and ideas and how they work together, and why they work together. I love hearing about their triumphs and defeats and random interludes of their day to day life. I love people.
Literature. I love good literature. I love people who can put words together well. I love the kind of writing that gives you the chills, and that makes you forget about everything else except for that. I love good writing.
Government. I love that every vote counts. I love one person, one vote. I love that everyone has a voice. I love that everyone can get involved, that everyone can do something, big or small. I love that we as a body of citizens have a say over what happens to our county. I love fighting for my country--fighting to defend it and improve it and protect it and everyone in it.
Love. I love love. I love small personal loves (person-to-person) and I love big public loves--loving your neighbor like yourself, loving your country, loving life. I love that everything gets better when people love each other. I love that.
David Levithan's newest book is a beautiful medley of these four things. I contain multitudes, and this book appealed to all of them. It was the story of a beautifully realized cast of characters who felt so real, I was half expecting them to be able to step out of the page and have a cup of coffee with me--and not just the main character or two, but a whole host of side characters as well.
It was the story of an election. The election of a Jewish man with a husband. An election that the American people refused to have stolen from them. The story of individuals making choices to help their county, and standing up for their choices, even when it was difficult. It was the story of a small group on a journey cross country to Do The Right Thing. It was the story of a huge group untied together, and proving to the country, the world, and the close minded that the thing that will "Keep America Great" is uniting.
It was a story of love--both the adorable main character and his boyfriend, and some of their other friends' relationships, and love of citizens for their country, and their country loving them right back. The love that everyone ought to have, and many do, for doing what is good, of loving their neighbor, the love of the strong standing up and the way that gives courage to the not so strong. The love of protecting the rights of every goddamn person in the country, even the ones calling us fags and niggers and damning us to hell. That is what my country is about. That is what this book is about. That's it.
Wide Awake is also incredibly beautiful. The writing is superb, as pretty much everything Levithan writes is. I had to pause in my reading to take a breath, sometimes. I read a whole heck of a lot, and I have never come across another person who can put words and sentences and paragraphs together to make, not just pages and chapters and books, but people and stories and lives.
The book isn't out yet; this is a (signed! oh my god!) pre-release*. It's scheduled publication date is September 12, which is my birthday! If you want to really do something for me--buy this book. Read it. Loan it to your friends. Buy it for your library. Talk about it. This book--this book is a beautiful painting of what could be. Let's make it true. Let's make this future happen.
*although we might get a few more pre-releases in a few weeks...I'll keep you updated.
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Have you read this (http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/6839957.html#cutid1) yet? It's so sdkljfasdjf and totally worth the eyestrain.
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< /fangirl>
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i want to read it.
september can't come soon enough.
"realm of possibility" still tops my poetry list.
and my fiction list.
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That's why I called you the other day--did E. tell you I'd called? I just wanted to squee.
SO GOOD. *flails*
Heyah
http://la-luna-bella82.livejournal.com/14145.html?