Two Boys Kissing

David Levithan’s 2013 young adult novel Two Boys Kissing is narrated from the perspective of the gay men who died during the 1980s HIV/AIDS epidemic. This chorus, resembling that of ancient Greek theater, observes the novel’s present-day characters—several gay teenage boys in neighboring American small towns—as they explore love, relationship, and identity. The central narrative follows two boys, Harry and Craig, who attempt to break the Guinness World Record for longest continuous kiss by kissing for 32 hours in front of their high school. Inspired by the historical world-record-breaking kiss by two gay college students in 2010 (College of New Jersey), Levithan’s book presents as a love letter from the LGBT people of the past to the queer youth of the present. Two Boys Kissing was a New York Times Bestseller and a Stonewall Honor Book in Children’s and Young Adult Literature in 2014.

This study guide contains mentions of HIV/AIDS, suicide, and anti-gay violence/slurs, and it quotes and obscures Levithan’s use of the f-slur.

Plot Summary

The novel follows eight gay high school boys over the course of a weekend, centering two of the boys’ attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest kiss of over 32 hours. Ex-boyfriends Craig Cole and Harry Ramirez undertake the challenge after learning about the anti-gay hate crime against their classmate, Tariq. The other boys—Avery, Ryan, Neil, Peter, and Cooper—live in nearby towns and are affected by Harry’s and Cole’s kiss in different ways. The novel’s narrative routinely jumps between their stories.

The book opens with the voices of gay men now deceased, mostly from the 1980s AIDS crisis. They narrate the book as though in a Greek chorus, both addressing the characters’ experiences and speaking directly to the reader. The Friday night before the Big Kiss, each of the characters is introduced to the reader. Avery, a transgender boy, meets Ryan, a cisgender boy, at a gay prom. Tariq goes dancing in a city far from his home. Boyfriends Neil and Peter watch movies together. Craig and Harry prepare for their record-breaking venture. Cooper Riggs sits alone in his room, longing for connection and chatting with men on dating sites.

The following day, Craig and Harry head over to their high school where the Big Kiss will happen. A small team of friends accompanies them. Tariq presents them with a bust of Walt Whitman before reciting the poem “We Two Boys Together Clinging.” Tariq was recently assaulted for his sexual orientation, and the incident sparked his friendship with Craig and Harry; Craig wants to break the world record because he wants to normalize the idea of two boys kissing. In a nearby town, Neil goes to Peter’s house. Neil is disappointed to find Peter playing video games instead of ready for their date, and they briefly spat. Avery drives to meet with Ryan again, worried about being an openly transgender person. Cooper’s father enters Cooper’s room and finds him asleep at his laptop, the screen still full of explicit chats with men from the night before. Cooper’s dad wakes him and demands an explanation, calling Cooper anti-gay slurs. His father punches him, and Cooper flees the house with his keys and phone and drives away. He pulls into a Walmart parking lot in a nearby town and scrolls through his phone, looking for someone to reach out to. He doesn’t feel close to any of his contacts, so he opens a dating app and browses profiles.

Avery picks Ryan up, and there are still sparks. As Craig and Harry begin kissing, a small crowd gathers to cheer them on, and Tariq starts an online broadcasted livestream of the kiss. Ryan takes Avery canoeing, and as they row out onto the river, Ryan shares about his family, who don’t support his sexual orientation. Avery shares that he’s a transgender male and tells Ryan everything about his transition, worrying that Ryan won’t see him as a boy—and Ryan isn’t bothered. Cooper leaves and sits in a Starbucks, scrolling dating apps for a meaningless fling.

The crowd at the high school grows bigger. Peter’s friend texts him a link to the kiss livestream, and Neil is jealous because the text sounds flirtatious. They argue but make up, leaving to watch the livestream. Cooper messages someone called Antimatter on the dating app. Avery and Ryan row back to the dock. Two thousand people now watch the livestream, and Craig’s mother shows up, upset. She doesn’t know Craig is gay and doesn’t understand what is going on. Writing on paper, Craig tells her that he’s gay. People try to explain to her that the boys are breaking a world record, and she cries and watches for a while. Cooper chats with Antimatter—whose real name is Julian—and suggests they meet. He lies to Julian and says his name is Drake, and that he’s a 19-year-old student at the local community college. After six hours of the Big Kiss, a popular blogger shares the livestream, and the viewership surpasses 100,000. Craig’s mother leaves, and Craig feels rejected. Neil and Peter watch the livestream. Ryan finally kisses Avery. Julian meets Cooper at Starbucks.

As the sun sets, the crowd around the kiss grows, and they are now joined by some antagonists. Now at Julian’s apartment, Cooper starts making out with him and pushes to go further, but Julian declines and they fall asleep. After waking up, Cooper leaves. The crowd around the Big Kiss dwindles as the night progresses. Someone yells slurs at them, and someone else briefly pelts Harry with eggs, but the crowd forms a human shield around the boys. Craig’s family shows up to check on him, but quickly leave, and Craig feels rejected again. Cooper is in his car, feeling numb and believing nobody cares about him. When the sun rises, Harry and Craig are still kissing but exhausted. Their livestream has a worldwide audience. Radio news stations discuss the kiss, and some of the opinions are disparaging and anti-gay. Neil confronts his family, who seem indifferent to the radio comments. He goes to Peter’s house but feels he can’t share what happened.

Harry nearly faints. Deciding his life is over, Cooper trolls on all of his social media accounts to get himself banned before deleting all of his phone contacts and driving out of town. Avery and Ryan head to an abandoned miniature golf course and play a round of imaginary golf. In pain, Harry struggles to stay upright. Tariq, exhausted, recites the Whitman poem just to keep his mind busy—and the crowd turns it into a chant, cheering the boys on. At the golf course, a group of bullies harasses Avery and Ryan until they leave. While Avery wants to let it go, Ryan has dealt with these bullies his entire life and is fed up.  

Craig’s brother texts him, and it’s clear that Craig’s family won’t return. Tariq runs to Craig’s house and bangs on the door, begging Craig’s family to come and support him, but no one is home. Peter and Neil head to the high school to watch the kiss in person. Cooper plans his next steps. Ryan is fixated on getting revenge on the bullies, and Avery tells Ryan he’s ruining their time together.

Cooper drives to a bridge and parks his car near the base. He walks up the bridge, determined to die by suicide. Just as he is about to jump, a traffic cop tackles him. With 45 minutes left, an exhausted Harry holds tightly to Craig. Ryan apologizes to Avery for obsessing over the bullies, and they return to the river. Neil and Peter hold hands during the countdown. As they approach the end of the kiss, neither Harry nor Craig can believe that they actually broke the record and survived.