The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan
on 2014-08-27
Pages: 224
Goodreads

Enter The Realm of Possibility and meet a boy whose girlfriend is in love with Holden Caulfield; a girl who loves the boy who wears all black; two boys pondering their first anniversary; and a girl who writes love songs for a girl she can’t have. These are just a few of the captivating characters readers will get to know in this intensely heartfelt new novel about those ever changing moments of love and heartbreak that go hand-in-hand with high school. David Levithan plumbs the depths of teenage emotion to create an amazing array of voices. So, enter their intricately interconnected lives and prepare to welcome the realm of possibility open to us all.

I’m not sure how David Levithan does it but with each book of his I read, I fall a little more in love with his writing style.

The Realm of Possibility is a novel told in verse and follows twenty high school students as they navigate love, life and growing up. Each character may only have a few pages but for each and every one it is enough to tell a complete story. All the people in this novel are connected through mutual friends or acquaintances and the way everything links together works perfectly. There is a cyclical nature with the last story relating back to the first, feeling both seamlessly connected and at the same time showing growth for the characters involved.

Much like with other David Levithan books I’ve read (especially How We Met (and Other Love Stories)), I enjoy how he renders gender as almost irrelevant. Whether it be two boys, two girls or one of each – there is a sense whilst reading that the sex of the participants doesn’t matter, rather it is the emotions and feelings which are important. I think that is a beautiful message and I was really pleased how The Realm of Possibility encompassed it.

This book is beautifully written. All the stories may be told in verse and have similarities and yet each and everyone has their own distinct voice. They do feel as if they belong to different people and there is an individuality to the chapters. That said, from Daniel and Jed and everyone in between, they share a similarities of problems. Dating, families and friends – these are things all our characters have in common. From heartbreak to the feeling for first falling in love, I was there with these characters.  The final chapter was a perfect way to end the book except for one thing – I didn’t want it to end.

If you are a fan of David Levithan’s other books (in particular The Lover’s Dictionary) then I’m sure you will enjoy this book as much as I did. The style is unlike other books I’ve read and it fit the story perfectly. It’s a quick yet wonderful read and I highly recommend it for people who like beautifully written books which are just a little bit different.

 

Thanks to Text Publishing for the review copy