“It is an awful thing to be betrayed by your body. And it's lonely, because you feel you can't talk about it. You feel it's something between you and the body. You feel it's a battle you will never win . . . and yet you fight it day after day, and it wears you down. Even if you try to ignore it, the energy it takes to ignore it will exhaust you.”

American YA author and editor of the 21st century, David Levithan writes fiction that explores queer identity and adolescent experience with honesty and warmth. His novels, including *Boy Meets Boy* and *Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist*, blend contemporary realism with lyrical prose, offering nuanced portrayals of young people navigating love, belonging, and self-discovery.