The Realm of Possiblity by David Levithan

Sometimes books stand out from the crowd; this book seems to be on a new level. Not many teen novels today are written in prose, poems, and songs. This book appeals differently in that not all students will enjoy it, to teach it in a class it might be easier to treat the novel like short stories and not cover the whole book. AS a personal read this book is introspective, and at the same time inter-spective giving a great glimpse into the way another teen looks at the world. This book follows multiple characters by giving a glimpse of their thoughts, feelings, and hearing a story or two that they have to tell. This novel not only is a great tool for getting more student interested in poetry but also for reaching out to students who don’t always seem to connect to traditional poetry but have a lot of potential of their own. The stories I found to be very realistic and cover a lot of issues that teens do face today from relationships, to peer pressure, teasing, bullying, and eating disorders. A book that confronts these issues head on like this becomes a great mirror and window for students to look at themselves and their peers. As a teacher or mentor or friend providing a student who faces one of these issues with this book could provide them a bridge to start dealing with their own problems.
Embedded in all of the social issues are the blurred gender roles in relationships that exist for teens in all relationships but also we see examples of boys with girls, boys with boys, and girls with crushes on the girl the boy got. Showing the spectrum of sexuality in this way matches the progressive view that a lot of people are taking today in knowing that people cannot always fit in one category or another and with the stepping forward and bravery people have had in the LBGTQ community it has allowed all people to recognize their preferences. Scientists and researchers realize that not all people will always pick men over women or have completely equal feelings for both, these stories showed that ambiguity. For a person, especially a teen facing their adulthood, pressures, and sexuality all while balancing school and family and friends this novel can really feel real. The novel never seems to make race a specific story focus but it can be seen through a diversity of names (not everyone is Jane Smith) and personalities lends to students picturing the characters however they best relate to them.
This book would be a great addition to libraries and recommended reading lists for all teens, no matter their gender or sexual desires. The realism of the subjects and the amount of LBGTQ content would make this book controversial to many people. I feel it is important to understand that many parents would worry that such content could “suggest” negative ideas to the students. I find its equally important to point out that aware of it or not many things go on in high schools across the country that are not perfect and parent friendly, if a book can show kids that it relates to that on a real level they can actually find their own issues on that same real level. All of this diversity, artistic beauty, uniqueness, and realism make this an excellent addition to diverse library collections.

Levithan, David. The Realm of Possiblity. New York city: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.