The Realm of Possibility [Paperback]

David Levithan (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 9, 2006

Here’s what I know about the realm of possibility—
it is always expanding, it is never what you think
it is. Everything around us was once deemed
impossible. From the airplane overhead to
the phones in our pockets to the choir girl
putting her arm around the metalhead.
As hard as it is for us to see sometimes, we all exist
within the realm of possibility. Most of the limits
are of our own world’s devising. And yet,
every day we each do so many things
that were once impossible to us.

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; a boy with the perfect body; 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 that readers won’t forget. So, enter their lives and prepare to welcome the realm of possibility open to us all. Love, joy, and these stories will linger.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Through a series of poems, Levithan (Boy Meets Boy) introduces readers to a group of friends and acquaintances, including a gay couple celebrating their one-year anniversary, a girl whose mother is dying and an outsider who fills his notebook with "ink explosions of thought." His characters represent a diverse range of sexuality, race and social standing, and most struggle with love relationships, from a boy who wants to help his anorexic girlfriend, to a girl with an unrequited crush on a straight friend. The author experiments with different voices and styles (one series unfolds in song lyrics); some of these poems work better than others. An energetic verse, "Gospel," from a black choir girl who feels bullies "[push her]/ to a kindness they would never/ understand" to help the aforementioned white outsider, reads as authentic and thought-provoking, while an alphabetical poem about a break-up, constrained by its form, grows tedious. Readers may have trouble tracking all of the characters and the various connections between them, but they will find clever lines and inspiring ideas in many of the poems here ("Most of the limits/ are of our own world's devising"). Ultimately, that is what makes this ambitious project a realm worth exploring. Ages 12-up.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Most readers will find someone they can relate to in this enchanting collection of linked poems that delve deep and go far beyond the original stereotypes. Twenty teenagers–sensitive outsiders, cruel popular girls, body-obsessed jocks, gay teens in the throes of first love–take turns pouring their hearts onto the pages, detailing their loneliness, heartaches, hopes, and joys. All attend the same high school, and as the book progresses their stories slowly weave together to form a larger view of the school community. In the first selection, for instance, Daniel talks about his relationship with Jed; Jed's view of their romance closes the book. Though friendships and romantic relationships grow and change, character is much more the focus here than plot. Each chapter contains four points of view, and it will take patient readers to determine who's who and exactly how they are linked. Effort is rewarded, however, in selections such as "The Patron Saint of Stoners," in which a girl seeks out a drug dealer for reasons few will guess. Another standout is "Experimentation," in which a boy writes about his sexual experiences with astonishing insight and tenderness. Thoughtful teens will find much to appreciate here.–Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; Reprint edition (May 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375836578
• ISBN-13: 978-0375836572
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 0.5 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I find it downright baffling to write about myself, which is why I'm considering it somewhat cruel and usual to have to write this brief bio and to update it now and then. The factual approach (born '72, Brown '94, first book '03) seems a bit dry, while the emotional landscape (happy childhood, happy adolescence - give or take a few poems - and happy adulthood so far) sounds horribly well-adjusted. The only addiction I've ever had was a brief spiral into the arms of diet Dr Pepper, unless you count My So-Called Life episodes as a drug. I am evangelical in my musical beliefs.

Luckily, I am much happier talking about my books than I am talking about myself. My first novel, Boy Meets Boy, started as a story I wrote for my friends for Valentine's Day (something I've done for the past twenty-two years and counting) and turned itself into a teen novel. When not writing during spare hours on weekends, I am editorial director at Scholastic, and the founding editor of the PUSH imprint, which is devoted to finding new voices and new authors in teen literature. (Check it out at www.thisispush.com.)

With Boy Meets Boy, I basically set out to write the book that I dreamed of getting as an editor - a book about gay teens that doesn't conform to the old norms about gay teens in literature (i.e. it has to be about a gay uncle, or a teen who gets beaten up for being gay, or about outcasts who come out and find they're still outcasts, albeit outcasts with their outcastedness in common.) I'm often asked if the book is a work of fantasy or a work of reality, and the answer is right down the middle - it's about where we're going, and where we should be. Of Boy Meets Boy, the reviewer at Booklist wrote: "In its blithe acceptance and celebration of human differences, this is arguably the most important gay novel since Annie on My Mind and seems to represent a revolution in the publishing of gay-themed books for adolescents" - which pretty much blew me away when I read it. Viva la revolution!

My second book, The Realm of Possibility, is about twenty teens who all go to the same high school, and how their lives interconnect. Each part is written in its own style, and I'm hoping they all add up to a novel that conveys all the randomness and intersection that goes on in our lives - two things I'm incredibly fascinated by. The book is written in both poetry and linebroken prose - something I never dreamed I would write. But I was inspired by writers such as Virginia Euwer Wolff, Billy Merrell, Eireann Corrigan, and Marie Howe to try it. It is often said that reading is the greatest inspiration to writing, and this is definitely the case for me.

My third novel, Are We There Yet?, is about two brothers who are tricked into taking a trip to Italy together. The natural questions to ask when faced with this summary are: (a) Do you have a brother? (Yes.); (b) Is he the brother in the book? (He's neither brother in the book.); (c) Have you been to Italy? (Yes.); (d) Which city was your favorite? (Venice.); (e) Is this based on your trip there? (The sights are, but the story isn't; the whole time I was there, I took notes in my notebook, not knowing exactly what they'd be for.)

Marly's Ghost, my fourth novel, is a Valentine's Day retelling of A Christmas Carol, illustrated by my friend Brian Selznick. To write it, I went through A Christmas Carol and remixed it - took phrases and themes and created a new version, centering around a boy named Ben whose girlfriend, Marly, has just died. When he looks like he's giving up on life, Marly reappears in ghost form - and sends some other ghosts to get him to embrace life again. It was a hard book to write - it's about both love and grief, two very difficult things to capture truthfully. But I genuinely don't see any reason to write a book if it doesn't feel like a challenge.

My next book came unexpectedly. My friend Rachel Cohn proposed that we write a back-and-forth novel, with her writing from a girl's perspective and me writing from a boy's. The result is Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, a kick- butt love story that we wrote over a summer without really planning it out. It just happened, and it was one of the best writing experiences I ever had. It has even been bought for the movies - stay tuned on that front.

A different kind of collaboration is The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing About Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Other Identities, an anthology I co-edited with my best friend Billy Merrell. It contains true stories from LGBTQ writers under the age of 23, and the Lambda Award for Best LBGTQ Children's/Teen Book.

Other anthologies I've edited or co-edited include: 21 Proms, a collection of prom stories by YA authors, co-edited with Daniel Ehrenhaft; Friends, an anthology of middle-grade friendship stories, co-edited with Ann M. Martin; and three PUSH anthologies of the best young writers and artists in America: You Are Here, This Is Now (2002), Where We Are, What We See (2005), We Are Quiet, We Are Loud (2008). Another PUSH anthology is This is PUSH, featuring new work from all of the authors who've written for PUSH.

My sixth novel, Wide Awake, starts with the election of the first gay Jewish president, and is about two boyfriends who must go to Kansas when the election results are threatened. In many ways, it's a "sequel in spirit" to Boy Meets Boy, since it's about many of the same things - love, friendship tolerance, and taking a stand for what you believe in. It was written right after the 2004 election, and published right before the 2006 election, which made me hope that a gay Jewish president was a closer reality than I might have thought. (No, I have no intention to run. But if you read the book now, it's sometimes how eerie how it echoes the 2008 race.)

My second collaboration with Rachel Cohn, Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List, was inspired by a phrase my best friend Nick and I came up with after he moved to New York City. It's about a straight girl and a gay boy who've been best friends forever . . . but have to deal with a lot of things that have gone unsaid after the boy (Ely) kisses the girl's (Naomi's) boyfriend. This time, Rachel and I decided to rotate the point of view between a number of characters, not just the titular two. The result was harder to write, but just as fun to create.

How They Met, and Other Stories, was published in 2008, which happened to be the twentieth anniversary of my Valentine Story tradition. It contains a few stories I wrote in high school and college, and more that I wrote more recently, some for anthologies, and some just for myself and my friends.

The first series I ever worked on (as a writer) is Likely Story, which I wrote with two of my friends, Chris Van Etten and David Ozanich, under the pen name David Van Etten. Chris and David both have experience working on soap operas, and had the idea for a TV show about the daughter of a soap opera diva who ends up running a soap opera of her own. I know nothing about writing a TV show, so I said, "Hey, that would be fun to write as a series of books, too!" And, voila!, Likely Story was born. It was a blast to write, and the main character, Mallory, is one of my favorites yet.

In 2009, Knopf published Love is the Higher Law. It's the story of three teenagers in New York on 9/11, and how their lives intertwine in the days and weeks and months that follow. I know this sounds grim, but it's really the story of things coming together even as it feels like the world is falling apart -- because that's how it felt to be in New York at that time, both tragic because of the events that happened and magical in the way that everyone became their better selves in the face of it. It's a love story between friends, a love story for a city, and a love story for love itself, and the way it can get us through things, however daunting or shocking they may be. Or at least that's what I aimed for. I hope you'll read it and let me know if I got there.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson started, in many ways, back in college, when I kept being mistaken for another student named David Leventhal. He was a beautiful dancer; I was not. So people would continually come up to me and say things like, "I saw you on stage last night - who would have thought you could be so graceful?" And I'd have to say, "Um...that wasn't me." Our paths finally crossed at the end of school, and we became best friends when we both moved to New York City - him to dance, me to edit and write. Fast forward ten years or so - I had the idea to write a book about two boys with the same name, and called my friend John Green about it. He said yes on the spot, and it took us five years from first conversation to publication day. The result? A novel about identity, love, and what it's like to make a musical out of your own life. You know, the universal themes.

My third novel with Rachel Cohn, called Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, came out in October 2010. It's a romantic cat-and-mouse chase through New York, with a special shoutout to The Strand, a bookstore I am particularly fond of.

The Lover's Dictionary, my first novel about post-teenagers, was published by FSG at the start of 2011. It's the story of a relationship told entirely in dictionary form. Once again, this started out as a Valentine's Day story, and grew from there. I'd often been asked if it would be different to write about adults than it is to write about teens, and I learned that, no, there isn't any difference. A story is a story. And when I write, I'm not thinking of audience -- just of being true to the story. My hope is Lover's Dictionary is as honest as I can be,

Upcoming? A different kind of YA collaboration for me -- a novel I wrote based on photographs my friend Jonathan Farmer gave me. I never knew which photo would come next, and he never knew what I was writing. The result is a very strange, somewhat dark, portrait of a boy on the verge of a complete breakdown. It's called Every You, Every Me, and it will be published in fall 2011.

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#43 in Books > Teens

#43 in Books > Teens

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Poems about love, identity and interconnectedness as humans September 7, 2004

By Teen Reads

Format:Hardcover

David Levithan's THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY is a collection of interrelated monologues written in free verse. Each poem is a glimpse into the private world of one of twenty different characters, all attending the same high school. While each person may be separated in school by the usual social boundaries, they privately share many of the same desires, fears and longings.

The poems range from the humorous, "My girlfriend is in love with Holden Caulfield" or the darkly hilarious, "Suburban myths," to more serious subjects such as "The Patron Saint of Stoners," about an honor society student buying marijuana for her terminally ill mother. One of the book's highlights is a poem called "Gospel," about what happens when Gail, a deeply Christian choir singer, shares her music with Anton, the school's resident outcast.

As one gets further into the book, the interconnectedness between the poems and the characters becomes apparent. The book begins and ends with poems about the same relationship, from two different points of view. While many of the characters feel isolated and alone, they are in fact part of a vibrant, interrelated community.

David Levithan is also the author of BOY MEETS BOY, set in a comparably tolerant community. Like THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY, it focuses on the similarities between characters instead of their differences. Both books treat sex preference as a normal expression rather than as a problem or source of trauma. This approach is a relatively new development in young adult literature; Levithan's books are a marvelous example of how homosexual themes are being integrated into mainstream young adult literature.

THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY contains many possibilities: in the events occurring to the characters in the book, in the lives of its readers, and in its promise for the future of YA literature. The use of free verse to convey plot, character and meaning is a brilliant and intuitive choice. The poems read like they are written by young adults, and Levithan clearly delineates characters using different styles and tones. While there are a number of novels in free verse written for younger readers, THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY may be the first in this form intended for young adults. This book is likely to be the source of inspiration for many budding poets.

THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY is about love, identity and our interconnectedness as humans. Each poem is about discovering oneself through love, and speaks to the idea that as long as our hearts are open, we are never truly alone. As Levithan writes in the title poem, "As hard as it is for us to see sometimes, we all exist/ within the realm of possibility. Most of the limits/ are of our own world's devising. And yet,/ every day we each do so many things that were once impossible to us."

--- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The threads that tie us together... May 6, 2006

By Cindy

Format:Hardcover

I admit it: this book totally sucked me in. The characters are realistic, and I was able to find something about a number of them that I could relate to. And I found a number of them that I simply fell in love with, for all sorts of reasons. My favorite sections were the ones written by Anton, Charlotte, Lily, and Jed.

I found the book somewhat confusing at times, because I kept coming onto names I'd seen before. So i actually went back and made a little list of characters and their relationships, which I shall put up here for anyone that's intested. So *spoiler alert* for the next section of this review (just in case you want to pick up this book knowing NOTHING whatsoever about anything in it... I'm not giving away anything really important):

Daniel: is Jed's boyfriend and is neighbors with Pete

Mary: suffers from anorexia, is Pete's girlfriend

Diana: is in love with with Elizabeth, writes love songs for her

Megan: is in love with Diana, watches her loving another girl while she plays the part of a devoted friend

Tyler: rants about his girlfriend's love of Holden Caulfield

Anton: a seemingly troubled youth- sits in the back wearing black and earphones and writing poetry

Gael: relgion is important in her life, hates injustice, stands up for Anton

Jill: possibly Tyler's boyfriend, stole Cara's boyfriend, feels she doesn't deserve him and regrets the person she is

Anne: nice poetry about random things

Jamie: has just suffered from a breakup, is zack's brother and jed's friend

Pete: Mary's boyfriend

Clara: perfect student lacking a positive homelife, interacts with Jed and Toby

Charlotte: writes haunting messages ("you are foolish in your unhappiness") around school, mesages deeply affect some people, intrigue others (Daniel)

Elizabeth: lives in sister's shadow, tormented by people who disliked sister (Cara), Andy's girlfriend

Cara: loses respect after an incident involving Elizabeth, has fake friends (Jill)

Lia: friend's with Clara, korean, in love with delivery boy

Zack: Anne's boyrfriend, Megan's friend

Karen: no obvious hints as to her relationships

Lily: is close to Jed, although they don't spend much time together, her poetry style is unlike any of the others presented in this book

Jed: is celebrating his one year anniversery with Daniel (it's so sweet!), also- title of book comes from his poem

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the realm of amazement July 1, 2005

By Scout

Format:Hardcover

I saw this book at Borders and read the first few pages. I rarely ever buy books, but I knew absolutely had to have this one. As soon as I brought it home, I couldn't put it down. I tried to read it slow so I could properly enjoy it, but it just kept me turning page after page. the realm of possibility is now tied as my favorite book of all time. It's simply amazing. It properly describes so many feelings and situations high school kids are in without trying to dramatize things or pinpoint emotions. Everyone who reads this will love it and be moved.