Customer Reviews

Wide Awake

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David Levithan's newest novel, "Wide Awake," is a political novel set "in the near future." Here's the set up:

"The Greater Depression happened. The events of 3/12 and 7/23 happened. The Andreas Quake and Hurricane Wanda. The President launched his War to End All Wars, which only managed to create more wars and the tragic events of 4/5. The Greater Depression deepened. Millions of people died, and there was no way to erase their faces from the more renegade open news channels, which wanted to remind everyone how bad the government had let things get. The Decents and their program of Denial Education reached their peak."

The hero and narrator of "Wide Awake" is a Jewish, gay teen named Duncan who is engaged politically for the first time in his life. After all the troubles of his childhood and the generation(s) before, it seems as if a new era is on the horizon. His presidential candidate, Abraham Stein, a Jewish gay man with a partner and children, has been elected. People are behaving differently, celebrating their ethnic, cultural, and sexual differences. And supporting them all is a sizable group of Jesus Freaks.

"For the Jesus Revolutionaries, the answer was clear: Jesus would not be out waging "preventative" wars. Jesus would not be withholding medicine from people who could not afford it. Jesus would not cast stone at people of races, sexual orientations, or genders other than his own. Jesus would not condone the failing, viperous, scandal-plagued hierarchy of some churches. Jesus would welcome everyone to his table. He would love them, and he would find peace."

Sounds like a utopian novel so far, right? But there's a hitch. A hitch in the form of Kansas. Stein's election is being contested. To the tune of 1,000 votes. (Sound familiar?) Stein calls all his supporters to Kansas and Duncan and his friends head to Topeka to support their candidate.

While "Wide Awake" is a political novel, Levithan does not abandon the everyday. Duncan struggles in his relationship with gorgeous Jimmy, teachers can be kind or belligerent, parents are sometimes more conservative than you'd like, and friends take sides in everyday breakups. But, in the end, Levithan's message is one of hope. People can be good and good people can change even the worst-case scenario into a better present and future.

"Wide Awake" is for older teens, ages 15 and up.

I read Boy Meets Boy when I was in 8th grade, and I've been an avid Levithan reader ever since. His writing is beautiful, his ideas spectacular, and there is always a beautiful romance or two.

So when I saw Wide Awake in stores, I immediately picked it up. As usual, Levithan's writing was great. His dialogue seems natural and after I got over the original recoil from seeing many idealistically diverse couples (Afro-Chinese lesbians, etc.) I got to enjoy it. I absolutely LOVED Levithan's idea of the Jesus Revolution, when Christians realize that really, Jesus would have loved everybody regardless of orientation, race, etc. I always had a disdain for Christianity because I saw it as not accepting enough, but this book restored my faith, so to speak, in the potential of the religion. The story was great, but I just can't say with a good conscience that there was nothing wrong.

The world Levithan creates seems too idealistic and perfect. The main characters are strong, happy, in love, virtuous, and able to make a difference when they set their mind to it. The "bad" guys are absolute charicatures of evil. They are violent, turn to trickery and fraud first, and are completely unaccepting. I found it hard to believe these black-and-white stereotypes.

Overall, I cannot complain at all about the writing. All the way through the book, I was hanging on every page. Levithan's writing is spectacular, as usual, and I loved Duncan and Jimmy's romance. However, looking back, the characters were too black-and-white. A great read and most people probably won't have the same problem I did. Generally, a great read, but not Levithan's best.

Decades from today, the results of the election are out, and for the first time in the history of the United States, a gay, Jewish president, Abraham Stein, has been elected. After the Greater Depression, the War to End All Wars, the Reign of Fear, and the Jesus Revolution, the moment has arrived. Seventeen-year-old Duncan, who has spent the last few months working with his boyfriend, Jimmy, as a volunteer at the campaign headquarters, can finally stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance because at last the words "with liberty and justice for all" make sense.

But soon everything will take a 180-degree turn. The governor of Kansas, a member of the opposition party, demands a recount. Stein is determined to fight back, and asks all the people who have elected him to go to Kansas and show their support. Everyone at the election headquarters decides to board their bus that night and join this pilgrimage to Kansas.

Duncan, always insecure, always wondering about what Jimmy will think and what will happen to their relationship, knows that going to Kansas is the right thing to do. It's the once in a lifetime opportunity to help write history, and he decides to board the bus despite his parents' disapproval.

However, the trip proves to be more challenging than he thought. Duncan and Jimmy's relationship seems strained. Their friend Keisha finds out that her girlfriend, Mira, was having an affair with another girl in the group. And when the group arrives in Topeka, Kansas, they have to endure the insults and vicious attacks of the Decents (the supporters of the opposition party). They camp out in the center of town, along with more than half a million other people, with not much food, only a few accommodations, and no quick resolution in sight. Will it be worth it? Will justice prevail?

When I pick up a book by David Levithan, certain things are a given. First, I know it's going to be well written. From a little poem, to a presidential speech, to a sex scene, Levithan proves once again with WIDE AWAKE that he's a talented writer and has a great deal of imagination. This entertaining novel, full of interesting characters, is a combination of a fun parody of good versus evil, and a love story.

Reviewed by: Christian C.

Abe Stein has been elected as the first gay Jewish President of the United States of America. It was a victory by only the state of Kansas. Duncan Weiss and his boyfriend Jimmy are more then excited. They have been volunteering at the local Stein headquarters, since the election. The morning after the election, questions arise about the handling of the ballots in Kansas from the opposition.
Stein ask his supporters to come to Kansas, so that his opponents can see the faces of the people that they are going to deceive. Duncan is not sure, if he should go or if he should stay. The thought of staying drives a wedge between him and Jimmy. Duncan must choose between staying home and playing it safe or stand up for what he believes in.
Duncan is a relatable character. The plot was interested, but I love political aspect. Wide Awake is a thought provoking book, about ideals in our world. In Wide Awake, their are stores for donating to charities and the whole world has medical care. Even though this book is fiction it could happen. Levithan's message is one of hope.

It's an interesting universe Levithan creates in WIDE AWAKE. So far, we've had the contested election -- wait, make that TWO contested elections. I wonder how long it's going to be before a real Greater Depression happens, or something like the Prada Riots.

I read this book near the end of the 2008 primaries, and it made clear to me one thing. Smart, ethical Democrats don't run for office. They write books, and do other things that don't get them anywhere near the stink of politics. If only someone as decent and imaginative and grounded in what it means to be human as David Levitan would run for political office.

I had so many questions reading two of Levitan's books. Can the world Levitan gives us in this book (and in BOY MEETS BOY) really exist? Can it exist in my lifetime? Can it exist without someone as caring as Levithan going into politics? Should we have converged on Florida in 2000?

I'm so sick of what the Democrats offer, which is nothing more than being Not Republican. Voting in the primary was depressing. I wouldn't have bothered, except my friend Eric thought it was SO IMPORTANT to put Obama in the election. But both he and Hilary leave me cold.

I wish I could live in Levitan Land instead of the USA as it exists today.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, David Levithan, for the world(s) you've given us. I hope you get to be our first Gay Jewish President.

This is the fourth Levithan book I've read, and I'd say it's my third favorite. That said, one should take into account how much I adore the two books above it on my favorites list. Boy Meets Boy was amazing on a million different levels, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson... *happy sigh.*

I found this an absolutely fascinating read considering it was written in 2006 about a future presidential campaign based on hope and community, and then what happened in the actual 2008 election, and the two years which have followed. I feel the best books make you stop and think, and this book definitely did that for me. Also, I loved Stein's speeches. Just fantastic.

I wasn't really into the love story in this book, but I think that was less where the focus was anyways, and it was meant more metaphorically, so I won't hold my disappointment against this book. (I'll just go back and read Boy Meets Boy.)

Wide Awake is an excellent paradigm-shifting book that I highly recommend to teens and adults. As an adult, I greatly appreciate how the author wove powerful political and societal messages into an enjoyable and captivating story. I also really appreciate the fact that the book integrates characters in gay and straight relationships.

A gay, Jewish president has just been elected to the office of President of the United States. Duncan and his boyfriend are thrilled that the candidate they supported has won, but their relationship becomes strained when the election results are called into question and their fellow citizens start taking sides.

This novel starts out with a promising original premise, but begins to lose momentum after the first few chapters. The main characters are never fully developed, and a couple of subplots involving love triangles detract from the main storyline. The dialogue between the teenagers in this book feels unnatural and the political speeches sprinkled throughout feel didactic and fake. The gift David Levithan has for imagining alternate realities and futures worked well in Boy Meets Boy, but does not succeed in Wide Awake.

I love what Levithan has done, imagining the success of the true moral majority, the liberal, inclusive world that we are just a hair's breath away from.