19 Love Songs by David Levithan Review

Title: 19 Love Songs

Author: David Levithan

Age Group: Teen/Young Adult

Genre: Anthology/Short Story Collection

Series: Standalone

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

                I borrowed this book from my local library and reviewed it.

                David Levithan has always been one of my favorite authors, from the time that I was a middle-schooler. I read the book he cowrote with Nina Lacour, You Know Me Well, most recently. I’ve had his latest book at the top of my library stack for a while, and my husband chose it for its beautiful and colorful cover. 19 Love Stories is a collection of stories, some fiction, others autobiographical. All of these stories were deeply romantic, honest, funny, and affecting. This book might be my favorite in Levithan’s entire body of work; these stories were unforgettable, and I loved the way that they revolved around love and friendship. As there were 19 stories, I won’t go through all of them. This collection was fantastic; this book is essential reading for both longtime fans of Levithan and newcomers to his work.

                This short story collection started as a special project from Levithan to his friends and loved ones on Valentine’s Day, and grew into this collection. As there are just too many stories to review individually, I’m going to give the book an entire rating rather than providing an individual review for each. To be honest, there wasn’t a story within this anthology that I didn’t absolutely adore. This book revolved around love, but not just the romantic kind: love between friends, love within families, and self-love. I was constantly laughing, crying, or cheering; all of these nineteen stories were comforting, funny, sad and honest. I loved the way that Levithan used experiences from his own life to give these stories authenticity. They were modern and contemporary, told with Levithan’s signature humor and charm. I finished this lovely little book in a little over two days; I will never forget it! The bottom line: This book felt like it was stuffed to the brim with love; it felt like getting a big, warm hug from a dear friend! Easily one of my favorite books of 2020, I loved 19 Love Songs! Next on deck: Blood Countess by Lana Popovic!