Books on Trial: Running Loose and Boy Meets Boy

Abstract

Running Loose: This book is about a teenage boy whose plans for the perfect year come crashing down around him.  He leaves the football team in order to make a stand against the dirty plays that his coach advocates and what he perceives as racial injustice.  It deals with the themes of loss, growing up, and accepting responsibility.  Despite these positive themes running through the novel, it has been challenged because of its mention of sex.

Boy Meets Boy: There is a greater openness to homosexuality in today's society; however, there still remains some discomfort with its reality.  This is evident in the reaction towards David Levithan's young adult novel Boy Meets Boy, an unconventional love story between two high school boys named Paul and Noah.