To be more specific, 4.5 stars."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."One school with 20 different voices. David Levithan's The Realm of Possibility captures 20 different personalities with their own stories to tell. Stories about their relationships, unrequited love, self-doubts, feelings and a lot more. The book already captured my interest from the first chapters- the book's structure was so refreshing. As they sometimes say, less is more, and the book displayed just that. What I loved about the book was how some chapters are just composed of broken sentences and simple words but the message of the person speaking still gets through. The book shows you that you don't need long sentences with highfalutin words to impress a reader. A lot of chapters had a lot of depth despite its short length. So basically, the book may look/seem incomplete at first, but it's really not. What I also loved about the book was how it was really filled with different types of personalities. I also loved how each of the stories connect to each other; how someone's story was someone else's minor supporting detail. Probably the only reason why I'm not giving this book a perfect 5-star rating was that sometimes I wanted to read more than what I was already reading. Haha, okay sort of hard to explain, but hopefully when you do get to read the book you'll eventually get what I'm saying. :DOverall, it was definitely a fantastic read. You can finish this book in one day or even in a matter of hours. Light and fun, but you will surely get something from it. A great read!
See more reviews at YA Midnight ReadsMini review:Verse books tend to be a hit or miss for me, and in most occasions, I've found myself completely sucked into the story, The Realm of Possibility is another one of those verse books that just work.I can't pretend to know what love is. It just is.The Realm of Possibility is a bit like an anthology, for it follows multiple people's lives--a different person per poem. The author particularly focuses the teenagers' love lives and life problems. As expected of David Levithan, what's more is that we are given a diverse array of characters; and I can always trust this author to bring the best GLBTQ+ stories, that are not only authentic but also incredibly touching. Each poem was beautiful and powerful in their own right, and some of these poems have stuck onto me. I particularly enjoyed Gospel which was such a hopeful and empowering piece. In fact, I'd say it was one of my favourites of this collection. There are others that I liked too such as The Day and Tinder Heart, but honestly, all of them touched me in some way, and only authors like David Levithan can seem to do that with verse.Another thing that I'd like to add is that not one poem follows the same type of free verse. Some poems only have 2-5 words per line, some are have full sentences per line, some use capital letters to show their unique-ness, some are just completely sporadic. I really loved that, because it kept me intrigued the whole way through with fresh ways of presenting the free verse. I guess that's what I love about free verse too, you can do whatever you want with it as there are no rules.General consensus? I adored this book. If you haven't read anything David Levithan yet, you haven't seen the best of YA verse or GLTBQ+ yet. ~Thank you Text Publishing Australia for sending me this copy!~
What do You think about The Realm Of Possibility (2006)?
I didn't know this novel was written in verse when I borrowed it from my library, but no matter, I love the format and David Levithan certainly has solid poetry-writing skills.The Realm of Possibility is a collection of 20 stories told by the students of the same school, each written in its distinct voice and style - song lyrics, linebroken prose, free verse, etc. These stories and lives are interconnected in very interesting and often unconventional ways. It is a pleasant surprise that Levithan didn't resort to writing some sob stories and melodramas. For a moment there I was picturing pregnant teens or druggies and prostitutes a la Ellen Hopkins's shock-inducing/stomach-turning/emotionally manipulative novels, but no, while there are some tales in which teens deal with body image issues or sickness of the beloved family members, most stories are very relatable and emotional in a not-too-sappy way - the pain of a breakup, the determination to step out of an older sister's shadow, the despair of unrequited love, the significance of the approaching 1-year anniversary of 2 boys' relationship. My personal favorites are Cara's story about her desire to become a better person and Anton's, in which he gives us an insight into a mind of a Goth kid in the back of a classroom. All in all, a very enjoyable and memorable novel. Fans of books in verse will undoubtedly appreciate the quality of poetry. I am excited to read Levithan's Boy Meets Boy in the near future.
—Tatiana
this book is a fantastic work of art. 20 separate people, united in this book, tell a story that is more than just about them, but about their school, society, friendship, love, and being a teenager. i was very skeptical when i picked this up because usually verse-books don't do it for me. however, since this is my trip of reading David Levithan, i opened it. and man, am i ever glad! it works kind of like a mystery - who is talking to who, who's name is what, how everyone intersects - but it's not overdone to that point - it just is. so many teens write poetry, and it seems to be a perfect way to communicate in this book. and the writing! the writing is amazing - the voices of each individual are so clear and yet the book is cohesive. it's amazing. and jed! oh, jed, i love you. and charlotte and mary and lia and pretty much every person in this book. it's utterly brilliant. i can't say enough. "i am seeing, as if by the light of a match,a glimpse of my lifeand having it feel right.this will linger.""I'm talking about what happens when they stay with us. No matter how many times we let them go, they come back. The words that matter always stay." "You think you know your possibilities.Then other people come into your lifeand suddenly there are so many more."READ THIS.
—stephanie
so, i finished my second levithan book. this man is magic. i don’t know what else i can say about his writing and the way he makes me feel. he does this thing, where he has so many dynamic characters, that in the end, end up being linked together someway or the other. i just find it brilliant, that a writer can do that. i’ve been stretching it for so long, only because i didn’t want it to finish. i didn’t want it to end, but i still wanted to know how it’s ending. the book has more than 10 point of views, and they didn’t stretch that long, but you can really tell not only their personalities, but their feelings. sometimes their feelings were to those specific moments, other times they’re more general. anyone can easily relate to any of the characters (or more), because they all feel so real.
—sara ahmed
