How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
His parents are extremely religious. It doesn't even matter which religion—they're all the same at a certain point, and few of them want a gay boy cruising around with his friends on a Saturday night. (1.1)
All interesting literary characters have an objective and obstacle. Boy Meets Boy introduces Tony's in the first paragraph: his objective is to hang out with his friends, who accept him for who he is; his obstacle is his religious parents, who don't.
Quote #2
So every week Tony feeds us bible stories, then on Saturday we show up on his doorstep well versed in parables and earnestness, dazzling his parents with our blinding purity. (1.1)
Tony, Paul, and Joni are good kids, but when dealing with parents whose religion tells them everyone's a sinner, they have to lie and pretend to be good in a different way.
Quote #3
"You've run out of chapter and verse for your study group? O Lord, as I walk through the valley of the shadow of doubt, at least let me wear a Walkman…"
"The Lord is my DJ," Tony says solemnly. "I shall not want." (1.72-73)
Tony and Ted are joking here, obviously, but check out the word of the prayer Ted changes. No, not the Walkman part—he says "the valley of the shadow of doubt" rather than "the valley of the shadow of death." He could just be misquoting, but we think doubt is an interesting word choice here. What does Tony doubt? Is there ever a situation in which doubt is (almost) as bad as death?
Quote #4
They think that Tony's personality is simply a matter of switches, and that if they find the right one, they can turn off his attraction to other guys and put him back on the road to God. (10.91)
This is the thinking behind anti-gay "conversion therapy" programs, too. Unsurprisingly, those don't work either.
Quote #5
Tony and I figure the best thing a straight boy with religious, intolerant parents can do for his love life is tell his parents he's gay. (14.1)
When Tony's parents thought he was straight, they wouldn't let him hang out with girls. Now whenever he mentions that he wants to do something with a girl, they're all over it.
Quote #6
They didn't kick Tony out of the house, but they made him want to leave. They didn't yell at him—instead they prayed loudly, delivering all of their disappointment and rage and guilt to him in the form of an address to God. (14.7)
Why couldn't they just talk to Tony? Do they actually think praying might work, or is their prayer solely passive-aggressive?
Quote #7
I can't even talk to Tony anymore—I tried on Sunday, but his mom hung up on me, muttering something about the devil's influence, which I think was a little overstated. (15.3)
Levithan interweaves seriousness with laugh breaks throughout the book, taking real human problems and writing about them with a hefty dose of levity and camp. In a way, making the villains so far-fetched makes the protagonists seem more normal—when we don't have to focus on the sexuality and gender of gay and trans characters, we can focus on the plights that make them universally human.
Quote #8
There is only one cemetery in our town, where people of all religions and beliefs rest side by side. Just like a community. (22.1)
Is death a requirement for people of differing ideologies to share space peacefully? Would the people in Paul's community live as peacefully if Tony's parents weren't the only homophobic ones (at least that we are told about)?
Quote #9
"They honestly believe that if I don't straighten out, I will lose my soul. It's not just that they don't want me kissing other guys—they think if I do it, I will be damned. Damned, Paul. And I know that doesn't mean anything to you. It doesn't really mean anything to me. To them, though, it's everything." (23.34)
This is the first time in the book we see Tony's parents in a sympathetic light. Even more than they don't want a gay son, they don't want a son in hell.
Quote #10
Is she devastated that Tony is beyond "saving"? Is she cursing fate—or even God—for putting her in this situation? Is she embracing it as a challenge? (23.73)
Good questions. Here's another, though: Could she be afraid that ultimately the differences between her religious beliefs and her son's orientation will result in her losing her son?