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Love Is the Higher Law
First there is a Before, and then there is an After. . . .
The lives of three teens—Claire, Jasper, and Peter—are altered forever on September 11, 2001. Claire, a high school junior, has to get to her younger brother in his classroom. Jasper, a college sophomore from Brooklyn, wakes to his parents’ frantic calls from Korea, wondering if he’s okay. Peter, a classmate of Claire’s, has to make his way back to school as everything happens around him.
Here are three teens whose intertwining lives are reshaped by this catastrophic event. As each gets to know the other, their moments become wound around each other’s in a way that leads to new understandings, new friendships, and new levels of awareness for the world around them and the people close by.
David Levithan has written a novel of loss and grief, but also one of hope and redemption as his characters slowly learn to move forward in their lives, despite being changed forever.
The lives of three teens—Claire, Jasper, and Peter—are altered forever on September 11, 2001. Claire, a high school junior, has to get to her younger brother in his classroom. Jasper, a college sophomore from Brooklyn, wakes to his parents’ frantic calls from Korea, wondering if he’s okay. Peter, a classmate of Claire’s, has to make his way back to school as everything happens around him.
Here are three teens whose intertwining lives are reshaped by this catastrophic event. As each gets to know the other, their moments become wound around each other’s in a way that leads to new understandings, new friendships, and new levels of awareness for the world around them and the people close by.
David Levithan has written a novel of loss and grief, but also one of hope and redemption as his characters slowly learn to move forward in their lives, despite being changed forever.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published August 25, 2009
141 people are currently reading
16930 people want to read
About the author
David Levithan
119 books19.4k followersDavid Levithan (born 1972) is an American children's book editor and award-winning author. He published his first YA book, Boy Meets Boy, in 2003. Levithan is also the founding editor of PUSH, a Young Adult imprint of Scholastic Press.
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November 9, 2009
I don’t normally post a 9/11 related blog post on my blog, just because there’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said. And even if I could say it differently, there’s nothing I can say that would change the events of that day.
But I read a book this year that changed my mind. It’s called LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW, by David Levithan. In the interests of full disclosure, I should mention that I both know and like David -- he’s editor Mixtape and we work together on SHIVER. I should also mention, however, that I know and like a lot of authors -- and yet I don’t blog about a lot of books. I’m really picky and though I like a lot of books, I only blog about the books that I really love.
I really love this book. And here’s why.
It’s about three teens’ experiences on the day of the attack, and how it changes them as people. I have to admit I was really leery about reading a book about 9/11 -- I didn’t want anything that was a) maudlin, b) manipulative, or c) intensely depressing. And I just didn’t see how a 9/11 book could avoid all of those things. But I thought, if anyone can pull it off, it’s David -- his novels all have this very innocent, open quality to them.
So I began to read. And on page seven, my eyes teared up, and I thought: here we go.
But here we didn’t.
That was the first and last time my eyes watered in this book, because LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW is not about reliving the horrors of 9/11. What can I say about it? It’s this incredibly inspiring, moving, and honest look at how something good can come out of something terrible. David’s love of New York City permeates the novel, and as a non-New Yorker, it was wonderful to have a window into that world.
And it was not a sad book. Incredibly, it was everything that 9/11 was not. Though as a writer I saw a ton of things that I would’ve changed about the book (remember this post about loving books that we had issues with? yeah, this was one of them), all I could think after I closed the pages was what a buoyant mood I was in. I was filled with faith in the ultimate good of people in the face of horror, and I, like the main characters, felt like I wanted to talk about where I was that day, how I felt, what changed.
I did. That night, I curled up with my husband in bed, lights off, and together we whispered back and forth what we remembered about 9/11. I still remember the exact place I was when I first heard the news on my car radio, not just the street I was on, not just the block I was driving through, but the distance from the curb and the quality of the light. I remember the payphone that I called my now-husband on as the ambulance he drove raced towards the Pentagon.
Ultimately, what I loved about LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW was the message -- that 9/11 was not for nothing if we let it change us for the better. If we remain better versions of ourselves, the versions that reached out to strangers and felt part of something bigger, then it wasn’t such a senseless, vicious tragedy, and it’s something worth remembering.The title says it all -- if it's not true, it's what ought to be true.
But I read a book this year that changed my mind. It’s called LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW, by David Levithan. In the interests of full disclosure, I should mention that I both know and like David -- he’s editor Mixtape and we work together on SHIVER. I should also mention, however, that I know and like a lot of authors -- and yet I don’t blog about a lot of books. I’m really picky and though I like a lot of books, I only blog about the books that I really love.
I really love this book. And here’s why.
It’s about three teens’ experiences on the day of the attack, and how it changes them as people. I have to admit I was really leery about reading a book about 9/11 -- I didn’t want anything that was a) maudlin, b) manipulative, or c) intensely depressing. And I just didn’t see how a 9/11 book could avoid all of those things. But I thought, if anyone can pull it off, it’s David -- his novels all have this very innocent, open quality to them.
So I began to read. And on page seven, my eyes teared up, and I thought: here we go.
But here we didn’t.
That was the first and last time my eyes watered in this book, because LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW is not about reliving the horrors of 9/11. What can I say about it? It’s this incredibly inspiring, moving, and honest look at how something good can come out of something terrible. David’s love of New York City permeates the novel, and as a non-New Yorker, it was wonderful to have a window into that world.
And it was not a sad book. Incredibly, it was everything that 9/11 was not. Though as a writer I saw a ton of things that I would’ve changed about the book (remember this post about loving books that we had issues with? yeah, this was one of them), all I could think after I closed the pages was what a buoyant mood I was in. I was filled with faith in the ultimate good of people in the face of horror, and I, like the main characters, felt like I wanted to talk about where I was that day, how I felt, what changed.
I did. That night, I curled up with my husband in bed, lights off, and together we whispered back and forth what we remembered about 9/11. I still remember the exact place I was when I first heard the news on my car radio, not just the street I was on, not just the block I was driving through, but the distance from the curb and the quality of the light. I remember the payphone that I called my now-husband on as the ambulance he drove raced towards the Pentagon.
Ultimately, what I loved about LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW was the message -- that 9/11 was not for nothing if we let it change us for the better. If we remain better versions of ourselves, the versions that reached out to strangers and felt part of something bigger, then it wasn’t such a senseless, vicious tragedy, and it’s something worth remembering.The title says it all -- if it's not true, it's what ought to be true.
September 5, 2010
This is my first Levithan novel.... I know is probably a surprise to some of you. (sorry Khy... are you proud of me.. I read one!) But I have to say I'll definitely be picking up his novels... and even plan to do so in the near future, with Will Grayson, Will Grayson.
Any way back to the novel at hand. This novel really stuck a cord with me. I honestly cried while reading most of it... ok, i cried through the entire thing actually. Thank god it wasn't all that long. I guess I just remember that day all too well. I like Jasper almost slept through the entire thing. Not that I could have seen the towers from my house in Indiana, but I remember waking up around 9 o'clock... I had an exam that day... I was a college freshman. I got online and as soon as I did my Aunt told me to turn on the television. I was home alone, both of my parents were at work for the day and my sisters were in school. I turned on the television to a live news feed, right as the second plane hit the towers. I still remember that image like it was yesterday. I never would have commuted to school that day had I not had an exam. The campus was deserted... there were televisions on every floor in every building... we took our exam and our professor excused us. The rest of my classes were cancelled that day. I remember the way the air felt that day.... it stood still. If it was like that some 650 miles from New York... I can't even imagine what it must have been like there.
To watch it happen from the eyes of these three characters was almost too much.... I felt like I was right there with them. I felt their confusion, their anxiety, their worry... their despair. I loved how every character had a distinct voice... how they all dealt with the aftermath in the only way they knew how. I loved watching their three different stories intertwined into one. How in the end they were connected more than they could have possibly fathomed.
It was beautifully told, with an important message.
And it's always an inspiration to be reminded of the goodness humanity is capable of.
Any way back to the novel at hand. This novel really stuck a cord with me. I honestly cried while reading most of it... ok, i cried through the entire thing actually. Thank god it wasn't all that long. I guess I just remember that day all too well. I like Jasper almost slept through the entire thing. Not that I could have seen the towers from my house in Indiana, but I remember waking up around 9 o'clock... I had an exam that day... I was a college freshman. I got online and as soon as I did my Aunt told me to turn on the television. I was home alone, both of my parents were at work for the day and my sisters were in school. I turned on the television to a live news feed, right as the second plane hit the towers. I still remember that image like it was yesterday. I never would have commuted to school that day had I not had an exam. The campus was deserted... there were televisions on every floor in every building... we took our exam and our professor excused us. The rest of my classes were cancelled that day. I remember the way the air felt that day.... it stood still. If it was like that some 650 miles from New York... I can't even imagine what it must have been like there.
To watch it happen from the eyes of these three characters was almost too much.... I felt like I was right there with them. I felt their confusion, their anxiety, their worry... their despair. I loved how every character had a distinct voice... how they all dealt with the aftermath in the only way they knew how. I loved watching their three different stories intertwined into one. How in the end they were connected more than they could have possibly fathomed.
It was beautifully told, with an important message.
And it's always an inspiration to be reminded of the goodness humanity is capable of.
November 23, 2013
September 11, 2001. It’s impossible to forget that day. We all have our memories of where we were, who we were with, who we suddenly needed to be with and wondering whether our world had been changed forever.
Following the tragedy of September 11, author David Levithan took all of these elements and wrote the moving novel LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW. Here is David’s heartfelt letter which was included in the ARC copy.
LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW is the story of three New York teens (Claire, Jasper and Peter) who are brought together as a result of 9/11. And although the story is fictional, it provides a very real account of what those first moments and days were like.
This book resonated with me on a personal level. On the morning of September 11, I was in Dallas, Texas, in a work meeting with colleagues, one of whom had recently lost his wife to cancer and who had three children living and working in the vicinity of the world trade centre, including a son who worked in the trade centre itself. Our world turned upside down; our lives inside out. There was fear, there was grief, there was confusion and there was doubt. It was a dark and tragic time. The next 48 hours were spent comforting our colleague and doing everything we could to track down his kids, make sure they were OK, and arrange transportation to get him back to New York as soon as possible.
On 9/11, thousands of people tragically died. But millions came together in ways we never could have imagined and that is something that David Levithan brings out so well in his book. There was love. And kindness. And a desire to make it through. Because even when tragedy occurs, love is indeed the higher law.
Following the tragedy of September 11, author David Levithan took all of these elements and wrote the moving novel LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW. Here is David’s heartfelt letter which was included in the ARC copy.
Dear Reader,
I’ve never really used shorthand to describe one of my books before. But from the very start, Love Is the Higher Law was “the 9/11 book.” It’s about much, much more than 9/11 . . . but it’s also entirely about 9/11. I never really wanted to write a novel about it . . . and then I found myself writing a novel about it. Because I had to.
Believe me, I’ve seen the look on my friends’ faces when I’ve talked about “the 9/11 book.” They’ve been very encouraging . . . but many of them have had the same reaction I would have if one of my friends told me he was writing about 9/11: Sounds important . . . and really, really depressing. When am I going to be in the mood to read a 9/11 book? Why go back to that time?
I understand. Truly. If you take that hesitation about reading a 9/11 book and multiply it by about a thousand, you’ll probably get the trepidation an author feels about writing a 9/11 book.
But here’s the thing: As time goes by, it’s really easy to remember 9/11 and the days afterward as a time of tragedy, fear, grief, and loss. Less easy to remember—and even harder to convey—is that it was amazing not just for the depth of that loss, but also for the heights of humanity that occurred. The kindness. The feeling of community. The deepening of love and friendship. It was a depressing time, for sure—but it was also an inspiring time. If you were an adult or a teen, you couldn’t help but feel it. And if you were just a child—like most of today’s teens were—you might only remember the facts of it, not the feelings. That’s why I wrote this book—it is, at heart, my small attempt to convey the heartbreak, surrealism, heroism, mourning, and music of that time.
We all have 9/11 stories, and it’s good for us to tell them. I’ve stopped trying to avoid calling this a 9/11 book—it is what it is, and it has become much more than I ever thought it could be. I hope very much that you will read it.
Thank you,
David Levithan
LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW is the story of three New York teens (Claire, Jasper and Peter) who are brought together as a result of 9/11. And although the story is fictional, it provides a very real account of what those first moments and days were like.
This book resonated with me on a personal level. On the morning of September 11, I was in Dallas, Texas, in a work meeting with colleagues, one of whom had recently lost his wife to cancer and who had three children living and working in the vicinity of the world trade centre, including a son who worked in the trade centre itself. Our world turned upside down; our lives inside out. There was fear, there was grief, there was confusion and there was doubt. It was a dark and tragic time. The next 48 hours were spent comforting our colleague and doing everything we could to track down his kids, make sure they were OK, and arrange transportation to get him back to New York as soon as possible.
On 9/11, thousands of people tragically died. But millions came together in ways we never could have imagined and that is something that David Levithan brings out so well in his book. There was love. And kindness. And a desire to make it through. Because even when tragedy occurs, love is indeed the higher law.
March 24, 2015
I'm kind of obsessed with 9/11 and it's obviously a touchy subject as well as a tear-jerker, so I has great expectations for this book.
It was OK. Just OK (for me).
At first, I either hated or didn't like the characters. This changed a little as I read more and more. I was, again, OK with them. So, as you can guess, the story didn't grab me. I had no intense feelings, and I wanted to, so bad :(
It was OK. Just OK (for me).
At first, I either hated or didn't like the characters. This changed a little as I read more and more. I was, again, OK with them. So, as you can guess, the story didn't grab me. I had no intense feelings, and I wanted to, so bad :(
December 18, 2010
This is a difficult book to rate with stars. I liked so many things about it; how one of the most traumatic events of this generation was explored, and yet the book was not dramatic itself, how through three teens' perspectives the profound effects of 9/11 were pondered and reflected upon, and the relationships that formed between the characters themselves.
The only change I would have made was making the book more about the characters - their voices were authentic, and filled with wisdom people their age do not usually possess. Yet they seemed a little flat in the sense I could not fully empathize with them, even through what they had witnessed.
3.5 stars. Probably my favorite novel by David Levithan so far.
The only change I would have made was making the book more about the characters - their voices were authentic, and filled with wisdom people their age do not usually possess. Yet they seemed a little flat in the sense I could not fully empathize with them, even through what they had witnessed.
3.5 stars. Probably my favorite novel by David Levithan so far.
February 8, 2016
THIS. WAS. INCREDIBLE.
WHY DOES NOBODY TALK ABOUT THIS.
I can't even right now.
Full review to come soon, I swear. As soon as I stop thinking and crying about it.
WHY DOES NOBODY TALK ABOUT THIS.
I can't even right now.
Full review to come soon, I swear. As soon as I stop thinking and crying about it.
November 9, 2015
It is a very sensitive issue that the author tackles in this book. There was no other event in the American history quite as shocking and horrifying as what happened during 9/11. After finishing it I realised that this topic is for many Americans what the topic of WWII is for Russians and this, in turn, made me understand a bit better why people feel so strongly about it and even become emotional myself.
The events of 9/11 left the world shaken and this novel provides a view on the events of this day from the perspective of three very different teenagers who are connected by the horror of what had happened.
Three unique perspectives, three lives, families, before's and after's. Wonderfully intertwined with just enough authenticity and no clichés, no repetitions of used motifs. It is utterly unique, profound and moving.
The writing was, like usual, flawless and beautiful. Levithan always manages to make his stories come alive, in this one it was especially obvious. I must say that the beauty of the writing contributed a great deal to how I felt about the story itself.
It is an incredibly subtle and hopeful book which, rather than focusing on the horror and fear, focuses on the love and compassion. On how the events, hopefully, changed people for the better. On kinship, friendship, understanding, on so many important, beautiful sides of life. And I am very glad that I have read it.
I was seven when 9/11 happened and lived half across the world in a small town in Ukraine, so you see, I didn't know much about event except for the rough outlines of what had happened and where. But it didn't affect my own little world. Until I moved to Germany and we discussed it in our English class. Only then did I comprehend just how horrendous it had been and how much it had affected everyone...
You see, I don't want to say anything about the story itself for I have no desire to spoil the pleasure of reading. All there remains to say is that it was deeply moving and I highly recommend it to everyone.
The events of 9/11 left the world shaken and this novel provides a view on the events of this day from the perspective of three very different teenagers who are connected by the horror of what had happened.
Three unique perspectives, three lives, families, before's and after's. Wonderfully intertwined with just enough authenticity and no clichés, no repetitions of used motifs. It is utterly unique, profound and moving.
The writing was, like usual, flawless and beautiful. Levithan always manages to make his stories come alive, in this one it was especially obvious. I must say that the beauty of the writing contributed a great deal to how I felt about the story itself.
It is an incredibly subtle and hopeful book which, rather than focusing on the horror and fear, focuses on the love and compassion. On how the events, hopefully, changed people for the better. On kinship, friendship, understanding, on so many important, beautiful sides of life. And I am very glad that I have read it.
I was seven when 9/11 happened and lived half across the world in a small town in Ukraine, so you see, I didn't know much about event except for the rough outlines of what had happened and where. But it didn't affect my own little world. Until I moved to Germany and we discussed it in our English class. Only then did I comprehend just how horrendous it had been and how much it had affected everyone...
You see, I don't want to say anything about the story itself for I have no desire to spoil the pleasure of reading. All there remains to say is that it was deeply moving and I highly recommend it to everyone.
November 15, 2012
Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
Huge thanks to the girl who sat next to me on the bus to Chicago from ALA. She had this ARC in her hands when she boarded the bus for our 3 1/2 hour trip home, and she finished it by the time the trip was over. When I asked how she liked it, she nodded, I believe, then swallowed a lump in her throat, and offered me the book. Once again, thank you!
Do you remember where you were on 9/11? The characters in LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW were all in New York City. So was David Levithan, and that experience was inspiration for this book. As Levithan points out in the Author's Note, many young people today may be too young to have first-hand memories of that world-changing day. By reading the experiences of Jasper, Peter, and Claire, perhaps the emotions of that day and its aftermath can be experienced by readers in the years to come.
As the book begins, each character shares where they were and what it was like at the moment. Peter and Claire were affected immediately, while Jasper finds it difficult to admit that he slept through the actual attack and learned about it as he listened to Peter Jennings on the news.
The personal experiences of the three become intertwined as the story continues. All three are surprised at how directly they feel the emotions of the event. The life they once took for granted, the city they've always known as home, and the atmosphere surrounding them have them asking questions that have no real answers.
David Levithan captures the unique yet universal feelings inspired by the event that touched us all. Amidst the unanswered questions are feelings of greater appreciation for family and friends, the sympathy that goes out to those who lost and suffered most, and the human condition that connects the entire world.
Unlike the teen who read the book in one sitting on the bus, I found the need to set it aside at times to sort through my own memories of that day and what has unfolded since. The world is truly a different place, and I've concluded I'm not sure if it is for the better or worse. Time will tell.
Huge thanks to the girl who sat next to me on the bus to Chicago from ALA. She had this ARC in her hands when she boarded the bus for our 3 1/2 hour trip home, and she finished it by the time the trip was over. When I asked how she liked it, she nodded, I believe, then swallowed a lump in her throat, and offered me the book. Once again, thank you!
Do you remember where you were on 9/11? The characters in LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW were all in New York City. So was David Levithan, and that experience was inspiration for this book. As Levithan points out in the Author's Note, many young people today may be too young to have first-hand memories of that world-changing day. By reading the experiences of Jasper, Peter, and Claire, perhaps the emotions of that day and its aftermath can be experienced by readers in the years to come.
As the book begins, each character shares where they were and what it was like at the moment. Peter and Claire were affected immediately, while Jasper finds it difficult to admit that he slept through the actual attack and learned about it as he listened to Peter Jennings on the news.
The personal experiences of the three become intertwined as the story continues. All three are surprised at how directly they feel the emotions of the event. The life they once took for granted, the city they've always known as home, and the atmosphere surrounding them have them asking questions that have no real answers.
David Levithan captures the unique yet universal feelings inspired by the event that touched us all. Amidst the unanswered questions are feelings of greater appreciation for family and friends, the sympathy that goes out to those who lost and suffered most, and the human condition that connects the entire world.
Unlike the teen who read the book in one sitting on the bus, I found the need to set it aside at times to sort through my own memories of that day and what has unfolded since. The world is truly a different place, and I've concluded I'm not sure if it is for the better or worse. Time will tell.
November 23, 2012
To be honest, I was not entirely impressed with this book. I wanted to like it, but I couldn't. I love David Levithan, and I love his style of writing and storylines, but this one was weak and under developed.
Love is the Higher Law focuses on the events of 9/11 and the aftermath of the city of New York and how people (namely three teenagers) reacted and moved on. The chapters alternate between each of the three characters, which I always love, but unfortunately in this book it just didn't work as well - maybe because of the length of the book (very short), or maybe because the characters didn't have the capacity to grow as much as I would have liked them to. Indeed, there was never a moment where I felt I really connected with either one of them, or where I felt like we really got to know them.
A topic like this deserves a bigger book, especially if you were going to focus on three main characters. It's like one reviewer said, "essentially, this felt like a snapshot of a moment of each character rather than an entire story."
A book this small should take me a couple of hours to get through, especially if it was gripping enough. But I actually had to put it down numerous times because I just wasn't interested enough to want to know more. The beginning of the book, when the tragedy first took place was the most gripping part of the book. I actually had tears in my eyes as I was reading the experiences of those people through those first three chapters, and my throat hurt from holding back the tears. After that though, it just went downhill for me.
Maybe it's not fair of me, but I expected more out of this book and out of Levithan. The story fell short, and the characters fell short - and those two things are at the core of what makes a book good for me.
Love is the Higher Law focuses on the events of 9/11 and the aftermath of the city of New York and how people (namely three teenagers) reacted and moved on. The chapters alternate between each of the three characters, which I always love, but unfortunately in this book it just didn't work as well - maybe because of the length of the book (very short), or maybe because the characters didn't have the capacity to grow as much as I would have liked them to. Indeed, there was never a moment where I felt I really connected with either one of them, or where I felt like we really got to know them.
A topic like this deserves a bigger book, especially if you were going to focus on three main characters. It's like one reviewer said, "essentially, this felt like a snapshot of a moment of each character rather than an entire story."
A book this small should take me a couple of hours to get through, especially if it was gripping enough. But I actually had to put it down numerous times because I just wasn't interested enough to want to know more. The beginning of the book, when the tragedy first took place was the most gripping part of the book. I actually had tears in my eyes as I was reading the experiences of those people through those first three chapters, and my throat hurt from holding back the tears. After that though, it just went downhill for me.
Maybe it's not fair of me, but I expected more out of this book and out of Levithan. The story fell short, and the characters fell short - and those two things are at the core of what makes a book good for me.
July 13, 2013
When it comes to Love Is the Higher Law, I hardly know where to begin. Or, perhaps, when. September 11, 2001 is a date ingrained in the memory of every person, regardless of whether or not they are American. And yet, for us Americans, this date is so much more. Within the pages of this novel, David Levithan not only captures the horror, the fear, the utter astonishment that an event like 9/11 could have on a nation, but he also manages to convey the hope, the beauty, and the love that emerged during this time too.
What makes Levithan's novel such a poignant piece is not its subject matter, but rather the way in which it is written. Everything about the novel is so subtle, telling a story of three teens, all who view the event of 9/11 in a different and gripping manner. On every page is a simple sentence, one line, that conveys the weight and truth of this event. It is a slim novel, but one that demands to be read slowly and savored, with each emotion creeping up inside you when you least expect it. Claire, Jasper, and Peter are not fully actualized characters, though we see the recuperation of New York City through their eyes. While they all share distinct voices, distinct character traits, and distinct flaws, this is not a story of them. No. Love Is the Higher Law is the story of New York and all its people. With Claire, Jasper, and Peter, the trauma and hope, the strength that rises from the ashes of a fallen city, all of it is felt so acutely. And, at the same time, just like how the magnitude of that day is still impossible to feel, this book is too.
If anything is clear from reading this novel, it is that David Levithan loves New York City. With its bustle and its crowds, with its millions of people wandering selfishly with not a care for others, he brings this city to life and, most importantly, the goodness of the human heart. Now, looking back nearly twelve years later, it is impossible to think of New York being this torn. And yet not so impossible at all. Even now, the remnants of 9/11 remain. Ground Zero. The shining height of the new Twin Towers. Of a city rising once again, refusing to be trod upon. A city, though once afraid, and perhaps still afraid, willing to face that fear. Every day people walk into and out of New York City, remembering all the lives that were lost. Every day people will walk into and out of the new World Trade Center, remembering all the people who used to work there, on those very same floor numbers. With that remembrance, with that hope, we keep persevering...and what more could we possibly ask for?
What makes Levithan's novel such a poignant piece is not its subject matter, but rather the way in which it is written. Everything about the novel is so subtle, telling a story of three teens, all who view the event of 9/11 in a different and gripping manner. On every page is a simple sentence, one line, that conveys the weight and truth of this event. It is a slim novel, but one that demands to be read slowly and savored, with each emotion creeping up inside you when you least expect it. Claire, Jasper, and Peter are not fully actualized characters, though we see the recuperation of New York City through their eyes. While they all share distinct voices, distinct character traits, and distinct flaws, this is not a story of them. No. Love Is the Higher Law is the story of New York and all its people. With Claire, Jasper, and Peter, the trauma and hope, the strength that rises from the ashes of a fallen city, all of it is felt so acutely. And, at the same time, just like how the magnitude of that day is still impossible to feel, this book is too.
If anything is clear from reading this novel, it is that David Levithan loves New York City. With its bustle and its crowds, with its millions of people wandering selfishly with not a care for others, he brings this city to life and, most importantly, the goodness of the human heart. Now, looking back nearly twelve years later, it is impossible to think of New York being this torn. And yet not so impossible at all. Even now, the remnants of 9/11 remain. Ground Zero. The shining height of the new Twin Towers. Of a city rising once again, refusing to be trod upon. A city, though once afraid, and perhaps still afraid, willing to face that fear. Every day people walk into and out of New York City, remembering all the lives that were lost. Every day people will walk into and out of the new World Trade Center, remembering all the people who used to work there, on those very same floor numbers. With that remembrance, with that hope, we keep persevering...and what more could we possibly ask for?
July 24, 2017
It's been a couple years since I enjoyed a David Levithan novel, so it was nice to go back to this book (which I first read when I was thirteen) and remember why I used to like him so much. This isn't a hard and fast rule, but in general with Levithan's books, the more restrained he is, the better. His weaker books tend to be the ones where he just lets loose with all his Levithan-isms - the wide-eyed idealism, the political filibusters, the camp doofiness. Those things aren't always bad, and they're all present here to some extent, but they're toned down here, and the novel is more effective for it. The voices here are reminiscent of a documentary in which witnesses to 9/11 tell their stories, and it's a very effective vehicle to explore the collective trauma that followed the event. My only real problem with this book is that the three perspectives didn't have distinct enough voices. Other than that, this was a good, concise book about how 9/11 affected New York and the people in it - it's one of Levithan's very best novels.
August 20, 2009
Most of the time I want to avoid holocaust stories and AIDS memoirs like...well, like a plague. The events of 9/11 fit well into this category: things I know I should read about but are just too depressing to the core to read about sometimes when you're trying to live life, which can be depressing enough.
But we need to read these books sometimes. Levithan makes it easy for us, in this case. Because he loves, and he cares, and he wants people to remember - and if they don't remember, then to know that other people they live with remember.
Here, Levithan highlights the hope and the humanity that bloomed from that tragedy, looking at it reflected through three teenage lives lived in or near that city, at that moment in time.
What he does that is amazing with this book is he writes a personal, intimate story to the backdrop of history - recent history. Personal stories against history are a staple in young adult literature. But not so much in recent history. These events happened not even eight years ago - it's barely "history", in the context of history-book-history. But it is history in all of our lives, and it is so important to not let that become just "history" - like in the history books. The living stories, the lives that changed - that's what needs to be remembered. Introspection doesn't need to stop and wait for the next horrible thing to happen in the world.
My problem was that I've read his other books so many times and loved them so much and got to know them so much that this seemed awfully...Levithan-ian. All the first person narrators are certainly philosophical. They all see the beauty in the minutia of life, how it all connects to the bigger, realer, all-encompassing picture. The plot involves a chance encounter where characters take a chance that leads to unlikely connection and catharsis.
I sound awfully jaded re-reading that. My point is not the slam the book. It's a wonderful book. The point is to say that if you love Levithan - go in loving it, and knowing that you are in for what he does best. That is meant in no way to demean him. Why shouldn't someone do something they do best? It's hard to do something best! Hell, it's really, really hard to do something mediocre! It takes millions of dollars to make a bad movie, a countless hopes and dreams to lose a semi-final, and a lifetime of hopes and wishes and muddled good intentions to ruin a blooming relationship. There is nothing new with his form here, and I was disappointed with that at first. But then I told myself to get over my "literati" self and just enjoy the man doing what he does so wonderfully.
And if you've never read him before, read this and you'll quite possibly want to run and hold and take in everything he's ever written.
But we need to read these books sometimes. Levithan makes it easy for us, in this case. Because he loves, and he cares, and he wants people to remember - and if they don't remember, then to know that other people they live with remember.
Here, Levithan highlights the hope and the humanity that bloomed from that tragedy, looking at it reflected through three teenage lives lived in or near that city, at that moment in time.
What he does that is amazing with this book is he writes a personal, intimate story to the backdrop of history - recent history. Personal stories against history are a staple in young adult literature. But not so much in recent history. These events happened not even eight years ago - it's barely "history", in the context of history-book-history. But it is history in all of our lives, and it is so important to not let that become just "history" - like in the history books. The living stories, the lives that changed - that's what needs to be remembered. Introspection doesn't need to stop and wait for the next horrible thing to happen in the world.
My problem was that I've read his other books so many times and loved them so much and got to know them so much that this seemed awfully...Levithan-ian. All the first person narrators are certainly philosophical. They all see the beauty in the minutia of life, how it all connects to the bigger, realer, all-encompassing picture. The plot involves a chance encounter where characters take a chance that leads to unlikely connection and catharsis.
I sound awfully jaded re-reading that. My point is not the slam the book. It's a wonderful book. The point is to say that if you love Levithan - go in loving it, and knowing that you are in for what he does best. That is meant in no way to demean him. Why shouldn't someone do something they do best? It's hard to do something best! Hell, it's really, really hard to do something mediocre! It takes millions of dollars to make a bad movie, a countless hopes and dreams to lose a semi-final, and a lifetime of hopes and wishes and muddled good intentions to ruin a blooming relationship. There is nothing new with his form here, and I was disappointed with that at first. But then I told myself to get over my "literati" self and just enjoy the man doing what he does so wonderfully.
And if you've never read him before, read this and you'll quite possibly want to run and hold and take in everything he's ever written.
April 4, 2010
I think I need to accept the fact that the David Levithan work I'll enjoy most already happened in the days he ghostwrote for The Babysitters Club.
I like the idea of this book a lot, and I cannot deny Levithan packs in some beautiful sentences about 9/11. In the future there is much here that may help explain what was felt that day, what rippled through the country.
But also: this is a novel. And Levithan's multi-POV narrative reads more like a project in multi-POV narrative than, you know, just a novel. Also I am really anxious to read a multi-POV narrative where one of the main points isn't just people misunderstanding each other and you get it more when you see the other POV. I mean really.
Lastly, I love music with a crazy-ass passion. I hold it dear and I associate it with big pivotal giant-ass events in my life and I have lyrics permanently inked upon my body. But I don't love just how much Levithan relies on music as characterization, as plot, as motivator, as deus ex machina. I'm not even sure sometimes what it's supposed to mean. Am I supposed to be impressed someone wore a Sleater-Kinney shirt? (That detail only made me smile because back in the days of 9/11 I wore an S-K shirt more regularly than you can imagine. I felt similarly about the Hedwig and the Angry Inch references. Yes, yes, 2001, absolutely.) But there's no context here, you know? It's a name-drop, nothing more. Levithan is Cool. Levithan Knows What Is Going On. Well, he did, at least, in 2001. Probably he still does.
OK, I guess that wasn't lastly, because I get this book was about three people, but I wish Claire had served more purpose than bringing the boys together.
(read: 41)
I like the idea of this book a lot, and I cannot deny Levithan packs in some beautiful sentences about 9/11. In the future there is much here that may help explain what was felt that day, what rippled through the country.
But also: this is a novel. And Levithan's multi-POV narrative reads more like a project in multi-POV narrative than, you know, just a novel. Also I am really anxious to read a multi-POV narrative where one of the main points isn't just people misunderstanding each other and you get it more when you see the other POV. I mean really.
Lastly, I love music with a crazy-ass passion. I hold it dear and I associate it with big pivotal giant-ass events in my life and I have lyrics permanently inked upon my body. But I don't love just how much Levithan relies on music as characterization, as plot, as motivator, as deus ex machina. I'm not even sure sometimes what it's supposed to mean. Am I supposed to be impressed someone wore a Sleater-Kinney shirt? (That detail only made me smile because back in the days of 9/11 I wore an S-K shirt more regularly than you can imagine. I felt similarly about the Hedwig and the Angry Inch references. Yes, yes, 2001, absolutely.) But there's no context here, you know? It's a name-drop, nothing more. Levithan is Cool. Levithan Knows What Is Going On. Well, he did, at least, in 2001. Probably he still does.
OK, I guess that wasn't lastly, because I get this book was about three people, but I wish Claire had served more purpose than bringing the boys together.
(read: 41)
January 1, 2011
When this book showed up under my Christmas tree (thanks Santa Bill), I suddenly remembered that I had wanted to read it. (And I hate that there's so much I want to read that I actually forget what's on my list.) This book was - in a word - AMAZING. There are many, many reasons why, so I will narrow it to three.
1) LGBT - Levithan is probably best known for Boy Meets Boy. In Love is the Higher Law, as in other books by Levithan, he has gay characters. What I love about this novel is that the novel is not about teens coming out. It's a book about living before, during, and after a major event (9/11); there just happens to be two characters who are gay. It's kind of like life.
2) Point of View - I like that there are not only 3 characters telling the story each chapter told by a different character. I also like that there are 3 different time periods - Before, During, and After. Since the novel starts out During, the Before is referenced and pieced together, but it is a clear time period. The After is what really got me. Levithan explores what it means to go on - to put one foot in front of the other - even when we don't want to.
3) Language - This is beautifully written. There were many points when I stopped and put the book down and said "Wow!" and then reread the line. It's not necessarily about the vocabulary; it's about how the words are put together. IMHO, Levithan captured the emotions of the time (or at least my emotions of the time period).
An emotional powerful book that is a rib-sticker.
1) LGBT - Levithan is probably best known for Boy Meets Boy. In Love is the Higher Law, as in other books by Levithan, he has gay characters. What I love about this novel is that the novel is not about teens coming out. It's a book about living before, during, and after a major event (9/11); there just happens to be two characters who are gay. It's kind of like life.
2) Point of View - I like that there are not only 3 characters telling the story each chapter told by a different character. I also like that there are 3 different time periods - Before, During, and After. Since the novel starts out During, the Before is referenced and pieced together, but it is a clear time period. The After is what really got me. Levithan explores what it means to go on - to put one foot in front of the other - even when we don't want to.
3) Language - This is beautifully written. There were many points when I stopped and put the book down and said "Wow!" and then reread the line. It's not necessarily about the vocabulary; it's about how the words are put together. IMHO, Levithan captured the emotions of the time (or at least my emotions of the time period).
An emotional powerful book that is a rib-sticker.
September 12, 2021
Author David Levithan was in Manhattan on 9/11, and he incorporates those feelings of confusion and fear and horror that he experienced close up that day into his short novel, feelings that the rest of us experienced second hand and then relived again and again as the horrific events were replayed on television.
I was attending in-service meetings at school that morning and then went on to teach a full slate of classes. Most students had seen the towers on fire before they left for school. We teachers were still relatively unaware of just how terrible things were; access to a TV at my school was uncommon in 2001, and Internet in the classroom was even rarer. It was not an easy day.
In Love Is the Higher Law, Leviathan focuses on that day and the repercussions of 9/11 echoing over the following two years through the lives of three young adults who live in New York, shifting the first-person point of view among them as they tell their stories. Claire lives in Manhattan and her day at school is cut short; Jasper from Brooklyn has slept in and wakes to a changed world; Peter is skipping class to go to Tower Records and buy Bob Dylan’s Love and Theft that morning. These three young people’s lives intertwine as they interact and the author uses them to tell his story about the importance of love and human connections to help us through trauma.
There are some poignant moments in the novel which no doubt reflect the author’s proximity to the events of that day, and I am glad I read it the day before 9/11’s twentieth anniversary and now tap out this review on the morning of 9/11 as I watch coverage of the memorials on television. Bruce Springsteen’s performance of “See You in My Dreams” was particularly moving this morning, and music plays an important role in the book, too, the title coming from U2’s “One,” and Peter and Claire attending U2’s concert at Madison Square Garden the following month, an important healing moment for the city.
But despite all that, the novel is just not very good. I was looking last week for Don DeLillo’s 9/11 novel, Falling Man, and that novel may have the substance I am seeking, but I don’t have access to a copy right now. Love Is the Higher Law falls squarely in the realm of YA, and that’s not a bad thing for teens, especially now that 9/11 has receded into the dusty category of ancient history for them, but for those of us who lived through the day this isn’t a particularly strong book with much to offer for the adult reader who is looking for something a little more sophisticated. Or at least it didn’t offer much to me. To get back to U2, I guess with Levithan’s book I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.
I was attending in-service meetings at school that morning and then went on to teach a full slate of classes. Most students had seen the towers on fire before they left for school. We teachers were still relatively unaware of just how terrible things were; access to a TV at my school was uncommon in 2001, and Internet in the classroom was even rarer. It was not an easy day.
In Love Is the Higher Law, Leviathan focuses on that day and the repercussions of 9/11 echoing over the following two years through the lives of three young adults who live in New York, shifting the first-person point of view among them as they tell their stories. Claire lives in Manhattan and her day at school is cut short; Jasper from Brooklyn has slept in and wakes to a changed world; Peter is skipping class to go to Tower Records and buy Bob Dylan’s Love and Theft that morning. These three young people’s lives intertwine as they interact and the author uses them to tell his story about the importance of love and human connections to help us through trauma.
There are some poignant moments in the novel which no doubt reflect the author’s proximity to the events of that day, and I am glad I read it the day before 9/11’s twentieth anniversary and now tap out this review on the morning of 9/11 as I watch coverage of the memorials on television. Bruce Springsteen’s performance of “See You in My Dreams” was particularly moving this morning, and music plays an important role in the book, too, the title coming from U2’s “One,” and Peter and Claire attending U2’s concert at Madison Square Garden the following month, an important healing moment for the city.
But despite all that, the novel is just not very good. I was looking last week for Don DeLillo’s 9/11 novel, Falling Man, and that novel may have the substance I am seeking, but I don’t have access to a copy right now. Love Is the Higher Law falls squarely in the realm of YA, and that’s not a bad thing for teens, especially now that 9/11 has receded into the dusty category of ancient history for them, but for those of us who lived through the day this isn’t a particularly strong book with much to offer for the adult reader who is looking for something a little more sophisticated. Or at least it didn’t offer much to me. To get back to U2, I guess with Levithan’s book I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.
September 14, 2011
This was such a beautifully written book. I really enjoy Levithan's writing and this book definitely didn't disappoint. 9/11 is always going to be a sensitive subject and here, I thought it was handled exceptionally well. I loved how the three likeable and realistic main characters lives all came together and the relationships between all three of them was both touching and tasteful considering the background subject. The whole novel was extremely poignant without feeling too heavy. As it was based upon some of Levithan's true memories of the day in New York, the book was only more intriguing. Claire, Jasper and Peter all dealt with things in their own way and the differences were fascinating. The voices felt very authentic and it was easy to relate to their anxiety, sadness and confusion before, during and after the attack on the Twin Towers. I think that the message throughout this book is important, inspiring and it was very well displayed - to stand united and to look after each other is important, and just because some people try to ruin things, we should still go on.
August 12, 2015
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
I was 1 year old during the events of 9/11 so I don't have any recollection of it but over the years, I have learned about it. I think this book is very important and it made me wanting to learn more and do more research on this terrifying event in history. A very short and to the point book that packs a punch. I would highly recommend!
I was 1 year old during the events of 9/11 so I don't have any recollection of it but over the years, I have learned about it. I think this book is very important and it made me wanting to learn more and do more research on this terrifying event in history. A very short and to the point book that packs a punch. I would highly recommend!
September 18, 2015
"May the higher law be with you wherever you go."
Läs hela min recension på Book Obsession.
Läs hela min recension på Book Obsession.
October 3, 2009
It’s about time that someone wrote a YA novel about possibly the most important event of our generation, and who better to write it than the multitalented David Levithan? LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW is beautiful without being cloying, and wrings at the heart without resorting to theatrics. The subtle power of it is something that only a master writer can accomplish.
What struck me most about the book is its language. Each character has a distinct voice and different ways of approaching the same event and its consequences. All three, however, are capable of tremendous insight, and you’ll find it hard to resist writing down the quotable slivers of wisdom that can be found on nearly every page.
Claire, Peter, and Jasper work well as individuals, but their interactions are slightly shaky and sudden. I prefer the characters when they’re in their own heads, and am slightly skeptical of some moments such as when Claire immediately launches into a night-long philosophical talk with Jasper, whom she had never spoken to before then. Wherefore did all that dialogue come from, Claire dearest? However, I’m willing to overlook specific moments of reader’s discomfort like that because of the beautiful writing, and because of the book’s message that love and connection is what keeps the world turning, even after you believe it can’t anymore.
LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW is the kind of book you’ll want to keep forever, to go back to for reaffirmations of the kind of goodness that humanity is capable of. I’m sure that Levithan’s writing career is far from over, but I’m willing to say that this book may be his best one so far. It’s a great way for teens to approach the conflicting emotions surrounding this unforgettable date.
What struck me most about the book is its language. Each character has a distinct voice and different ways of approaching the same event and its consequences. All three, however, are capable of tremendous insight, and you’ll find it hard to resist writing down the quotable slivers of wisdom that can be found on nearly every page.
Claire, Peter, and Jasper work well as individuals, but their interactions are slightly shaky and sudden. I prefer the characters when they’re in their own heads, and am slightly skeptical of some moments such as when Claire immediately launches into a night-long philosophical talk with Jasper, whom she had never spoken to before then. Wherefore did all that dialogue come from, Claire dearest? However, I’m willing to overlook specific moments of reader’s discomfort like that because of the beautiful writing, and because of the book’s message that love and connection is what keeps the world turning, even after you believe it can’t anymore.
LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW is the kind of book you’ll want to keep forever, to go back to for reaffirmations of the kind of goodness that humanity is capable of. I’m sure that Levithan’s writing career is far from over, but I’m willing to say that this book may be his best one so far. It’s a great way for teens to approach the conflicting emotions surrounding this unforgettable date.
October 25, 2012
Love makes me think about how we digest media about recent events. They give books, movies, music, etc. this boost of poignance, but is that because we've lived through the event in question? Will that spark be there in 50 years? I'm thinking specifically of World War II novels and movies. There's a lot. It seems obvious that the answer would be no. That our temporal proximity to the event increases how we view the work. The passages about 9/11 made my heart thump a little faster and made me breath a little harder. No, I was no way near New York, but it seems like a collective unconscious thing (I'm probably using that term wrong, but I'm not a big Jung fan, archetypes schmarchetypes).
The stories Levithan tells in Love are a little, surprisingly forgettable. Jasper and Peter's love story is slight and Claire's story becomes too preachy and too filled with this retrospective longing. I can understand why Levithan chose to fragment the story, one story broken down into three perspectives, it makes sense, but how each perspective relates to the other is a bit weird. Sometimes whole chapter are rehashes of the preceding chapter with all the same dialogue just from someone else's eyes, and even then there isn't new information gleaned. The one time I do think it works is the letters/e-mails Jasper and Peter share, where in one chapter you get only Jasper's e-mails and then in the other, you get only Peter's. I liked that. But I really hope love is the higher law is not supposed to be the theme because that would be....uh, stupid. And obvious.
To summarize, everything with 9/11 I can't help but like and everything not, ummm...no. Why do I keep choosing books partially on cover design?
The stories Levithan tells in Love are a little, surprisingly forgettable. Jasper and Peter's love story is slight and Claire's story becomes too preachy and too filled with this retrospective longing. I can understand why Levithan chose to fragment the story, one story broken down into three perspectives, it makes sense, but how each perspective relates to the other is a bit weird. Sometimes whole chapter are rehashes of the preceding chapter with all the same dialogue just from someone else's eyes, and even then there isn't new information gleaned. The one time I do think it works is the letters/e-mails Jasper and Peter share, where in one chapter you get only Jasper's e-mails and then in the other, you get only Peter's. I liked that. But I really hope love is the higher law is not supposed to be the theme because that would be....uh, stupid. And obvious.
To summarize, everything with 9/11 I can't help but like and everything not, ummm...no. Why do I keep choosing books partially on cover design?
July 4, 2015
I'm not American but I still remember waking up and seeing what happened. I think most people remember where they were when they first heard what happened on 9/11. I was in my first year at high school and I'd never seen anything like it. I couldn't imagine what the people in NYC were going through.
I've never read a book on 9/11 before and I honestly never thought I would. I've started reading David's books and I saw this one at the library. I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it but I thought I'd at least try it before I judged it.
I liked it. In the author's note at the back of the book he said that he wrote this because he wanted people who weren't there, people who weren't born or in the future and especially younger readers, to understand what happened that day. Not just the acts that lead to 9/11 and the thousands of people that lost their lives but what came after. How New York came together to help each other. The feelings of unity, compassion, grief and disbelief.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wasn't there on 9/11. If you were born or not, American or not. I think what happened on September 11th, 2001 will stay with us all. It's the day that changed a lot of things.
I've never read a book on 9/11 before and I honestly never thought I would. I've started reading David's books and I saw this one at the library. I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it but I thought I'd at least try it before I judged it.
I liked it. In the author's note at the back of the book he said that he wrote this because he wanted people who weren't there, people who weren't born or in the future and especially younger readers, to understand what happened that day. Not just the acts that lead to 9/11 and the thousands of people that lost their lives but what came after. How New York came together to help each other. The feelings of unity, compassion, grief and disbelief.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wasn't there on 9/11. If you were born or not, American or not. I think what happened on September 11th, 2001 will stay with us all. It's the day that changed a lot of things.
July 30, 2017
This was a great book.
I bought it just because it was written by David Levithan. I knew absolutely nothing about it going in or even when I bought it. The edition I have didn't have a synopsis so I picked it up because of the cover and because of the author. If I had really paid attention to the cover I would've been able to put it together that this was a 9/11 book, but I didn't. I had NO CLUE. And I'm really happy that I went into it not knowing because I'm not sure I would've picked it up if I had. I was 3 when 9/11 took place and therefore, though it happened in my lifetime and I've grown up hearing about it, it's not something I remember or something that I really know a lot about. So when I realized that this was a 9/11 book I was hesitant but interested. I'm really glad I stuck with it and read this. It was really beautifully written and I loved our cast of characters and I love how their lives intertwined and how they grew closer. I finished this in one sitting. It was a really, really short book and it was so easy to stay invested. I like how the book was separated into 5 parts and how they kind of followed the 5 stages of grief. All in all, super interesting and beautifully written.
I bought it just because it was written by David Levithan. I knew absolutely nothing about it going in or even when I bought it. The edition I have didn't have a synopsis so I picked it up because of the cover and because of the author. If I had really paid attention to the cover I would've been able to put it together that this was a 9/11 book, but I didn't. I had NO CLUE. And I'm really happy that I went into it not knowing because I'm not sure I would've picked it up if I had. I was 3 when 9/11 took place and therefore, though it happened in my lifetime and I've grown up hearing about it, it's not something I remember or something that I really know a lot about. So when I realized that this was a 9/11 book I was hesitant but interested. I'm really glad I stuck with it and read this. It was really beautifully written and I loved our cast of characters and I love how their lives intertwined and how they grew closer. I finished this in one sitting. It was a really, really short book and it was so easy to stay invested. I like how the book was separated into 5 parts and how they kind of followed the 5 stages of grief. All in all, super interesting and beautifully written.
October 2, 2012
One of my first vivid memories was watching a playback of the second tower crumble into nothingness as New Yorkers ran with binders and folders over their heads, completely covered in gray filth as if death had devoured them and spit them back out into the world. There was tension between my parents for some reason, and I could tell that they wee trying to controll themselves in front of me and my brother. I didn't think about what was happening much untill I saw 9/11 in a history textbook. It felt so wrong. September eleventh wasn't history, it was something we lived. In the book, Claire talks about the event, and describes it as a definite line between her old life, and the new one. I sometimes think of this as a bold sharpie line cutting off oblivion from awareness. Everything after 9/11 seems clearer. This book brought me back to my living room on that day. I thought this was powerfully written, especially for those of us who are old enough to remember.
May 16, 2021
What a cheap way to incorporate the September 11th attacks into an uninteresting and unnecessary story. It's a disgrace how such a bad book tries to get people to read it by placing the 9/11 tragedies in the forefront of the story in such a blatant and shameless manner. If a fiction novel about the real life events of September 11th absolutely needed to be written, it should have at the very LEAST included some heart and soul. This was like reading the most generic "love conquers all" kind of story that would be too cliche even for the sappiest young adult authors to write about! Treating 9/11 as a money making gimmick falls flat on this book's face and leaves behind a boring and pointless story that did not need to be told. Take away the 9/11 backdrop and you'll be left with a heartless, generic, even boring story with characters you'll be hard-pressed to give a damn about. Skip it.
August 1, 2021
I was torn between a 3 or a 4 rating, but this book was a solid 3.5 ⭐ for me. It was the perfect follow up to the book I just finished for book club. It's pretty short, so it was an easy read.
"Love is the Higher Law" follows three teens through their experience on 9/11, the days following, and the big milestones of the next year and a half. I loved Jasper and Peter, but I had trouble connecting with Claire's chapters. I'm not sure what it was, but they didn't hold my interest nearly as well. All in all - I'm glad I read it. Everyone remembers where they were that day, but as a fifth grader at the time - I loved reading the high school and college perspective. Most generations younger than me will have little to no memory of that day, and that's why this book is important - and a part of why Levithan wrote it.
"Love is the Higher Law" follows three teens through their experience on 9/11, the days following, and the big milestones of the next year and a half. I loved Jasper and Peter, but I had trouble connecting with Claire's chapters. I'm not sure what it was, but they didn't hold my interest nearly as well. All in all - I'm glad I read it. Everyone remembers where they were that day, but as a fifth grader at the time - I loved reading the high school and college perspective. Most generations younger than me will have little to no memory of that day, and that's why this book is important - and a part of why Levithan wrote it.
May 24, 2010
Written because Levithan’s 15 year old primary audience was 6 years old when the Towers fell, he has three teens tell about their experiences on that day and immediately after. Claire is a senior in HS and goes across the street to help in her second grade brother’s class. Peter, a friend of Claire’s, skipped school that morning to pick up Bob Dylan’s new album. Jasper, whose college didn’t start for two weeks, slept through it.
“The terrorists – those nineteen people, did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions did the right thing. Not just the firefighters and police officers and first-aid workers. Not even the people in the city who took people in or helped out or prayed. Or the people around the world who took in stranded travelers and also prayed and acted nicer to the people around them because everyone in that moment felt so vulnerable. I think that if you were to measure the weight of human kindness, it would have weighed more on 9/11 than it ever had. On 9/11, all the hatred and murder could not compare with the weight of love, of bravery, of caring.”
I read it, and I'm glad I did, because I try to read everything by Levithan, it's on ALA's Rainbow Project and I heard an interview with Levithan when it came out.
“The terrorists – those nineteen people, did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions did the right thing. Not just the firefighters and police officers and first-aid workers. Not even the people in the city who took people in or helped out or prayed. Or the people around the world who took in stranded travelers and also prayed and acted nicer to the people around them because everyone in that moment felt so vulnerable. I think that if you were to measure the weight of human kindness, it would have weighed more on 9/11 than it ever had. On 9/11, all the hatred and murder could not compare with the weight of love, of bravery, of caring.”
I read it, and I'm glad I did, because I try to read everything by Levithan, it's on ALA's Rainbow Project and I heard an interview with Levithan when it came out.
November 12, 2016
Following three teenagers during the events of 9/11 and its aftermath, "Love is the Higher Law" is Levithan at his best. I have sometimes found his more fantastical world-building in his other novels too distracting from the story - but this book succeeds on all levels. It seems a bit trite to say it comes from the heart, but the detail of the day and the feelings involved are passionate and real. Sometimes the teenagers may seem a little older than they actually are, but they know themselves that they had to grow up on that day. This is a short read, only about 160 pages, but it resonates.
************Update 12/11/16 I have upgraded this book to five stars because every time I re-read it I love it more.
************Update 12/11/16 I have upgraded this book to five stars because every time I re-read it I love it more.
March 22, 2016
Loved this book. A reflection on the year following 9/11, as lived and felt by three young people in NYC. It brought back many memories for me, and also made me think of my Brooklynite husband with every page. It made me want him to read it, so we can talk more about how he felt, and who he connected with, how life changed. It made me want to hand it to my almost 14-year-old, and ask her to read it. I was a few months pregnant with her on that day when I stood in the break room at McDonald's, wrapping my arms protectively around my rounded belly, grieving for the world and terrified for what kind of future I would bring my unborn child into.
September 11, 2019
"And here we are, so different from who we were on September 10th. And also different from who we were on the 11th. And the 12th. And yesterday."
It's been five years since I read this book and, for some reason, I couldn't fathom NOT reading it again tonight. I'm not sure what made the need to read it so strong, but I decided to go with it. It's never an easy read, but it's one I love nonetheless.
It's been five years since I read this book and, for some reason, I couldn't fathom NOT reading it again tonight. I'm not sure what made the need to read it so strong, but I decided to go with it. It's never an easy read, but it's one I love nonetheless.
September 3, 2012
Loved! (aside from the gayness), this book is very unexpected !! Loved Claire, her point of view in the story was my favorite, she was surprisingly philosophical and her thoughts were very well oriented. She knew what to say and when to say it.
You just know a good book is good when you want to highlight most of it.
You just know a good book is good when you want to highlight most of it.
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