Every Day

Love Is the Higher Law

Name: Love Is the Higher Law
Author: David Levithan
ISBN: 9780375834691

by David Levithan

Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Overview

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.

About the Author, David Levithan

David Levithan is a children’s book editor in New York City. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Good To Know

In our interview with Levithan, he shared some fun factoids with us:

"This book started out as a Valentine story I sent to friends; I've done that for the past 15 years, and this one happened to turn into a novel."

"Since January 1, 2001, I've taken a photograph every day, part of a New Year's resolution that shows no signs of stopping."

"My friend Kristin and I decorate each other's offices for our birthdays, and as a result I am surrounded by a year's worth of small celebrations, from mobiles to woodcuts of the Eiffel Tower to (this year's decoration) photos from my childhood.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Levithan (How They Met, and Other Stories) successfully takes on the task of writing a 9/11 novel that captures the heartbreak of the events of that day through the eyes of three teenagers. Claire, in school that morning, finds herself drawn to late-night walks downtown. Her classmate Peter, waiting outside Tower Records to purchase the new Dylan album, watches the towers fall. And college student Jasper, who had previously met and planned a date with Peter, spends the day collecting papers that have blown into Brooklyn from the World Trade Center (“Something as mundane as two sheets of paper from an office file could provide the final evidence of how vulnerable we are”). Over the next weeks and months, they slowly and tentatively connect with each other, engaging in a healing process parallel to the one New York City itself experiences. Levithan renders the three distinct voices of his characters convincingly, and if some stylistic gambits (notably a 12-page paragraph conveying Peter's post-9/11 uncertainty) miss, more often than not Levithan brings genuine emotion to his portrayal of three broken teenagers helping each other heal. Ages 12–up. (Aug.)

VOYA - Robbie Johnston

Claire, Jasper, and Peter's lives are only loosely connected, but when the World Trade Center is hit by a plane on September 11, a series of events are set in motion that will change their lives forever. Peter and Jasper must come to terms with how they can begin a relationship when their world has been shattered; Claire and Jasper find kindred spirits in one another while looking out upon Ground Zero; and Peter and Claire find friendship and comfort in one another. Told in Levithan's distinctive style of relating a story in multiple points of view, this book blends New York culture with popular music. Two protagonists are gay, but the focus is on their reactions to the events that unfold rather than on their homosexuality. Readers in places far removed from New York might experience a disconnect, as could those who were younger on that tragic day. The pacing is slower than some might be used to, but the story is filled with thought-provoking arguments and well-crafted dialogue, rewarding patient teens with a satisfying ending. This title might sit on the shelf initially, but with booktalking or as part of the curriculum, it should prove popular enough. Reviewer: Robbie Johnston

Children's Literature - Summer Whiting

Claire, Jasper, and Peter start this day just like any other. Claire is enjoying the start of her senior year of high school. Jasper is getting ready to head to college and Peter is ditching first period for Tower Records. But this morning happens to fall on September 11, 2001. Told from the perspective of three New York City teens, the reader is permitted to experience this day's events in an honest and telling manner. Levithan captures raw emotion and gives a voice to the generation whose ensconced adolescence will forever be connected to this horrendous tragedy. The events of 9/11 are what prompt this story to unfold, but it does not end there. Relationships are explored, healing takes place, and a beautiful resilience emerges through the days, weeks, and months that follow. This story brings to life a moment in America's history, something a textbook could never do. This would make a beneficial complement to a high school history or English class. It is important to note that there is a glaring error in the summary of this novel found in the beginning of this book. It notes that the World Trade Center was bombed; this is unacceptable as this is inaccurate and counterfactual. Reviewer: Summer Whiting

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up—Claire and Peter are friendly acquaintances at their New York City high school. Jasper is a freshman in college. They attend a mutual friend's party, and Peter and Jasper make a date for the evening of September 11, 2001. They reschedule and have an excruciating date a week later. Claire and Jasper meet again by chance at Ground Zero when neither can sleep. Claire is called to action, Peter is reverent, and Jasper, a kind of "expert dodger," can't feel a thing. The three come to develop a deep friendship. Levithan's character development is quick and seamless. He defines the trio's personae by how they perceive the tragedy, how they interact, and how they observe the world. The author's prose has never been deeper in thought or feeling. His writing here is especially pure—unsentimental, restrained, and full of love for his characters and setting. Though the trio's talks and emails are philosophically sophisticated, Love Is the Higher Law is steadily paced and tightly, economically written. Discussion of the U.S. invasion of Iraq feels like overkill, but it brings the novel to an appropriately queasy end. Levithan captures the mood of post-9/11 New York exquisitely, slashed open to reveal a deep heart.—Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library

Kirkus Reviews

Crafting a young adult novel about 9/11 is no easy feat. A triptych-like framework breaks the event into three experiences that reflect both those who witnessed it firsthand and those who saw it from a distance. Claire sees the attack from the windows of her downtown high school. Peter watches the second plane hit while standing in line at Tower Records. Jasper, home from college and hung over, oversleeps and sees the World Towers collapse over and over on television. Emotions swirl and love is found, lost and regained. The characters feel current within the historical setting, but the music and film references read more like 30-something ephemera instead of 2001 teen culture. Levithan stumbles most with voice: Often Peter's and Claire's lose their clarity and pack too much wistful adult wisdom. Though not pitch-perfect throughout, Jasper's feels the strongest, especially when he struggles through a fumbling date with Peter. Their scenes together are the most memorable, probably because love stories are what the author does best. He's got two here: one between the two boys, one between New York City and humanity. (Historical fiction. YA)