Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
The chapter "Meet Me at the Cemetery Gates" is named after a Smiths song called—you guessed it—Cemetery Gates. (Source.)
During the week, David Levithan is the founding editor of PUSH, an imprint of Scholastic. They have a yearly novel-writing contest for students in grades seven to twelve that you can enter. (Source.)
And guess what other author's work he edits? That's right, Suzanne Collins. Here some Hunger Games fans meeting them both. (Source.)
Boy Meets Boy is a play on boy meets girl, which TV Tropes and Idioms describes as "one of the oldest and most basic of plots." Romeo and Juliet, anyone? (Source.)
David Levithan is a big supporter of The Trevor Project, a suicide-prevention and advocacy organization for LGBT youth. Know an LGBT teen who's struggling? Give them this link. (Source.)
The music Paul and Noah paint is that of Chet Baker. Who's he, you ask? Here, have a playlist. (Source.)
Tony and Paul discuss three books when they meet at The Strand: The Lost Language of Cranes, Equal Affections, and A Place I've Never Been. All are by the same author, David Leavitt, and all feature gay male characters. They were published in 1986, 1989, and 1990, respectively. (Source.)
While Tony's parents's religious beliefs are at odds with Tony's gay identity, there are tons of churches that welcome LGBTQ members. (Source.)