i am thrilled to be joined by david levithan. nning books, including today's band book feature, two boys kissing. david, thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me here. >> great book. it is based on a true story. when you get challenged, when somebody wants to ban this book, have removed from a library, doesn't matter that it is based on a true story or not? >> i mean, i don't think it is. my book hits this list because it is called two boys kissing. it shows two boys kissing on the cover. it contains more than two boys kissing inside. yes, historical record, there is the fact that it is based on intergenerational -- it is a generation of man who died from aids. they are looking down at the current generation. none of those subtleties matter. they just object to two boys kissing. >> i was saying that this is optimistic. it has a lightness to it that you would not expect based on the description of the book that i gave. if you are writing the book today, would you be as optimistic in the way that it was written? >> i