19 Love Songs is a collection of short stories by David Levithan, all connected by the theme of love.

Blurb on the back:

No love song is exactly the same as the one that came before it. There’s the heartsick pop of a sarcastic boy with an unrequited crush. There’s the gentle lullaby of Valentine’s Day, as seen through the eyes of someone who wakes up in a new body every day. There’s the tentative melody of two boys stranded on a snow day. In 19 Love Songs, David Levithan makes a playlist of stories, verse and illustrations. Celebrating love in all its forms, there’s something for every reader to cherish.

I don’t usually like short stories, but this collection is really special, with wondrous tales of different kinds of love; stories that we all need in times like these.

It really could be subtitled #loveislove.

Levithan writes about love between: boys and boys; girls and girls; boys and girls; between friends; between parents; between strangers; between people who never knew they needed each other until now.

How to sum this book up? What’s that phrase I’m looking for?

Oh yes, here it is: life-affirming.

19 Love Songs is just the tonic you need.