Book Review: "will grayson, will grayson" by John Green and David Levithan

will grayson, will grayson

WHAT'S THE DEAL??

it's not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live in different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old- including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteur extraordinaire- Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most awesome high school musical.

WHAT I THOUGHT:

First of all, let me tell you this- the book shocked me. I think a good part of it was that for some reason I didn't feel like I would be able to get into it, and not even sure why not. Good thing I was totally in the wrong. LOVED IT!! What immediately caught my eye was that the entire book was written in small letters- no caps. That has nothing to do with why i liked it so much, but was pretty neat anyhow. I've never seen that before. Anyway, super cool book. I would say one of the better ones I have read in a good while.

What I LoVeD was how the authors tied the whole story together with the characters. Excellently done! The deal is this- 2 kids, both named Will Grayson are thrown into meeting each other at like the absolute worst time, yet it turns out to be alright. They are tied together through the book with a common interest- Tiny Cooper, who is the ULTRA gay and VERY fat best friend to one Will Grayson, and a love interest to the other Will Grayson . Both Will Graysons live totally different lives, but again are tied in together by the Wills. Just about every other chapter, sometimes in mid chapter (I think) the authors switched from the standpoint of each WIll Grayson and their respective, yet entwined lives to the other.

The best friend Will Grayson:

Average popularity, but has always been accused of being in love with Tiny just by the closeness of their friendship. Best friends since little boys, always have each other's back, etc. kind of BF's. This Will has a kind of yes, but kind of no relationship with Jane, who Tiny set up together. So, their part of the book is  about the true feelings and emotions of teenage children (about junior-senior year in HS age) that describe how it really is to be a teen. What is ultra big is that Tiny is writing this play for the school where he is acting in almost every capacity including acting, directing, costumes, set, etc. A lot of his stress throughout the book comes from this play (about his life growing up with Will) he is trying to make just absolutely fabulous.... 

The boyfriend Will Grayson:

Totally opposite the other W.G., this one is the kind that has no friends, is a lone loser and takes depression medication to make him happy because all he wants to do is die.  Basically, one of those who feels like he has no purpose and hates everyone and everything.  Happens to be gay and was outted by a good friend pretending to be someone else online. Meets Tiny through the other W.G. after their crazy first meeting. He becomes Tiny's boyfriend, but struggles with the fact that he really can not hold a relationship with him down just because he is such a loser (in his mind). What's cool about this is the authors have written a good part of these guy's conversations either in or discussing texts to each other. Again, unique writing style that I really enjoyed.

The thing is that Tiny is a very unique character.  Sensitive but sometimes forgets to think of others, he enthralls himself with this play that he is running as if there is nothing on earth that is more important. This causes for drama between him and the Wills. A really great story of friendships, different kinds of love, and just teenage life from different perspectives gives an excellent depiction of one's own identity- the one deep down inside.

Pleasant surprise... A real winner- a quick and HiGhLy enjoyable read, definitely worth adding to your library. My opinion- not too many people wouldn't love this one.

DAVE

And just because I found his pic while looking for my logo on google.... A picture of my first cousin, Jordan Lateiner... Here's your shout out in front of the millions of people out there... What's up Cuz Jordan????