review: will grayson, will grayson

First off, just wanted to apologize for the lack of updates and posts with substance lately. I've been in a bit of a blogging slump :/. Anyhow, onto the review!

Book Description

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both them legions of faithful fans.

My Opinion:

There is a lot of hype surrounding Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Understandably so, since it's John Green and David Leviathan, together. Writing. I don't think it's quite possible to go wrong with a pair like that. Add in a premise where two boys with the same name collide, and you get a pretty great book.

Will Grayson (penned by John Green) begins the book. He's much in the vein of Green's previous characters--nerdy and sweet--and he takes a backseat to a character that seems to outshine everyone else in a novel. In this case, Will Grayson is best friends with Tiny Cooper--a giant, flamboyantly gay football player who can't seem to stay in a relationship for longer than a few minutes. Tiny's melodramatic, a genius, and probably my favorite character in the book. Overall, Green's narrative was very enjoyable: I found myself endeared with Will's witty voice, his entertaining view on the world, and his strict rules regarding social interaction. As the chapters progress, Will falls in love for the first time and deals with backseat role he plays in Tiny Cooper's life and the possible end of their friendship.

Add in will grayson (penned by David Leviathan) to the mixture and you get a more serious element and therefore a more complex novel. Leviathan's will is depressed, finds solace with his internet friend Isaac, and hasn't yet come out with the fact that he's gay. It's quite easy to differentiate between the two Will's as both the authors have extremely different voices. Furthermore, will grayson's story is narrated entirely in undercase letters, which I thought was a nice touch considering will's obsession with IMing. However, I didn't enjoy Leviathan's chapters as much as Green's. I found his will to be stereotpyically emo, although in later chapters will developed more depth as he dealt with his issues.

The first part of the book moved a little slowly, and I only really got excited reading when the two Will Graysons finally met. Unfortunately, their paths soon diverge, but the following chapters really come together as the two Wills are faced with a whole host of problems: will must gather up the courage to finally come out and ride out the repercussions, while Will must sort out his friendship with Tiny and win over a girl. It is Tiny Dancer, the musical that Tiny Cooper is producing, that ties the plot together and allows for a very touching--if somewhat cheesy--ending.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a good read, although my (unreasonably) high expectations led to some disappointment as it wasn't what I had hoped for. For me, Will Grayson, Will Grayson wasn't as life-changing or as brilliant as it was for others--I just like it and would recommend it.

My Opinion: I give it a 8/10. Read it when you can :)