Yep it's been a while... I apologize for my rustiness. I have not written a review in about 6 months, so I've pretty much forgotten how I wrote them...
Notice how this review is going to be extremely long (for me, the minimalist) and then they will get progressively shorter.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Hardcover, 310 pages
Published April 6th, 2010 by Dutton Juvenile
Goodreads Summary:
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 both legions of faithful fans.
My Incoherent Review of Rambling:
"Funny, rude, and original." -The New York Times Book Review
No, that's not my review. That's one of the blurbs on the cover of my version of the book. And I think it definitely sums up the book in those three (technically four) little words.
I'm gonna start off by saying I am definitely not a big contemporary reader. I don't often review contemporary because I've realized it's a bit unfair of me to read and review a book for a genre I don't like. I can read phenomenal contemporary books and in the end say, "Oh. That was nice." and then never think of that book again. However, there is always the rare contemp that comes around, steals my heart, and makes me eye the other neglected contemp books on my shelf. Will Grayson, Will Grayson is the perfect example.
If you are wondering about the title, Will Grayson, Will Grayson is about two teenage boys both named Will Grayson. Will Grayson deals with his sometimes overbearing gay friend named Tiny. He also forces himself to live by the rules of 1. Don't care too much and 2. Shut up. will grayson deals with depression but the one bright light in his life is his online boyfriend Issac. I loved seeing them both grow throughout the book, and really liked comparing the Will Graysons of the ending to the Will Graysons of the beginning.
This book is in it's own realm of originality while remaining in the borders of realism. Yes, it can be a bit ridiculous and unbelievable at times, but not so ridiculous that you can't understand what the characters are going through or why they act the way they do. And even though it deals with depression and some darker bits of growing up, I like how it looks at it with almost a light hearted attitude. Because those who have read this book would definitely not describe it as dark.
Even though the voices are completely different (Will Grayson written by John Green and will grayson written by David Levithan) the chapters in will grayson's point of view are written in all lower case. I also loved how both Wills were so blunt and truthful, I kept on mentally saying *quote this* in my head. As I was reading, I also thought to myself, *This may be the funniest book I've ever read*, I was laughing pretty much every other page.
And because
I suck at writing (if you haven't noticed) here's a quote by David Levithan in the back of the book interview about the voice of will, who happens to be my favorite of the two Wills.
"I wanted my will to be very much in the middle of things, because I don't feel there are enough books written about teens caught in the middle of things. I didn't want him to be full of self-loathing about being gay--he's fine with being gay but wants to keep it to himself... He's lost a dad, and he's not completely over it; but he's not hung up on it either. And, most important, he lives with depression, but he's at the stage where he's living with it, not discovering it. So many novels--many of them excellent--are written about teens who first grapple with their depression and get help. There are very few about what happens next, when you have to live the rest of your life."
-David Levithan
5+ stars :) One of my favorite reads this year (even though it was released last year). Super excited for both John Green and David Levithan's future works, which I will most definitely be reading.
As a side note (You're saying this whole review is not one big jumbled side note?!): Me being a
nerdfighter did not influence my review or opinion of this book at all. As much as I love John Green, I've only read 1 other book by him, Paper Towns, which was one of those "Oh. That's nice." books for me. So I was a bit surprised at how much I loved Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Hurray for too long, possibly run on sentences. DFTBA.
