#94 Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Will Grayson has two rules in life, don’t care and shut up. And when he breaks those rules, things usually go badly. So when his 
best friend, Tiny Cooper, decides that he wants to set him up with fellow gay/straight alliance member Jane, Will puts his foot down and refuses. The only problem is he soon finds himself falling for her. Meanwhile, another teenager named Will Grayson lives a life of extreme emotions. He hates his life at school, and at home. But at night he finds himself falling in love with a boy named Issac, who he has only met online. When Will and Issac decide to meet up for a date, things don’t go as planned, leading the two Will Graysons to meet each other for the first time.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a very entertaining book written by both John Green and David Levithan, with one author taking each perspective. Fans of John Green (such as myself) will easily pick on up which Will Grayson is his due to the notable mix of humor and seriousness that Green manages to pull off so successfully, as well as his unfortunate habit of using the same character types in every work. If it wasn't due to the fact that Green was such a talented writer, this would bother me. Fortunately, he pulls it off so well that I keep on coming back for more. David Levithan writes from the perspective of the second Will Grayson. This is my first time reading works by Levithan, and it won’t be the last. Although his Will Grayson’s extreme emotions may be surprising at first, I am impressed at how rich his characters ended up being.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson does three things very well. First off, the humor is fantastic. This is a book that you shouldn’t read in public because you will constantly find yourself laughing out loud. Secondly, how it chooses to portray GBLT youth. Under a lesser writer, Tiny Cooper would have been a stereotypical “fabulous!” gay guy, but Green and Levithan flesh him out expertly to create a character that’s more three dimensional. Several other gay characters populate the story (including Levithan’s Will Grayson), and I was pleased to see they posses a wide variety of personalities. The third aspect I really enjoyed about this novel is that is how it choses to portray different types of love. We get romantic love (both gay and straight), love between a child and a parent, and love between friends. It’s satisfying in a genre that tends to put romance on a pedestal to see platonic love explored.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a satisfying young adult title by two talented authors. I would highly recommend checking out the audio version, which features superb narration by Nick Poedhl and MacLeod Andrews.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 310 pages. The audio version is 7hrs and 52 minutes.
Source: audible
Other books I've read by this author: By Green, I’ve read Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns. This is my first book by David Levithan
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads
best friend, Tiny Cooper, decides that he wants to set him up with fellow gay/straight alliance member Jane, Will puts his foot down and refuses. The only problem is he soon finds himself falling for her. Meanwhile, another teenager named Will Grayson lives a life of extreme emotions. He hates his life at school, and at home. But at night he finds himself falling in love with a boy named Issac, who he has only met online. When Will and Issac decide to meet up for a date, things don’t go as planned, leading the two Will Graysons to meet each other for the first time.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a very entertaining book written by both John Green and David Levithan, with one author taking each perspective. Fans of John Green (such as myself) will easily pick on up which Will Grayson is his due to the notable mix of humor and seriousness that Green manages to pull off so successfully, as well as his unfortunate habit of using the same character types in every work. If it wasn't due to the fact that Green was such a talented writer, this would bother me. Fortunately, he pulls it off so well that I keep on coming back for more. David Levithan writes from the perspective of the second Will Grayson. This is my first time reading works by Levithan, and it won’t be the last. Although his Will Grayson’s extreme emotions may be surprising at first, I am impressed at how rich his characters ended up being.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson does three things very well. First off, the humor is fantastic. This is a book that you shouldn’t read in public because you will constantly find yourself laughing out loud. Secondly, how it chooses to portray GBLT youth. Under a lesser writer, Tiny Cooper would have been a stereotypical “fabulous!” gay guy, but Green and Levithan flesh him out expertly to create a character that’s more three dimensional. Several other gay characters populate the story (including Levithan’s Will Grayson), and I was pleased to see they posses a wide variety of personalities. The third aspect I really enjoyed about this novel is that is how it choses to portray different types of love. We get romantic love (both gay and straight), love between a child and a parent, and love between friends. It’s satisfying in a genre that tends to put romance on a pedestal to see platonic love explored.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a satisfying young adult title by two talented authors. I would highly recommend checking out the audio version, which features superb narration by Nick Poedhl and MacLeod Andrews.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 310 pages. The audio version is 7hrs and 52 minutes.
Source: audible
Other books I've read by this author: By Green, I’ve read Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns. This is my first book by David Levithan
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads