Book Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Release Date: April 6, 2010
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers cross paths. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, culminating in heroic turns-of-heart and the most epic musical ever to grace the high school stage.
Will Grayson is a teenager who follows two simple rules: 1. Don’t care too much. 2. Shut up. He’s straight but his best friend Tiny Cooper is gay. Very gay. And very big. Lately, Will has started to feel like their relationship has become one-sided. Tiny has always been self-absorbed but he becomes even more so after the school gives him permission to produce and perform his play, Hold Me Closer, which is basically his life story.
A few hours away lives a depressed, closeted teenage boy also named Will Grayson. The only bright spot in his life is his online boyfriend Isaac, who he hopes to one day meet in person. In the meantime, his only friend is a gloomy girl named Maura who is so needy that sometimes he can barely stand her.
This book alternates between the two Wills every other chapter. John Green wrote straight Will’s chapters. He wrote his Will in the traditional style of proper capitalization and sentence structure. David Levithan wrote gay Will’s chapters with all lowercase letters with the dialogue written similar to texts. This method served his Will’s personality well.
In the authors’ interview in the back of the book, David said that he wanted to make his Will a character who is in the middle of things in his life. He’s gay and he’s fine with it. He’s closeted but only because he doesn’t like talking to people or drawing attention to himself. He has depression but he’s on medication and is okay. This is not a story about a teen struggling with depression or being gay. As David says this is a book about what happens next, when you have to live the rest of your life.
As usual, John Green does a great job of inhabiting the mind of a teenager. David Levithan is new to me and I was impressed with him as well. I’d like to read more of his books. My favorite line from his Will is, “when i look at the guys and girls at the other tables, i wonder what they could possibly have to say to each other. they’re all so boring and they’re all trying to make up for it by talking louder.” I substitute teach in high schools and I can say that I totally get what he means. They talk so loud!
Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a unique collaboration that worked really well. I think teen readers will find both Wills relatable in some way and will be comforted. I recommend this book to both teen boys and girls, LBGT or straight.
Other John Green books I’ve reviewed:
Looking for Alaska
An Abundance of Katherines
The Fault in Our Stars
Turtles All the Way Down
