Will Grayson Will Grayson- A Review
I have a fun little activity going. When I finish a paper book and I like it, but know I won’t read it again, I trade it on Facebook for another book from a friend. That is how I came to read Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. Otherwise, it would probably not have been on my reading list ever.
Allow me to break into my old geezerness for second. I have to say that I am not a huge fan of Young Adult novels. I have read a quite a few and only Maze Runner, Hunger Games, and Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl, stuck. I didn’t enjoy Red Queen, Allegiant, or a few others for the same reason- they tended not to be too deep. Then again, they were not meant for me, and so I always took YA books with a grain of salt.
Back to normal me and back to the review.
This book shouldn’t be called Will Grayson Will Grayson at all, but should be called Tiny Cooper and his two supporting Wills as Tiny is the true star of this story.
I had never read a John Green book up until now. I have had The Fault in Our Stars loaded on my Kindle for a few months, but have not read it yet due to my being a part time curmudgeon. I had not heard or read any David Levithan, so I was completely unfamiliar with his work. It turned out I saw some movies based on his work though.
The two authors alternate chapters throughout the book with Green’s Will Grayson having a struggle with who he is in relationship to his gay friend Tiny and possibly gay Jane (his name for her, not mine). His parents are well off and wondering where he will go in life. Levithan’s Will Grayson is struggling with his sexuality, as well as his friendship with Maura, mental health, and his single parent mother. He isn’t well off and is very conscious of that. Green’s chapters are written normally, while Levithan’s are written all in lowercase, which is very distracting in the beginning. Levithan in the post book interview says he wrote the character in lowercase because his Will sees himself as a lower person. Without that explanation, it would have continued to be a distraction.
This is where it became difficult for me and my inner “stay off my lawn” grumpy old man side. After reading the first two chapters, I figured out- both Wills would meet (that wasn’t hard as it was on the first page of my version of the book), that gay Will would probably have a relationship with Tiny, and there would be a will they or won’t they story with Will and Jane. It turns out I was right!
The thing that I was completely wrong about was that Green’s Will was better than Levithan’s Will. There was a switch, for me, thanks to Tiny. As stated earlier, Tiny is the true star of this story. Tiny is a huge football playing gay and out High Schooler who is writing a musical Tiny Dancer. Tiny lets nothing get to him at all and is the most confident of all the characters of the book. Tiny falls in love and then breaks up every 4 minutes which is his only weakness. He is Green’s Will best friend since childhood. He is an incredible character and is the saving grace of this book. Without Tiny, I don’t know if I would have enjoyed Green’s Will as much. Green’s Will boils down to a will they or won’t they cliched teen romance novel.
Levithan’s Will though takes a wonderful turn when Tiny enters his life. He starts off as an almost unlikable complaining typical angry depressed teen. I found his story got deeper as the book progressed. He wrestles with his sexuality, his depression, and grows the most as a character. By the end, I couldn’t wait for this Will’s chapters, while I wanted to quickly read through the other Will’s chapters scanning for Tiny.
The only real major critique from me was the ending. I will not ruin it, but it felt like it was being written to be a movie rather than a book. It made me roll my eyes just a bit as I was reading it. Otherwise, I would hand this book to others to enjoy the character of Tiny. In fact, it is on my Facebook page to trade to another. Tiny would receive 5 stars, but the book as a whole is a 3.5 due to some cliched parts that are typically found in a YA book. To be fair, if I was rating it as a YA book, it would probably be a 4 or maybe a 4.5.
Here is an Amazon link- Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
