Pages: 310
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Release Date: 6th April 2010
Other Titles by this Author: JG - Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns. DL - Boy Meets Boy, The Realm of Possibility, Love is a Higher Law etc.
It’s not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old - including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theatre auteur extraordinaire - Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most awesome high school musical.
I love everything John Green and having heard only amazing things about David Levithan’s books so I knew I was in for a treat with Will Grayson, Will Grayson.
What was immediately obvious to me while reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson was which chapters were written by which author. John Green delivered his trademark lovable and nerdy protagonist, wry humour, wit and cleverness while David Levithan’s chapters were new to me. I have to admit that I wasn’t too sure at first, but by the middle of the novel I had fallen head over heels for David’s Will and his writing. Now I know why he is so revered in the world of YA.
Like everyone else who’s read Will Grayson, Will Grayson, I love Tiny Cooper. He is a masterpiece of a character. Everything that he said either made me smile or tear up and his flamboyance was a complete joy to read. I loved how his being gay wasn’t an issue in the book; it was simply an integral part of the character that the amazing john Green created. Oh, and he can write a mean musical. Seriously, if they were showing it in the West End I’d go and see it. Brilliant!
Even though I adored Will Grayson, Will Grayson, I did have a few initial niggles. The first thing is the amount of swearing there is in this book. I mean, I’m not a prude and I’m very used to people swearing (hello, I live in Crawley!) but there was just a lot of it that was occasionally unnecessary, though I did get used to it. But my major issue was the lack of capital letters in David Levithan’s chapters. I can be a bit of a grammar, punctuation, spelling etc. Nazi (I correct everyone!) so it really got on my nerves which probably didn’t help my early uncertainty about his writing.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a intensely emotional, unflinchingly honest and, ultimately, uplifting novel from two masters of their genre.
For my 2010 100+ Reading Challenge
Sophie
I've heard nothing but good things about this one, so I really need to read it soon. The girls over at Forever YA RAVED about Tiny Cooper - he sounds fab!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed! Oh, and I've never read anything by David Levithan either. I'm looking forward to it.
Sophie, I think this is a really fair and balanced review and I have to say that excessive swearing can be so annoying. I guess a certain amount helps to give shape to a character but I think it is a very fine line. Still think this sounds brill though.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I really like the sound of this one and I'm planning to get the PB when it's released next year! Have never read anything from either authors so I'm really looking forward to it!
ReplyDeleteI really want to read this, so your review totally intrigues me. I am adoring the idea of the two writers bringing their own style and voice to the story. I doubt the swears will bother me (although your comment made me smile!) and Tiny Cooper sounds AWESOME. Thanks for the excellent review. :)
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