Will Grayson, Will Grayson [Paperback]

Two of today's most popular young adult authors have collaborated together on an entertaining journey into the lives of two characters, both named Will Grayson.

Told in alternating chapters and voices, each Will Grayson is introduced to the reader. Each Will slowly reveals the inner workings of their minds. John Green's Will Grayson has bounced from his friend, Tiny Cooper, to a sporty group of friends, back to Tiny Cooper.

Tiny is anything but Tiny. He's a hulking gay football player of a boy. Tiny is proud to be gay and is pushing to have the school let him put on his production Tiny Dancer: The Tiny Cooper Story. Tiny always puts Will in crazy or uncomfortable situations. Tiny is trying to set Will up with their friend, Jane. Will is attracted to Jane but can't bring himself to pursue her.

On the other side of the city is David Levithan's Will Grayson. This Will is a loner. His only friend is an Internet buddy, Isaac, who lives in Ohio. There's Maura, a girl from school who thinks she's Will's friend, but Will finds her intrusive and bothersome. Maura is convinced Will is gay, but Will refuses to divulge anything personal to her.

As the story develops, both Wills unexpectedly find themselves in the same bizarre porn shop in Chicago. Neither expected to be there, and when they realize they have the same name, they find themselves sitting outside trying to figure things out. Enter Tiny and Jane, and the night is about to get even more bizarre.

Each author has a distinctive style, and it's quite easy to distinguish between the two while reading WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON. I found one of the author's Will Grayson characters much more appealing than the other, but both are well-written and have fascinating stories to share. But in all honesty, I thought Tiny Cooper stole the show! He's such a large character (pun intended) and deserves a novel of his own!

If you're a fan of either Green or Levithan or both, WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON will surely please.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Truer words were never spoken.

Every once in a while, the perfect idea comes to the perfect pair of minds and is executed in the perfect manner about the perfect characters in a perfectly told plot, producing, in effect, the perfect book.

I cannot even begin to say how much I fell in love with every facet of this book. I started reading it 6 hours ago, and I have now finished it, and I wish I could have made it last a little bit longer.

The idea of two Will Grayson's randomly meeting was highly appealing to me, and I honestly thought there would be more to their meeting than the story actually had, but that didn't matter. Because the way Green and Levithan decided to spin it was absolutely fantastic and way better than I had imagined.

Again, the authors' knack for so brilliantly conveying a person's psyche is phenomenal. The thoughts, humour, struggle and emotions were very well displayed across all the characters, and they make each and every character so unique in their own way, that there is noway you wouldn't remember one of them. They are the kind of characters that stay with you long after the story's ended.

I read this book and I thought, they'd be crazy not to make an actual production out of it! It has all the elements to keep you reading until the very end - It is sarcastic, bitter, angry, emotional, hilarious, witty, sad, cute, and extremely clever - but what do you expect when you bring two genius writers such as John Green and David Levithan for a collaborative effort?

I loved the way they chose to showcase the contrast between the two Will Grayson's in such subtle mannerisms, where in one chapter Will is ranting about the stupid use of "lol", and then in the next chapter, the other Will uses "lol" in a conversation with Jane on Facebook. In another chapter Will is forced to sit through Austen's "Pride & Prejudice" with his mother, while the next chapter shows the other Will willingly - no pun intended - owning a copy of Austen's "Persuasion" in his bookshelf, and the way it's done is so cleverly interwoven in the text that its hilarious and perfect all at the same time.

Also, the scene when Will finds out the truth about Isaac was heartbreaking for me, it was a beautifully written scene by Levithan, and he was definitely able to bring out the emotions that Will was feeling at that moment so profoundly. I think there were very important and serious underlying - or maybe not so much underlying - issues throughout the overall plot of the story that allows it to have a stronger impact on you as a reader. Every person reading this story is bound to connect to one of the characters, ideas, thoughts, feelings etc. filling up the pages of this book. And I was no different.

The last scene was epic, and Tiny Cooper:

My name is not Will Grayson, but I definitely appreciate you.

If you enjoyed the fault in our stars you'll love this. This book was perfect for me.
John Green is magnificent.