Book Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both them both legions of faithful fans.

I've heard so many great things about Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. Actually, I've heard many great things about both authors and pretty much everything they've written. But this was my first John Green book and my second by David (I've read one of his book co-written with Rachel Cohn). But I have to say... there were things I loved and things I hated.

The first Will Grayson, the one who narrates the odd-numbered chapters, was written by John Green. I liked him right from the start. (I've seen several of John Green's videos on YouTube, so I figured out right away which Will Grayson he wrote.) He's just a regular high school guy. His best friend is Tiny Cooper, an openly gay student, and he's introduced to Jane, who might be straight... he hopes... kinda... The other Will Grayson narrates the even-numbered chapters and was written by David Levithan. He's just a regular gay high school student, who is not "out of the closet". He's more crass than I enjoy reading, though he did have several good lines.

The even chapters are written without correct grammar and punctuation. Which made it very hard to read. So, instead, I listened to the audiobook. Due to the high number of instant message conversations, this was kind of tedious to hear. You see this: : ) : ) but then you hear "smiley-face smiley-face." And it made me laugh when I shouldn't necessarily be laughing.

I went back and forth on liking the Will Graysons. I found some of the story to be predictable. I'd love one part of the story, and then hate the next. I did, however, like most of it. Except the last few chapters. Which is unfortunate. As much as I enjoyed the book, the end was a let-down. I look forward to reading more by both authors.

And because it needs to be mentioned...

My favorite line in the entire book was in one of David Levithan's chapters, where his Will Grayson said: “rofl! what? are you really rolling on the floor laughing? well, please stay down there for a sec while I KICK YOUR ASS.” And the reason I love this quote? There is very little I hate more than LOL, ROFL and other initialisms. Reading them irritates me.