When I was little, my dad used to tell me, "Will, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose." This seemed like a reasonably astute observation to me when I was eight, but it turns out to be incorrect on a few levels. To begin with, you cannot possibly pick your friends, or else I never would have ended up with Tiny Cooper. Will Grayson, Will Grayson was a good book, but also probably one of the dirtiest books I've ever read. Really. Not only is it full of curse words, it's also peppered with references. I wasn't expecting that because most of John Green's books aren't that bad. But at the same time, the plot was really interesting, and a lot of the writing was really good too. Will Grayson, Will Grayson is the story of two people named Will Grayson who meet one another in an unlikely corner of Chicago. They're from very different walks of life, though both are high-schoolers, and they've both somehow ended up in a shop they wouldn't normally go to. Oh, and there's also a musical about being gay being put on by the first Will Grayson's friend and the second Will Grayson's boyfriend (for a while at least.) That's basically it, so there's not a whole lot that goes on in this book, but it was very good. Probably my second or third favorite of John Green's novels.
Of the two Wills, I liked the first one (written by John Green) better. The second Will Grayson (written by David Levithan) was interesting too though. He has a lot of problems at the beginning of the book, and doesn't use capitals in his writing, which was an interesting choice. Though it turns out that the first Will Grayson has plenty of issues too. He also narrates conversations in script format, which is not as off-putting as you might think it would be. It's actually pretty funny.
I feel like the cursing and the lewdness could have really been toned down a lot and the book could have been much, much better. As it was, it was still a really good book, and there was a lot of great writing in it. Everyone's always talking about all the meaningful writing in Looking For Alaska. But there was more of that here in my opinion. There were lots of parts that were so relatable and moving. And really true. The book got much better as it went on, and as the characters were developed. Both John Green and David Levithan are both really amazing writers, and this collaboration shows that.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson had a really great plot, and I ended up really liking it. It was thoughtful, and interesting, and funny, and I would highly recommend this one. Though The Fault in Our Stars is still my favorite John Green (I'm going to be rereading it soon).
Read Will Grayson, Will Grayson:
- if you like John Green
- if you like David Levithan
- if you like realistic fiction
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