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Saturday, January 18, 2014

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

Pages: 310
Intended Audience: Mature teens
Genre: Real life / LGBT
Notes for Parents: Contains coarse and vulgar language, sexual references, under-aged drinking, and homosexual relationships.

The Back Cover
Will Grayson, meet Will Grayson. One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers cross paths. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, culminating in heroic turns-of-heart and the most epic musical ever to grace the high school stage.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:
This story is less about Will Grayson and Will Grayson and more about Tiny Cooper and the way he influences the Will Graysons as well as the other people around him.

What’s good?
Unapologetically vulgar and fiendishly witty, this is a moving portrayal of the male condition. Gay boys and straight guys alike, as well as all the girls, struggle with identity, emotions, and societal expectations in what is an inexplicably charming and courageously original story. When the first Will Grayson compared himself to his stuffed prairie dog, I almost cried because I knew exactly how he felt. The second Will Grayson’s “and here’s the sick, twisted thing” monologue was amazingly poignant; and when he comes out to his mom, I laughed out loud. Filled with thought-provoking revelations, this teenage romp is clever, rude, funny, romantic, wise, and very honest.
Best Part: The musical, of course!

What isn’t good?
The use of coarse language and derogatory terms seems excessive at times and the way several characters go on ad nauseum about how big Tiny is was unnecessary, making me dislike many characters that I probably would have otherwise enjoyed.
Worst part: The lack of capitalization in the second Will Grayson’s narration.

Recommendation þþþþo
The only reason I didn’t give this book five checkmarks was because the coarse language and vulgarity was a bit excessive for me. Otherwise, this book was brilliant and I highly recommend it. 
 
Green, John & David Levithan. Will Grayson, Will Grayson. New York: Speak, 2011.

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