Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

Book: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan
Published: Dutton Juvenile, 2010
Genre: YA fiction
Pages: 310 pages
Where I got it: got an e-book for my Nook
Buy It: Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads): 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.

My thoughts: It seems like there has been an influx of collaborative novels for young adults recently. I find it so fascinating the way two authors are able to create such a coherent story by writing their sections seperately, sending it off to the other and continuing on with the rest of the story in that manner. It reminds me of one of those choose your own adventure books. As long as we're being honest here, my friends and I used to write Hanson fanfiction in middle school in this same way (hahaha....) Yes, I was a huge nerd. The difference was that ours didn't make much sense when thrown together.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson takes the collaborative novel a step further by giving both characters the same name. Typically I think this would get pretty confusing but they make it easy to tell the difference by using proper capitalization for one and all lowercase for the other. This is one of the first books I have read where one of the main characters is so openly and fabulously gay. John Green's Will Grayson (capital WG) was much more entertaining for me. I loved the struggling friendship between he and his best friend, (the not so tiny) Tiny Cooper. Tiny's musical, "Tiny Dancer", added plenty of humor to some pretty heavy subject matter. The flirtatious relationship between capital WG and Tiny's friend, Jane was incredibly adorable. It reminded me so much of how it felt to be a teenager and have a new crush on someone.

It took some time for me to warm up to David Levithan's Will Grayson (lowercase WG). I thought he was too angsty and overall came off as not a very nice guy. I started liking him better when the two Will Grayson's meet. Their meeting was all sorts of hilarious and awkward and I loved it. They get to talking and lowercase WG is introduced to Tiny, who of course falls for him and introduces him to his wonderful gay world. I thought it was somewhat unbelievable that after this meeting it was fairly easy for lowercase WG to come out of the closet to everyone, although I did think it was nice to see a character I hadn't previously cared much for have the guts to make such a bold move. I still found him a little annoying at times but he really made it for it when he made such an effort to show Tiny how he felt in the end and was able to work together with capital WG.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson throws a lot of emotions at the reader but it's got enough comedy and anticipation that it's not a book you feel like you have to muddle through. I enjoyed the different love stories and the ups and downs of the friendships. It was a very realistic look at how friendships and teenage romance can change so drastically in high school. I think it's harder to read a book like this now that I'm in my mid-twenties and don't really relate to the angsty teenage crap anymore. As a teen, I would have most likely given Will Grayson, Will Grayson 4 or 5 stars.


My rating: 3 stars

Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Book: Paper Towns by John Green
Published: Speak, 2009
Genre: YA
Pages:  320 pages
Where I got it: bought at Borders
Buy It: Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads): Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life--dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge--he follows. After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues--and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.
Printz medalist John Green returns with the brilliant wit and searing emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers.

My thoughts: This is the second novel that I have read by John Green. He has his own style of writing and characters that are fairly similar among his books, but it's working for him. I like Green's approach to writing because I feel like I would be friends with his characters. His protagonist is always the underdog, nerdy and likable.

Quentin Jacobsen has been in love with Margo Roth Spiegelman his whole life. The pair were childhood friends who grew apart after an incident that occurred when they were mere 10 year olds. When the mysterious Margo climbs through his window a few weeks before graduation with a plan for an evening of revenge, Q is sucked into a whole new world. Margo has been known to disappear for days on end, so when she goes missing the next morning nobody really thinks twice at first. Soon though, Q finds himself consumed with thoughts of Margo's disappearance and how this mystery was meant for him to solve.

I loved Q's passion for finding Margo in Paper Towns. He was willing to skip prom and graduation in order to focus on searching for clues that would help him find Margo. I was on the edge of my seat for much of this book, very eager to discover if Margo was okay and whether or not she and Q would get their happy ending. The way in which Green worked Whitman's Leaves of Grass into the story was interesting. I don't remember much about reading it in high school, but I'd be curious to revisit it now.

I loved Margo for her sense of adventure and the planning she put into all of her wild ideas, but I also felt sorry for her. She was this normal teenage girl who felt the pressure of high school and popularity closing in on her. I have definitely felt like disappearing off the grid for awhile to get my thoughts straight or start fresh. Q had this romanticized idea of the girl he thought she was, but really she was full of flaws and insecurities. It was a very realistic portrayal of how people think about their crushes, especially in high school. Despite beginning to see that Margo was not the girl in his head, he continued on his journey to find her along with the company of their best friends. I love a book with a good love story or a road trip, so this was a win for me. While Margo went on this adventure to find herself, she was able to help Q find himself as well. I thought the ending was perfect, but I won't spoil that for you if you haven't read it yet!


My rating: 4 stars