"Will Grayson, Will Grayson"--Full Review

(Left, David Levithan, Right, John Green)


The not-at-all-illegitimate lovechild of John Green ("Looking for Alaska") and David Levithan ("Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"), "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" is a delightful read, albeit a bit angsty.

The premise is simple enough. Two teens, both named Will Grayson, both different flavors of troubled, one straight, one gay. The book is not about their meeting, or their interaction, but their residue. The life of each Will Grayson intersects and subsequently gives something to the other.

The book is told in chapters that alternate between Green's Will Grayson and Levithan's will grayson. The difference in the writing is definitely noticeable, but actually isn't that jarring. The differences highlight the different worldviews of the two Will Graysons. One is more uptight with perfect grammar and punctuation while the other is apathetic, not capitalizing anything and frequently relating real life in the manner of a chatlog.

The only downside to this book is that it's about ANGST of various types. Some people enjoy reading that, and others find it overwrought. I personally thought it wasn't over-the-top, but I can definitely understand how it'd put some people off. The gay (lowercase) will grayson in particular is almost whiny at times.

The ending, while certainly moving, seemed a touch contrived and broke my suspension of disbelief. But it could've been much, much worse. Plus it was unexpected. Always a good thing in an ending.

Anyway, I'm not gonna give this the "Everybody Should Read This" designation I gave "Alaska", but it is certainly a good book. If you're into troubled teens, go grab it.

3.87/5

...3.87 specifically because it's my blog and I will use bizarre decimal point ratings if I want to. :P

----Edit-----

Thanks to my awesome friend Zephy (aka Heather, see her blog here) we have photographs from a book signing the authors did in DC. :D