Will Grayson, Will Grayson is dual narrated by each Will Grayson. That's right, there's two of them. They eventually meet, accidentally. One of the Wills is gay and suffers from depression. The other one is straight, and has a best friend, Tiny, who is gay. Tiny is writing and directing a school musical about being gay. Well, it ends up being about a lot more than that...
The banter between Will and Tiny is priceless. Will Grayson, Will Grayson is ultimately a book about friendship, and the "gayness" really doesn't matter. The book isn't about being gay, although that is an undeniable theme. It's about figuring out what's important in a friend, what's "love," and also about how to forgive.
Yes, there's some reference to sex, including gay sex. And there's profanity. However, it didn't stick out. It seemed like how teen boys would talk to each other. Heck, I hear much the same just walking down our school hallways during break.
I loved the use of "andbutso" and its variations. I tend to start a lot of sentences with "and" or "so." I think I might start using "andbutso."
I did think it dragged a bit in the middle. A lot of repetitive angst involving the relationships with both the Wills and Tiny and some other secondary characters. Just went on a bit long for me.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a pretty quick, entertaining read. I think teens who like contemporary "issues" books and who can tolerate the language will love this one. Levithan and Green are pretty much on my "I'll read anything they write" list.
Published by Dutton, 2010
Copy obtained from the library
310 pages
Rating: 4/5
I do love this book! The angst can be a little heavy, but it works. And the one Will Grayson is an excellent depiction of depression.
ReplyDeleteThis book is next on my audiobook TBL ... I can't wait! I love both John Green and David Levithan!
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
If I remember correctly, WGWG was the first book I finished this year. And I do remember that I loved it but that there were some parts that I struggled with. I'm glad you liked it and I agree about John Green and David Levithan, I will read ANYTHING and EVERYTHING they ever have a hand in!
ReplyDeleteSorry it took me so long to comment on this one. I have been absent from the blogoshere for a couple of weeks now but every time I saw this post when I was trying to clean out my google reader I kept marking to save it.