Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

In two different Chicago suburbs, that really aren’t that far from each other, there resides two very different boys with the same name – Will Grayson. Although they are not that far apart they have never met, until a twist of fate brings them together.

One Will Grayson seems to always be in the shadow, both literally and figuratively, of his massive gay best friend Tiny Cooper – an offensive lineman and musical theater enthusiast. When he loses his circle of friends, after standing up for Tiny, he rarely knows what to do with himself and starts spending more time with Tiny and his friend Jane – whom he finds himself oddly attracted to, although he cannot act on his feelings due to the “rules” he has set for himself on how to get through life without to much attention.

The other Will Grayson is also in a social funk – although his is a bit more permanent. The only friend he has at school is a girl named Maura, although he doesn’t really even like her all that much and just likes to talk with her about his depression. He does though have a strong friend in Isaac, a boy he met online that he might just be in love with.

When things don’t go according to plan though, both boys seem to breakdown and have a heartfelt revolution towards their interactions and feelings for others, all while aiding in the production of the best high school musical of all times.

When you put two powerhouse authors together you expect a boom, a big one at that. Now putting John Green and David Levithan together, that’s more like expecting an earthquake. As for the reality occurred, there was definitely a boom, and some tremor of that quake, but it wasn’t as earth shattering as I had expected.

First off, I’ll talk about John Greene’s Will Grayson – the one with Tiny Cooper as the best friend. To me, he was the best. He was snarky and funny, and emotional at the right times. Most of all he was believable and I just came to really enjoy his part of the story. John Green was also the fabulous inventor of Tiny Cooper – who I think is one of the best characters to have ever been created. He was funny and sincere and truly the “life of the party.”

As for David Levithan’s Will Grayson, he was definitely a darker character. I feel he whined a lot and pitied himself a little too much. Now with that being said, I did feel bad for him – I mean the kid had to go through some situations that no one should ever have to experience and learned to sympathizes for him. I did enjoy his budding relationship with his mom; it really clued the reader into his personality, as well as him popping out of his social outcast hole.

In regards to the writing – it was great, absolutely all of it. While the characters had two distinct voices, unique to their respective author, you couldn’t tell that it was written by two different people. Everything meshed and just felt right.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It took me a while to get into the story, but it soon enough got rolling. It also made me appreciate the importance of maintaining friendships and to sometimes let loose, as you could be missing out on a lot if you don’t. I would love to read another book co-written by these two fabulous authors, as I know it will be a lot of fun.