will grayson, will grayson, by john green & david livithan

Title: will grayson, will grayson

Authors: John Green & David Levithan

Publisher: Speak

Year: 2011

# Pages: 310

Category: Required

Genre: Contemporary Realistic

My Summary & Critique:

Will Grayson is a name shared by two teenagers in this novel who seem a little lost but when they cross paths and discover each other, in the process, they begin to discover themselves. Authors, John Green and David Levithan, use alternating voices and chapters to tell the story of these two teenagers who share the same name. The first Will seems like a pretty typical teenager but his personality is completely overshadowed by his best friend, flamboyant Tiny Cooper. The second Will suffers from severe depression and is plagued by thoughts of suicide and isolation, more comfortable communicating with the world of online instant messaging for companionship and interaction rather than real people. To aid the reader in distinguishing the two Wills, his story is told without capitalization, forgoing conventional speech for the informal writing style found in texting. In the beginning, the reader learns about each Will through their thoughts and interactions with family and friends. Will Grayson tries to travel the outskirts of his social life by following two personal rules, intended to keep him from getting too involved: shut up and don’t care. His best friend is a completely overpowering personality, Tiny Cooper, who Will describes as “the world’s largest person who is really, really gay, and also the world’s gayest person who is really, really large.” Will is also struggling to make sense of his relationship with Jane, with whom he shares similar interests and exchanges of wit, but he rejects any attempts at a romantic connection until he is pushed by Tiny.

The second will grayson leads a very dark, solitary, and oppressed life, with only one friend, Maura, who is apparently attracted to him but will doesn’t return her affection. Instead, he becomes totally entranced in an online relationship with someone known only as Isaac, with whom he has communicated online for about a year. When he and Isaac arrange to meet in the city, will arrives at the appointed location, a sleazy porn shop, only to find that Isaac hasn’t shown up. At the porn shop, he is surprised to meet the other Will Grayson, and is introduced to Tiny Cooper. At that moment, he learns that Maura has been posing as Isaac online and all the positive feelings he has had for Isaac turn to negative feelings toward Maura and he plunges into an even deeper depression. Tiny is able to comfort will and this chance meeting turns into a romantic relationship for the two of them. Tiny, the effervescent optimist and will, the chronically depressed pessimist seem an unlikely pair, but they find comfort and strength in each other. For both Wills, crossing paths seems to trigger their own search to solidify their own identities and each one begins to become more at ease with himself, opening himself up to vulnerability by letting others in. Will admits he has romantic feelings for Jane and will embraces his “gayness” with Tiny, coming out to his mom, and allowing a friendship to bloom with another gay boy at school. Throughout the novel, a central character, and I do mean character, is Tiny Cooper, best friend to Will, love interest of will. Stringing the plot together are Tiny’s efforts to write, direct, and produce a school musical about his life and love. The performance of this musical at the end of the book serves as a culminating, cathartic moment for the characters and punctuates the underlying theme of acceptance.

At the beginning of the story, I was intrigued by the authors’ use of alternating chapters and voices to portray each of the Will Graysons. However, it took me a while to really get into the story because I did not personally like either of the characters in the beginning. Of course, Tiny Cooper is likeable from the start, but both Wills were harder to love. Will seemed self-absorbed and resistant to friendship, even annoyed with Tiny. will’s doom and gloom made his character hard to love as well. Also, I was uncomfortable with the sheer volume of rude language that populated the opening pages of this book. Once I came to know the characters better and empathize with them, I came to enjoy this book better. The foul language slacked off as the story unfolded, revealing their vulnerabilities, their aspirations, their frustrations. The way the authors capture the cynical, sarcastic voice of the teen is frighteningly realistic and I believe young adults will see some of themselves and people they know in these characters. I did enjoy reading this story and especially appreciated the nuggets of wisdom & humorously phrased segments scattered throughout the book. I have included some here:

• “You like someone who can’t like you back because unrequited love can be survived in a way that once-requited love cannot.”
  
• “I realize that properly speaking guys should only think about sex and the acquisition of It, and that they should run crotch-first toward every girl who likes them and etc. But: The part I enjoy most is not the doing, but the noticing.”
• “ . . . i can’t help thinking that “getting a life” is something only a complete idiot could believe. like you can just drive to the store and get a life. . . . your life isn’t out there waiting, so don’t think all you have to do is find it and get it. no, your life is right here.”
• “he is both the source of my happiness and the one I want to share it with.”
• “all the words we use are stripped bare, so that no one ever knows what anyone else is saying, so that all kindness is cruelty, all care callous.”
• “I don’t want to be the costar of anyone’s life.”
• “I’m tired of going where I’m pushed.”
• “my point is that there are times when you just have to let it all out. all of the anger, all of the pain.”
• “this is why we call people exes, I guess—because the paths that cross in the middle end up separating at the end . . . the X is a diagram of two paths.”
• “The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
• “ . . . life is falling. falling and landing and falling and landing.”
• “ . . . we all have something to sing.”

I appreciate the many messages of this book—that everyone deserves acceptance, that opening up to people and exposing vulnerability is risky but worth it, that standing up for your friends is honorable, that life and love are a series of ups and downs, and that ultimately everyone wants to be appreciated. Sometimes we fall, but we can get back up, and if we are willing to live our lives doing good for others, we can float.