Saturday, November 15, 2014

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

Title: Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Authors: John Green and David Levithan
Publication: April 5th 2011, Speak
Format: Trade Paperback, 310 pages
Source: Borrowed from Joemar! (Thank you so much!)
Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | iBooks | Kobo | National Book Store / Fully Booked (PH)



SYNOPSIS:


Will Grayson, meet will grayson

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers cross paths. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, culminating in heroic turns-of-heart and the most epic musical ever to grace the high school stage.

Misfit Review:

I had always been soooo fascinated with getting to read Will Grayson, Will Grayson when I first saw it in my local bookstore's shelves. It was even before I got obsessed with John Green novels and barely knowing David Levithan's works. It was also around that time that I was scared to hoard books because my Dad wasn't a fan of me buying any. Fast forward to a couple years and I got to borrow a friend's copy. Fast forward to a few months and I read it and all of my fascination was given what I really, entirely needed.

The book talks about two Will Grayson's that happen to meet in a sex shop and the encounter binds them somehow unusually. As we progress towards the book, we are given a full on access to the worlds of both Will Graysons and how delicate or grave both of their situations are.

“Maybe there's something you're afraid to say, or someone you're afraid to love, or somewhere you're afraid to go. It's gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt because it matters.”

Let's take uppercase Will Grayson, who seems to have a normal, subdued life, but is entirely serious, focused on things and lives off to not committing himself fully to others. He tries to be just the guy on the corner, but lives without regrets. What's so interesting about uppercase Will Grayson is how entirely adorable he is for the fact that he could never be honest with himself and puts on judgement more than what his heart tells him. But what's also great about him is that he is a good friend nonetheless.

“I am constantly torn between killing myself and killing everyone around me.”

Then there's lowercase will grayson, who is the epitome of darkness and dingy basements. He doesn't seem to appreciate life anymore and finds solace in his online chat friend for support and comfort. He loses himself to the idea that he can find love and acceptance finally but is crushed when he finds out the truth. I had moments where I wanted to put down the books because of will grayson's negative energy that it's like he's passing on to me his remorse and distaste over life itself, which sort of worked. HAHA! But anyway, what I love about lowercase will grayson is that he is not afraid to change and learn from his shortcomings and get that that's just how life rolls sometimes.

“Some people have lives; some people have music.”

But the redeeming factor of the book, the light that breaks through in every moment is Tiny Cooper. I think Tiny Cooper is one of the most well thought out characters in YA history. Just saying. He's funny, fabulous, out there and a very, very good friend. He doesn't go flawless too with his pains and struggles that he constantly hides from everyone so he can be the sunshine that everybody always thinks of him. But we find that he's just like everybody and that he needs a few moments to breathe and be carried by his friends.

“You like someone who can't like you back because unrequited love can be survived in a way that once-requited love cannot. ”

The novel serves us a good helping of friendship and how each friendship could crumble, could be redeemed and patched up again. It also gives us a dose of how love could allow us to be found and move on. It also allows one to break from the vulnerability and chase what's in front of you. John Green and David Levithan gave us a whirlwind of contemporary romance, quirky fun and laughter and of course the amazing Tiny Cooper and his musical! OOOH! And be prepared, coz Tiny Cooper is gonna get his own novel, so be ready for that. Thanks David Levithan for giving us more of John Green's Tiny Cooper!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a great coming of age story of friendship, love and acceptance of one's self and the choices that one makes in life and that greater things could come in your life if you have wonderful people that surround you in times of despair and cluelessness. Reading the book is gonna be a worthwhile experience.




About The Authors:

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John Green's first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award presented by the American Library Association. His second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Paper Towns, is a New York Times bestseller and won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best YA Mystery. In January 2012, his most recent novel, The Fault in Our Stars, was met with wide critical acclaim, unprecedented in Green's career. The praise included rave reviews in Time Magazine and The New York Times, on NPR, and from award-winning author Markus Zusak. The book also topped the New York Times Children's Paperback Bestseller list for several weeks. Green has also coauthored a book with David Levithan called Will Grayson, Will Grayson, published in 2010. The film rights for all his books, with the exception of Will Grayson Will Grayson, have been optioned to major Hollywood Studios.

In 2007, John and his brother Hank were the hosts of a popular internet blog, "Brotherhood 2.0," where they discussed their lives, books and current events every day for a year except for weekends and holidays. They still keep a video blog, now called "The Vlog Brothers."




David Levithan (born 1972) is an American children's book editor and award-winning author. He published his first YA book, Boy Meets Boy, in 2003. Levithan is also the founding editor of PUSH, a Young Adult imprint of Scholastic Press.











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