Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
(Amazon / Goodreads)

Goodreads description:

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, Will Grayson crosses paths with . . . Will Grayson. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, and culminating in epic turns-of-heart and the most fabulous musical ever to grace the high school stage. Told in alternating voices from two YA superstars, this collaborative novel features a double helping of the heart and humor that have won them both legions of fans.

First sentence: When I was little, my dad used to tell me, "Will, you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose."

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I love John Green, so I was excepting to enjoy his parts of the novel, but I hadn't read anything by David Levithan before Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and didn't know yet whether I'd like his parts. I immediately fell in love with John Green's Will Grayson. His hilarious, self-deprecating style fit this character perfectly. Will Grayson is awkward in a very relatable way, and I always enjoy those kinds of characters.

It took me longer to start liking David Levithan's Will Grayson, and while I know that's superficial, a main reason for that was the all-lowercase writing. That type of writing already annoys me online, and I didn't think I could take a whole book written like that. David Levithan's Will Grayson was hard to like, for me, and it was hard to relate to his angry, angsty (is that a word?) personality. Later on, though, his character grew on me, and I started to like him more once I understood the point of writing all lowercase. Actually, if I'm completely honest, I didn't really get the point - I thought it was to show how little he cares, with the depression and all. In the back of the book though, there's a conversation between John Green and David Levithan, where David Levithan explains his reason: His Will Grayson sees himself as a lowercase-person, especially since he projects himself mainly online (those are David Levithan's words, just so you know, not mine). That explanation made me appreciate and understand his Will Grayson more. And I started liking him even more once both Will Graysons met.

Anyways, as I expected from John Green, the writing in this novel is amazing. The metaphors are great, the writing is lively, and, I don't know how else to explain it, but his style is just so easy. David Levithan's writing and style matched John Green's perfectly. One of the things I like best about John Green's writing is how much it can make you feel, and David Levithan mastered that, too. This novel is  so hilarious it makes you laugh out loud at parts and so deep and touching it really makes you think at others.

The characters are great, too. All of them are complex and realistic, as well as their relationships. One of my favorite parts of the book was Tiny Cooper. I'm not sure why I enjoyed him so much - I'd imagine him to be obnoxious and kind of annoying if I met him in real life - but as a character he's just genius, and loads of fun to read about. I love how lightly this novel deals with homosexuality - not in a preachy, annoying "Oh my God, I'm gay, what will I do?" way, but in a realistic and honest way - some people are gay, and that's the way it is, so deal with it.

All in all, this is a great read - hilarious but with a touching message of acceptance. The writing and characters are great. I'm already a fan of John Green, and I will definitely read more by David Levithan in the future!