Sunday, July 3, 2011

Book Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a collaborative book by John Green and David Levithan. The authors write alternating chapters, each narrated by a different Will Grayson. I am a big John Green fan (Google Vlog Brothers if you want to know why), so I was excited about reading this book.

I enjoyed it from the beginning, but it definitely gets stronger as the book goes on, particularly after the two Wills meet. The chapters have distinct voices (surprise, surprise, given they are written by different authors), and I laughed out loud a few times. My favorite part wasn't the humor, or even the vocabulary (though weltschmerz is my new favorite word)--my favorite part was the truth, the angst, the authentic voices, and the fact that I think this book could have a positive impact on the life of every teen, everyone who has been a teen, and especially every gay teen, or friend or family member of a gay teen. It's such a positive look at gay life--the characters definitely have issues and problems and depression--but it's not because they are gay or their friends are gay, and that was a wonderful thing. I liked this better that John's Paper Towns, though I liked that, too. I highly recommend it--it fully deserves the kudos it has received.

DFTBA

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