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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
its was great it felt lile something was missing loved tiny but the Grayson's kinda annoyed me
I hate to say I didn't like a John Green book. I hate to say I didn't like David Levithan book. Both are authors I have enjoyed in the past (see: Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Nick and Nora, Dash and Lily, etc. etc. etc). So, naturally, I thought the merging of the two would create some type of Young Adult coming-of-age nirvana-piece. Alas, I was wrong.
The plot: two boys, both named Will Grayson, meet via happenstance at "crossroads" in their lives (more about that later). Green's Will Grayson is a loner who doesn't like to get involved with anything - friends, school, girls. I think this is because his dad left (or something) but I couldn't really tell - he just seemed like a mopey teenager to me. Levithan's Will Grayson is a closeted gay teenage outcast who is full of lots of angry, angsty angst and who refuses to use capitalized letters. They become linked through Green's Will's best friend Tiny, an extremely large, flamboyant gay high school student who is writing a musical about his life called Hold Me Closer (get it--- Tiny Dancer?). Confused yet?
This didn't work with me on multiple levels. First, the alternating chapters were annoying, mainly because I hate people who don't use capital letters so I dreaded Levithan's Will's chapters. Second, I am no longer a teenager - the further I get from those hormone-riddled years, the more annoyed I am by the angst of youth. And these two are about as angsty as they come (how many times can I use "angst" in one review? We shall see). Lastly, the so-called "crossroads" in their lives? Levithan's Will comes out of the closet, so yeah, I get why that's a big deal, but Green's Will? He was, um, scared to talk to girls? So he didn't? But then he decided to? And got to make out with one, a lot. So yeah, major character development there... or not.
What saved this book for me was, as it so often happens, the large, flamboyant gay character - Tiny. He was over-the-top, compassionate, interesting, and wrote clever little ditties about his big, gay life. And it was fabulous. BONUS: Just found out that they are releasing HIS story this month (called, conveniently, Hold Me Closer, same as his musical).
I wish I had liked this more. THREE STARS - because of Tiny and Tiny only. You can keep your Will Graysons, the whole lot of them.
The plot: two boys, both named Will Grayson, meet via happenstance at "crossroads" in their lives (more about that later). Green's Will Grayson is a loner who doesn't like to get involved with anything - friends, school, girls. I think this is because his dad left (or something) but I couldn't really tell - he just seemed like a mopey teenager to me. Levithan's Will Grayson is a closeted gay teenage outcast who is full of lots of angry, angsty angst and who refuses to use capitalized letters. They become linked through Green's Will's best friend Tiny, an extremely large, flamboyant gay high school student who is writing a musical about his life called Hold Me Closer (get it--- Tiny Dancer?). Confused yet?
This didn't work with me on multiple levels. First, the alternating chapters were annoying, mainly because I hate people who don't use capital letters so I dreaded Levithan's Will's chapters. Second, I am no longer a teenager - the further I get from those hormone-riddled years, the more annoyed I am by the angst of youth. And these two are about as angsty as they come (how many times can I use "angst" in one review? We shall see). Lastly, the so-called "crossroads" in their lives? Levithan's Will comes out of the closet, so yeah, I get why that's a big deal, but Green's Will? He was, um, scared to talk to girls? So he didn't? But then he decided to? And got to make out with one, a lot. So yeah, major character development there... or not.
What saved this book for me was, as it so often happens, the large, flamboyant gay character - Tiny. He was over-the-top, compassionate, interesting, and wrote clever little ditties about his big, gay life. And it was fabulous. BONUS: Just found out that they are releasing HIS story this month (called, conveniently, Hold Me Closer, same as his musical).
I wish I had liked this more. THREE STARS - because of Tiny and Tiny only. You can keep your Will Graysons, the whole lot of them.
1) I am not the target audience of this book. 2) If I were, I’m sure this review would have more stars as I intended to read this when I was the target audience. Alas:
This book is well-written, I like the dual narratives of the two authors. I thought the dialogue was realistic for the age of the characters. I thought the story/plot was realistic and there were nuggets of philosophically inspirational quotes that were pleasing to read. I liked most of the characters and appreciated the personal growth people experienced.
I did not like the continuous, unnecessary fat-shaming that came from the character’s OWN friends—did not age well (not that fat-shaming was ever okay but mainstream culture these days is a lot more body-positive than when this book was written). Tiny literally talks about how hurtful it is to have others constantly thrown his size in his face but clearly his friends don’t really care about his feelings. I did not like the objectification and dismissal of the female characters but that is classic John Green (loves his manic pixie dream girls). I did not like how everyone was totally meh about the severely crippling catfishing that happened in the story and feel like it wasn’t really addressed appropriately. I thought it really weird how the other kids were just like “wow, that was messed up… anyways—“.
Other than that, it was fine. So 3 stars.
This book is well-written, I like the dual narratives of the two authors. I thought the dialogue was realistic for the age of the characters. I thought the story/plot was realistic and there were nuggets of philosophically inspirational quotes that were pleasing to read. I liked most of the characters and appreciated the personal growth people experienced.
I did not like the continuous, unnecessary fat-shaming that came from the character’s OWN friends—did not age well (not that fat-shaming was ever okay but mainstream culture these days is a lot more body-positive than when this book was written). Tiny literally talks about how hurtful it is to have others constantly thrown his size in his face but clearly his friends don’t really care about his feelings. I did not like the objectification and dismissal of the female characters but that is classic John Green (loves his manic pixie dream girls). I did not like how everyone was totally meh about the severely crippling catfishing that happened in the story and feel like it wasn’t really addressed appropriately. I thought it really weird how the other kids were just like “wow, that was messed up… anyways—“.
Other than that, it was fine. So 3 stars.
Tiny Cooper this, Tiny Cooper that. The lives of the two Wills remain nearly the same when they met, and I could go on. I'm so glad for Levithan's part of the book (I liked his style and his characters more even though I didn't liked Tiny in this either), because it's clear for me that three John Green books are one too many John Green books to like.
I'll occasionally find a contemporary romance drama that I really like and it makes me think I like the genre. But then I read stories like this and I realize that I really don't like the genre at all. This was just... ugh. Melodrama. And musicals. And super angsty teenagers. And super flamboyant teenagers. And edgy "smart" teenagers. Just... teenagers in general. All of my least favourite things in one book.
It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great, and I probably should have went with my gut and stopped listening after Will Grayson #2 made an appearance, his angst made me want to kill myself. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, unless they happened to be a teenager.
*ALSO, that ending was the dumbest thing I've ever read. A bunch of Will Graysons decide to show up to a stupid high school musical production just to give a shoutout at the end? There's no way they'd all randomly agree to go just because some kid asked them to. Just... ugh so stupid.
LOL and also, why would anyone want to see a musical about some teenager's love life? I was hoping everyone would hate it and that character would become a little less self-obsessed, but... nope. Everyone unrealistically loved the stupid play.
Gah. Also, no one has 18 ex boyfriends. Especially not if you haven't even been alive for that many years. If you fall in love that easily/quickly/often, there's something wrong with you.
It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great, and I probably should have went with my gut and stopped listening after Will Grayson #2 made an appearance, his angst made me want to kill myself. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, unless they happened to be a teenager.
*ALSO, that ending was the dumbest thing I've ever read. A bunch of Will Graysons decide to show up to a stupid high school musical production just to give a shoutout at the end? There's no way they'd all randomly agree to go just because some kid asked them to. Just... ugh so stupid.
LOL and also, why would anyone want to see a musical about some teenager's love life? I was hoping everyone would hate it and that character would become a little less self-obsessed, but... nope. Everyone unrealistically loved the stupid play.
Gah. Also, no one has 18 ex boyfriends. Especially not if you haven't even been alive for that many years. If you fall in love that easily/quickly/often, there's something wrong with you.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had some issues with it but overall I really liked it.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5/5. I started this book two other times over the past few years, because I enjoy John Green books in general. I only finally read the whole thing because I'm trying to finish all of my old books. The characters in this book have no real redeemable characteristics and are not only dull, but in some cases they are offensive in how stereotypical they are. This book reeks of the stereotypes that someone in 2010 may have had of gay people and people living with depression. I cannot honestly recommend this book to anyone, but I can definitely recommend a few of John Green's other books. I'm unfamiliar with the other author, but I now have no intention of reading their other novels.