Plot Summary
Two narrators, both named Will Grayson, live their lives in an emotional state of paralysis in the suburbs of Chicago. They do not know each other and have little in common until their lives intersect outside of an unlikely spot in Chicago. They are unwittingly brought together by a huge football player/ high school student/producer/ director/ actor/ drama queen named Tiny Cooper who is described as, "the world's largest person who is also really, really gay, and also the world's gayest person who is really, really large." Tiny is in the midst of writing and producing a high school musical about his own life, and both Will Grayson and Will Grayson achieve epiphanies as the musical approaches opening night. This novel is co-written by John Green (author of Looking for Alaska) and David Levithan (author of Boy Meets Boy and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist) and the two alternate chapters taking on the voice of one of the Will Graysons. Take the cynicism and dark humor of a high school depressive and blend it with the camp, drama and queeniness of a high school musical, and you've got Will Grayson, Will Grayson.
Critical Evaluation
Part of the pure pleasure of reading this novel is reading the alternating chapters from the perspectives of the two different Will Graysons. The one Will Grayson signals his depression with an all-lower-case narrative, a relentless barrage of snarky comments, and his two pseudo-relationships, one with an emo girl who has a crush on him, and the other with an online friend. He’s miserable, closeted, and unfulfilled in almost all ways. The other Will Grayson is an amiable fellow who’s been best friends with Tiny Cooper for years but is beginning to struggle to figure out his identity--does he really want to be friends with the ever flamboyant Tiny, or did Tiny just happen to him? He keeps a handle on things by playing it cool, always friendly and reliable but never fully showing how he feels. The spectacle that is Tiny Cooper (both the person and the musical) have a big impact on both Will Graysons as they begin to discover that showing how you feel can have really, really great effects.
Reader’s Annotation
Love the campiness of “Glee”? The snarkiness of “The Office”? Read Will Grayson, Will Grayson which might just make you roar laughing while causing your heart to soar.
Information about the Authors
According to John Green’s website, “John Green is the New York Times bestselling author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns. He is also the coauthor, with David Levithan, of Will Grayson, Will Grayson. He was 2006 recipient of the Michael L. Printz Award, a 2009 Edgar Award winner, and has twice been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Green’s books have been published in more than a dozen languages.
...
Green’s book reviews have appeared in The New York Times Book Review and Booklist, a wonderful book review journal where he worked as a publishing assistant and production editor while writing Looking for Alaska. Green grew up in Orlando, Florida before attending Indian Springs School and then Kenyon College.”
Of David Levithan, we learn from his website, “I find it downright baffling to write about myself, which is why I’m considering it somewhat cruel and usual to have to write this brief bio and to update it now and then. The factual approach (born '72, Brown '94, first book '03) seems a bit dry, while the emotional landscape (happy childhood, happy adolescence - give or take a few poems - and happy adulthood so far) sounds horribly well-adjusted. The only addiction I’ve ever had was a brief spiral into the arms of diet Dr Pepper, unless you count My So-Called Life episodes as a drug. I am evangelical in my musical beliefs.
Luckily, I am much happier talking about my books than I am talking about myself. My first novel, Boy Meets Boy, started as a story I wrote for my friends for Valentine's Day (something I’ve done for the past twenty-two years and counting) and turned itself into a teen novel. When not writing during spare hours on weekends, I am editorial director at Scholastic, and the founding editor of the PUSH imprint, which is devoted to finding new voices and new authors in teen literature. (Check it out at www.thisispush.com.)”
Genre
Realistic Fiction
Curriculum Ties
This could be included as a literature circle option for an interdisciplinary English/ Health unit on mental health and wellness.
Booktalking Ideas
The language in this novel is a knock-out--just reading two brief passages from each of the Will Graysons will give a great sense of this novel.
Reading Level
14+
Challenge Issues
This novel features strong language in places and two gay characters. If the book were challenged, I would turn to ALA's Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.
Why Included?
Both authors are widely known and highly regarded in the YA field, and this novel came highly recommended to me from two trusted sources. It touches on subjects that are relevant to a wide range of readers, and so I wanted to include it in my collection.
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