Will Grayson, Will Grayson

by John Green

Paperback, 2011

Status

Available

Call number

PZ7 .G8233 Wi 2011

Publication

Speak (2011), Edition: Reprint, 310 pages

Description

When two teens, one gay and one straight, meet accidentally and discover that they share the same name, their lives become intertwined as one begins dating the other's best friend, who produces a play revealing his relationship with them both.

Media reviews

Romans over homoseksuelen kennen doorgaans een noodlottig einde. Er gaat iemand dood of er wordt iemand terminaal ziek. Dat moet een van de redenen zijn waarom homoboekhandels tegenwoordig veel porno verkopen om het hoofd boven water te houden, van de romans raken hun klanten depressief. Bij de
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jeugdroman Will Grayson, Will Grayson van de Amerikanen John Green en David Levithan is het totaal omgedraaid. Het boek is prachtig, met vaart en humor beschreven, alleen het einde is van zo’n suikerzoet Hollywoodgehalte dat het glazuur je van de tanden springt. Doodzonde. (En dan komt er ook nog een toegift: ‘We geven toe dat Gods liefde je nooit kan worden afgenomen, omdat je bent wie je bent doordat God je heeft gemaakt.’)
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4 more
John Green en David Levithan – Will Grayson, Will Grayson dinsdag 11 januari 2011 om 17u00 Wie vreesde dat de laatste goeie roman over jongeren al was geschreven, moet Will Grayson, will grayson van het duo John Green-David Levithan maar eens lezen. John Green en David Levithan – Will
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Grayson, will grayson Uitgeverij: Lemniscaat Aantal pagina’s: 277 Prijs: 16,95 euro ISBN: 978-90-477-0327-3 Uitgeverij Lemniscaat houdt de vinger aan de pols van de betere Amerikaanse jongerenliteratuur. Bij bosjes worden recente Young Adult-romans vertaald. In deze actuele fictie krijg je niet zozeer 'probleemjongeren', maar wel stevige jongvolwassenen die evenzeer de greep op het leven verliezen als hun lot in eigen handen nemen. De protagonisten zijn helemaal 'nu': well informed, opgegroeid in gebroken gezinnen, vroegrijp, en in die wirwar ook nog altijd op zoek naar de liefde die vriendschap heet (of andersom). De verhalen spelen zich af op school, in grootsteden, niet zelden hebben de levensechte personages megalomane projecten in hun hoofd. Doordat veel scheppers van die jongerenpersonages zelf zijn opgegroeid met het internet, sms, msn, blogs, Facebook et cetera, worden communicatiemedia vlotjes in de verhalen geïntegreerd. Binnensboeks hoppen van het ene genre naar het andere is allang geen trend meer, het is bijna een must. John Green en David Levithan zijn twee kleppers van de Amerikaanse Young Adult-school. Lemniscaat vertaalde een roman die ze samen schreven: Will Grayson/will grayson. Dat samen knutselen aan jongerenverhalen is een betrekkelijk nieuw fenomeen. Uitgeverij Querido past het op een andere manier toe in haar reeks Slash-boeken, waarbij 'gevestigde auteurs' levensechte verhalen van jongeren optekenen, in samenspraak. Bij Will Grayson/will grayson kozen Green en Levithan ervoor elk een personage met dezelfde naam uit te werken. In het ene hoofdstuk komt de ene Will Grayson (mét hoofdletters) aan het woord, in het andere doet de andere will grayson zijn verhaal (zonder hoofdletters). Tot ze - het klinkt geforceerd maar verloopt vrij natuurlijk - elkaar als bij toeval op een dag ontmoeten en hun levens verstrengeld raken. Will Grayson 1 is een vrij normale adolescent: ietwat teruggetrokken, behoorlijk nuchter en onzeker, maar met het hart op de juiste plaats. Zijn identiteit wordt mede bepaald door zijn allerbeste vriend, Tiny Cooper: een onrustige, vitalistische en narcistische homo die 'out and proud' een musical over zichzelf en de liefde in elkaar bokst. Will Grayson 2 is een ietwat geïsoleerde en zwartgallige jongeling. Hij zit als homo nog in de kast en kampt met een depressie. Zijn klankbord is de al even cynische Maura, die zich dan weer geen blijf weet met haar verliefdheid op haar homomaatje.
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VOYA
A wonderfully campy, sweet, romantic gesture in the spectacular style that readers have come to expect from these two YA masters.
Booklist
Two superstar authors pair up and really deliver the goods, dishing up a terrific high-energy tale of teen love, lust, intrigue, anger, pain, and friendship threaded with generous measures of comedy and savvy counsel.
School Library Journal
...complete with honest language, interesting characters, and a heartfelt, gritty edge, this quirky yet down-to-earth collaboration by two master YA storytellers will keep readers turning pages.

User reviews

LibraryThing member readingdate
Will Grayson, Will Grayson is about two high school boys with the same name who both live in Chicago. One is straight, and one is gay, and they both are struggling with their personal life. They happen to cross paths one night and their lives start to intersect. In the middle is
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straight-Will-Grayson’s best friend Tiny, who is gay and not tiny at all. The two Will Grayson’s and Tiny are all dealing with their own matters of the heart. Meanwhile, Tiny is putting on a high school musical production based on his life entitled “Tiny Dancer.”

This book is co-written by John Green and David Levithan. John Green writes the odd numbered chapters in the POV of Will Grayson, and David Levithan writes the even numbered chapters in the POV of the other Will Grayson. This is the first book I have read by John Green, and the second book I have read by David Levithan (Dash & Lily.) I was completely wrong in my guess for which author wrote which character. John Green’s Will reminded me a bit of Dash and that threw me off.

This book is perfect for the audiobook format. The two voice actors do a great job voicing characters, including singing the musical numbers.

The characters are honest and complex, and realistic portrayals of teenage boys. Early on I connected with John Green’s Will Grayson. He is loyal and awkward, an indie music fan, and someone trying to figure out what he wants out of life. I did not connect with the other Will Grayson immediately. He is angry and full of angst and generally hard to like, and I was dreading his chapters. However, as the story continued my opinion of the other Will softened, and I ended up liking him just as much as John Green’s Will Grayson. Tiny Cooper is over the top and fearless. Did I mention he writes, directs and stars in his own high school musical? I liked that the parents in the book were portrayed realistically and normal, not villainous. The friend characters Jane, Maura and Gideon all are positive additions to the story.

This book is a smart, funny and honest, character driven book about identity issues and acceptance. This book would make a great movie. I recommend this book for fans of John Green and David Levithan and for anyone looking for a funny, touching, contemporary read. I especially recommend the audio format of this book.
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LibraryThing member Knicke
Really fairly excellent until the ending...the ending the ending! Why is it that authors can't get endings right?! The conceit of 2 characters w/ the same name makes sense up until then...then it all basically falls apart. Why, oh why, can't we get a book about gay teens that's happy but DOESN'T
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ends with a blatant wish fulfillment fantasy? Still, it's really nice to have a book where two teenage boys, one hetero one gay, are just friends without too much drama. I mean, there is drama inherent in the relationship, but it's not all focused around a threat to the hetero boy's sexuality (minor characters mention this, but it's understood that they are dumb jerks and ultimately unimportant). The drama comes from complications and hurt feelings, realistic and interesting conflicts, and that's kind of great, actually.
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LibraryThing member porch_reader
Paper Towns made me a John Green fan. Will Grayson, Will Grayson sealed the deal. In this book, Green and Leviathan tell the story of two Will Graysons - both are high school students who are attempting to survive high school by keeping their heads down. But one of them has a best friend named Tiny
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Cooper. Tiny is huge, flamboyant, and not afraid to show his gay pride. In fact, he's staging a musical called "Tiny Dancer: The Tiny Cooper Story." When Tiny and Will cross paths with the Other Will Grayson, things really get interesting, and the pages turn even faster until the highly satisfying ending.

Like Paper Towns, this book has an honesty and intensity that is rare. While the story goes in some outrageous directions, the characters are always believable. The story itself rockets along at a fast pace, but at the same time, Green and Leviathan create characters that are miles deep. This is definitely one of my top YA reads of the year.
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LibraryThing member salgalruns
Can I just state that I love Tiny Cooper? He is, by far, the best character in this entire story! The authors did an amazing job of describing his sense of fashion, his unbelievable size, and his love of...well, everything. You WANT to have him as a friend, want to be a part of the fabulousness
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that is Tiny, and honestly, just want to be loved by him.

As for the Will Graysons, I loved them to a certain extent as well. The first one is Tiny's best friend, and spends most of the book trying to let go of an exterior that is protecting him from feeling anything. He is insecure, but better to hold off from life than actually put himself out there in any way. The other Will Grayson is more intriguing to me - very dark, depressed, and vulnerable in his own right. He is coming to grips with who he is and once he realizes it, he's actually gaining some confidence in his life. I kept wanting to know more about him.

I loved MOST of the storyline, except the ending. It just sounded a little too much like a mushy episode of GLEE. I either felt like it needed more or less, but ended up feeling a little bit disappointed.

What I did love was the theme of the overall book. It was all about friendship, love, and forgiveness and serves as a message to all of us to truly let those in our lives know how much we care about them.
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LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Summary: Will Grayson has two simple rules for getting through life with as little pain as possible: 1) don't care too much, and 2) shut up. Will's best friend Tiny Cooper breaks these rules in every possible way: Tiny is football-player huge and openly, flamboyantly gay, falls in and out of love
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with a new boy every few hours, and is writing, directing, producing, and starring in a musical called Tiny Dancer, about the lifes and loves of - who else? - himself. Tiny's constantly trying to break Will out of his shell and get him to engage with life and with the people around him, with limited success.

will grayson (who I am not capitalizing, because his chapters are all written in lowercase letters - which I normally totally detest, but it actually works for the character here - and because it's a convenient way of telling the two main characters apart) lives in a Chicago suburb with his mom, and the only bright spot in his terminally depressing day is his online relationship with isaac, who is the only person who knows will is gay, and with whom will thinks he just might have fallen in love.

Will and will's stories intersect when they run into each other in a downtown Chicago porn store, where both of them wind up by accident. Although they've got little enough in common other than their names, they soon start divulging secrets they never thought they'd reveal... and then Tiny Cooper shows up on the scene, and neither of the Will's lives will ever be quite the same again.

Review: I was having a bad day when i sat down to read this book. Things had not been going my way, I was tired, I was not feeling well, and I was in a supremely bad mood. I didn't particularly like either of the Will Graysons upon first meeting them. And, while the book had elicited a few laughs from me in the early pages, I was still predisposed to be cranky.

And then something happened. I broke Will's first rule and started caring. I then broke Will's second rule and started laughing - not just to my self, but loudly, out loud. I realized by about page 120 that the book had broken my heart on behalf of a character I wasn't sure I even liked that much, and that by 150 it had somehow managed to stitch it back up. (That "somehow" was, of course, named Tiny Cooper.) And I'll be damned if I didn't spend the back half of this book alternating between getting misty-eyed and grinning like an idiot... and then I spent the last twenty pages grinning like an idiot while crying like a baby. Just all of the things the book was saying about love and life and relationships and truth and friendships, and I suppose I shouldn't be surprised after reading Boy Meets Boy and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and every book John Green's ever published, but damn if they didn't get all of it right.

It's so right it was sometimes hard to read. I think a large part of the reason I occasionally didn't like the various Wills are because I recognized bits of them from myself, and wished I didn't. I recognized Tiny, too - as will anyone who is blessed enough to have a larger-than-life friend with a larger-than-normal heart. The two interweaving storylines work together perfectly, each Will staying true to his own voice (Will was written by John Green and will by David Levithan), Tiny remaining as consistent character no matter which author was writing him, and both parts working together to build the story as a beautiful whole. 5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Highly recommended for just about everybody, but especially for fans of modern, honest YA lit that gets being a teenager right. If you're unfamiliar with either John Green or David Levithan's work, this book would be a great introduction.
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LibraryThing member hankesj
This novel is about two young men both named Will Grayson. It's written by John Green and David Levithan. They alternate chapters. One Will Grayson is snarky, cynical and best friends with Tiny Cooper who is gay. The other Will Grayson is depressed, gay and lonely. Upon a chance meeting in Chicago
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the two Will Grayson's become friends and soon their lives become intertwined for various reasons. Here's what I like about the book: you can totally see which chapters are written by John Green, and those are my favorite ones. You can almost make an entire story just using his chapters, and I would have liked it just the same. His characters are so witty, deep and relatable you can't help but fall in love with them. What I didn't like about the book: Wasn't a fan of David Levithan chapters towards the beginning. It gets better once the plot is furthered but his chapters leave quite a bit to be desired. Overall though, the book is a quick read, very funny and a touching story about two young men who are lost. Lost in the life they lead, lost in who they are and lost in the way they should overcome their obstacles. Its refreshing to see a story from both perspectives of a straight and gay male character. I haven't seen that many gay characters pop up in the fiction I've read in the last couple years. So if you are looking for a quick read, and you're a fan of John Green, I recommend this book.
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LibraryThing member wsquared
This is the story of two Will Graysons. One is the unassuming, regular kid, always lurking in the shadows of his best friend, the 6 foot 6, fabulously gay Tiny Cooper. The other is a tortured soul, bolstered only by his online flirtation with Isaac. Their paths cross one night in downtown Chicago,
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leading both of them on unexpected, usually hilarious, but often poignant, relationship journeys, culminating in one high school musical spectacular.

John Green and David Levithan are masters in examining the male psyche with equal shades humor and authenticity. Each of the Will Graysons are not without their flaws, but still manage to be likable and relatable. But the true heart of the book lies with Tiny Cooper, who helps shape both of the title characters. His character will resonate with lots of teens, whether they’re straight, gay, bi, questioning, or anything in between. With alternating points of view, especially when the characters have the same name, the story takes a few chapters to settle into a rhythm, but the narrative doesn’t get bogged down with too many plot points or side characters. There are a few points when reality gets stretched or sped up to further the plot, but I was willing to allow a temporary suspension of disbelief for the sake of the story. This book might not be for everyone — John Green critics will find the usual regular guy meets manic pixie dream girl trope here and the casual acceptance of the gay characters by the other high schoolers is a little too easy — but there’s a lot to like here.
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LibraryThing member ShellyPYA
Written in alternating chapters. One Will Grayson is living a closeted homosexual life, conducting an online romance with Isaac, a boy he's never met. The other Will Grayson has a best friend named Tiny who sometimes pushes the boundaries of their friendship. The two WG's meet one night in Chicago,
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and their lives intertwine in an interesting and unexpected way.
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LibraryThing member ericajsc
I think I might be in love with this book, and it left me overwhelmed and somewhat unable to put into words how I feel about it, but I’ll try to write a review that touches on why I love it so much.
(In order to distinguish between the two Will Graysons, I will henceforth refer to them as J-Will
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and D-Will.)
On the surface, J-Will and D-Will don’t have a lot in common. Yet they are strikingly similar in the sense that they don’t allow anyone to get too close. J-Will has two rules for life: 1) Don’t care too much. 2) Shut up. Although he doesn’t verbalize it in this way, D-Will lives by this same philosophy. Reading this, it may appear that these two are the most unlikely candidates for likeable protagonists, but I absolutely loved both of them. Their cynical outlooks on life and feelings of martyrdom make them perfectly flawed.
I’ve thought long and hard about this book, and I think the reason I fell in love with it is because it speaks to that part of me that believes in the transformative power of love. That kind of makes the book sound like it’s cheesy, but it’s not. J-Will doesn’t decide that life is splendiferous and become everyone’s best friend. D-Will doesn’t magically overcome his depression. But they both change when they realize what true love is. I’m not talking about romantic love here. In the words of J-Will, “Since when is the person you want to screw the only person you get to love?” I’m talking about love in its purest form, the kind of love that can open someone’s eyes to see the truth of who they are, of who they can be. And those changes don’t happen overnight, but slowly, little by little, until eventually other people notice a difference.
The friendship between J-Will and Tiny Cooper is one of the best male friendships I’ve seen in literature in a long time – maybe even ever. From the first page of the book, J-Will grumbles about this friendship. That is understandable, seeing as Tiny is loud and cares about everyone, blatantly breaking both of J-Will’s rules. As Tiny writes/directs/produces/stars in Tiny Dancer, his fabulous autobiographical musical, their friendship is pushed to the brink. Their friendship is filled with complexity, honesty, raw emotion, and depth that are usually absent in many of the friendships seen in books, but particularly in friendships between two male characters.
D-Will doesn’t have a friendship like J-Will and Tiny. There’s Maura, who wants to really know the real D-Will, but her actions are less than friendly. What she did crushed me – I think I felt my soul deflate a little when I read this part – but it actually gave D-Will the courage to be honest with the people around him. Being such a solitary person for so long makes friendships difficult, but he determines to try in his interactions with two different people, and these people are the catalyst for the changes in D-Will.
Like approximately 2.3 million other people in the world, I have a little bit of crush on John Green, so I went into Will Grayson, Will Grayson expecting to enjoy it, especially with the incomparable David Levithan in the mix. I did not expect it to cut straight to my heart the way it did, though. This is a spectacular piece of work, on par with Looking for Alaska, perhaps even surpassing it in my mind.
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LibraryThing member bookworm12
To begin, I’m a big fan of John Green. I read Looking for Alaska and fell in love with his writing. I read Paper Towns and was captured by his characters. I watched the nerd fighter vlogs he makes with his brother Hank and I felt like he was someone I’d love to grab a beer with. I love he and
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his brother’s sense of humor. They can joke about things, while at the same time talking about something real. All that to say I'm a big fan.

I’ve only read other collaborative works by David Levithan, including two (Nick and Norah and Dash and Lily) that he did with Rachel Cohn. Each time I really enjoyed the books, but I don’t know how much of that was because of Cohn and how much was him. I’ve never read a book solely written by Levithan.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is collaboration between Green and Levithan. They wrote alternating chapters about two teenage boys, both named Will Grayson. Green’s Will is a straight kid with a chip on his shoulder and a flamboyant gay best friend named Tiny Cooper. The other Will is gay and struggles with depression. Their paths cross one night in Chicago.

It’s hard to explain exactly why this book works so well, but a big part of it is the cynicism of the two Will Graysons. Both characters are so jaded that it balances Tiny’s optimism and enthusiasm. Without that balance the story would have felt like getting punched in the face by sunshine every time Tiny spoke, but it never feels that way. Instead Tiny is the anomaly. He’s the exception to the sarcastic rule and because of that it’s so refreshing for everyone in the story to have someone in their life that’s encouraging and joyful about life, despite whatever hardships he’s going through.

At first I didn’t love the second Will Grayson’s chapters. His whole section is written only in lowercase and that drove me nuts. He is so pessimistic and kind of mean, but he grows on you. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that I began to enjoy the 2nd Will’s story so much more after Tiny becomes a part of it. You quickly realize that Tiny brings out the best in almost everyone.

The first Will Grayson’s father adds so much to the story. Parents tend to be absent in YA books, but his Dad makes a brief appearance here and it reminded me how important good parents are. Sometimes just being there or saying I love you can make all the difference in a child’s life and I loved the quiet scene Will and his Dad shared.

It’s truly a story about friendship and connection, there’s no other agenda being pushed. The real love story is one between best friends. Because it’s written by two authors I’m going to allow myself to rate them separately. I gave it an overall 4 stars, but I think Green’s sections really earned 4.5 and Levithan’s earned 3.5.

“Love is the most common miracle.”
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LibraryThing member bellalibrarian
I was so sad when I finished this book; I had such a good time reading it! I just loved the Wills and Tiny Cooper! This book made me laugh out loud and cry. Wonderfully written, humorous, honest...the list goes on and on. If you're a fan of John Green or David Leviathan, they will not disappoint.
LibraryThing member doxtator
The name Will Grayson is pretty common. This is the story of two of those Will Graysons. Both of them are teenage boys, and both of them are dealing with growing up, their emotions, and the particular troubles of getting along with others. Then, due to blind luck and coincidence, the two Graysons
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stumble across each other, and their worlds start to mesh a little.

Told in alternating first person chapters, this is a fascinating ride along inside the mind of two teenage boys and their problems. They struggle to keep their heads above water, and the telling of this is often wry and blackly humorful, as well as a bit gloomy and sad. The kids in this story are bright, smart, well versed on tech and techno-babble. Both Graysons are fighters, though, and they keep swinging, even when they don't think they are swinging at all.

The strength of this book, especially, is the central romantic and friendship issues that it deals with. Adolescence is absurdly painful and awkward in these areas, and adults will remember that time while gratefully thinking they're glad it is behind them, and this book will probably be a favorite (perhaps a hidden favorite) of teenagers. One of the Will Graysons is gay as well as one of the other major characters, and it is a part of that friendship and romance thread that gives this story its strength.

Just remember, though: teenagers are seriously drama-ridden and angsty, and totally emo.
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LibraryThing member EdGoldberg
Will Grayson is a typical David Levithan book. It is set in a uptopian suburb of Chicago where gays and straights are treated equally. If only that were the case.

Will Grayson #1 is straight and can't decide whether or not he likes Jane. His friend, Tiny, is huge and gay, always falling in and out
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of love. Will Grayson #2 is gay. His friend, Maura, wants to be more. She impersonates a guy named Isaac on the internet. They "meet" and chiat and fall for each other immmediately. They plan to meet, but of course, Isaac never shows up.

WG #1 and Tiny are in the area and of course their pathes cross that of WG #2. What Levithan and Green ably show is that gays and straights, when it comes to love and relationships, have the same issues. Will Grayson is the male equivalent of Chick Lit, now apparently called Women's Literature. It's an easy read and definitely entertaining.

However, my tastes in this genre go more towards Julie Anne Peters (more serious) and Freak Show by James St. James (outlandish).
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LibraryThing member spartyliblover
If I didn't already love John Green enough, this book as permanently cemented my fan girl status in the John Green Nerdfigher Fan Club. And not to leave David Levithan out, because the book wouldn't have worked if it wasn't for his chapters too. The book is told in alternating chapters by two
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Chicago suburb boys, both named Will Grayson. They meet half way through and both are working to figure out who they are and what they are doing with their lives. The characters are amazing, particularly Tiny Cooper, as they are brought to life through the narration of both characters. While the plot is nothing out of the ordinary, the alternating chapters and the desire to know how it all will work out make the book fly. This book is wonderful for those who love Green and Levithan's work, as well as anyone who is trying to find their place in the world. There is a fair amount of swearing, and some drinking, but it's minor and not the point of the story. Overall this was a fabulous (as Tiny Cooper would say) book and would be great for older teens.
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LibraryThing member lifeafterjane
Will Grayson is not gay but Tiny Cooper, his best friend since 5th grade, is most demonstrably so. Will tries to live his life by two simple rules: 1)Don't care too much and 2) Shut up. But being friends with someone who's bigger than life (quite literally, he's huge) has Will constantly struggling
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to follow his own rules.

"Tiny Cooper is not the world's gayest person, and he is not the world's largest person, but I believe he may be the world's largest person who is really, really gay, and also the world's gayest person who is really, really large."

But Will Grayson is gay. His "best" friend, Maura, a thorn in his side and bane of his existence is not.

" it's like those people who become friends in prison even though they would never really talk to each other if they weren't in prison. that's what maura and i are like, i think."

He doesn't have any set rules, because he's never really cared enough to adhere to any. He's never really cared much about anything until he meets Tiny Cooper.

Two very different Will Graysons who have nothing in common save their name and ultimately the force known as Tiny Cooper. Tiny has written a musical about his life, and Tiny's life is all about loooooovvvvveeeee. He has a pile of exes nearly as big as Tiny himself and he's constantly looking for the next "The One." His musical, aptly titled "Tiny Dancer" will pull the two Will Graysons so far out of each of their comfort zones that they'll never be able to go back. Nor would they want to.

I love, with all the love my heart can hold, this book. I love it so much I could read it again right now. I love it so much I would read it to you. How often do you stumble upon a gem of a book in which you adore nearly every character? I say nearly because I would have liked to tar and feather Maura. It was instant love between Will Grayson and I and a slow to kindle love that ended up blazing between myself and the other Will.

Unbelievably funny, overflowing with personality, all the while being completely real without hitting you with too much reality to ruin the story. Top it off with an ending to rival the perfection of any John Hughes 80's movie and you have LOVE.

If I had a magic bag that when anyone asked me, "Have you read any good books lately?" I could reach into it and pull out unlimited copies of this book, I'd give one out to everyone I know.
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LibraryThing member csoki637
I'm sorry. This book was just terrible. John Green's character was unbearable from the beginning, but David Levithan's Will Grayson actually was three-dimensional. Unfortunately, once the two characters met, the book began its rapid descent into disaster. Unrealistic, painfully cheesy and dull, and
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endlessly ridiculous. I kept reading, waiting for the authors to redeem themselves — they didn't.
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LibraryThing member MickyFine
Living in the suburbs of Chicago is not the most exciting existence, but in an unlikely corner of the city, two teenage boys both named Will Grayson encounter each other. While their meeting is nothing outside of the regular amount of weird that comes from meeting someone with your name, the
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meeting will set off reactions in their lives and points of view, thanks to the fabulous Tiny Cooper and his musical, Tiny Dancer, that make them face that shutting up and not caring is never the best approach to life.

I really enjoyed this novel. The chapters alternate easily between the two different Will Graysons, the odd chapters being written by John Green (whose writing style I would recognize anywhere) and the even by David Levithan. Henceforward, the two Wills will be referred to as Odd Will and Even Will. Odd Will is the geeky character that Green writes so well with all of the flaws and foibles that we expect. Even Will's chapters are interesting stylistically as the text is entirely lower case and all dialogue is done in script style. Even Will is also a much darker character as he deals with depression and his sexuality as a gay teenager. The novel deftly explores themes of love, truth, depression, and the relationships that get us through life. But the best element of this novel is Tiny Cooper, the 300-pound football player who falls in love with a different boy on a daily basis. Tiny and the musical he writes about his life, Tiny Dancer, are the impetus that keeps the plot moving. But he is also the character that brings much of the humour and frequent dashes of sweetness to this excellent novel. You should read this book if for no other reason than to encounter the epic character that is Tiny Cooper.
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LibraryThing member chocolattepi
I have been waiting for this book for so long. I pre-ordered it from Amazon months before it came out, and to my surprise it arrived the very day that it came out. I also finished it that day, within the span of a few hours. I cannot begin to explain how much this book blew me away. I was expecting
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awesome, because it's John Green, and he can do no less than amazing. However, it completely took me by surprise.

I loved both Will Graysons in turn - both number 1 and number 2. I loved their relationship troubles, and how their paths eventually have to cross. I found them both equally relatable, which is very important. I felt my heart break for Will Grayson #2 at times, sometimes crying - although not enough to cause me to put the book down. That simply wasn't an option.

As usual, John Green created a very dynamic character, with flaws that are easy to relate to. I also loved the girl in this story, Jane - I love that Green always creates very strong female roles. The book was not bereft of his usual humor, and of course, he had to have his signature phrase, "asshat" in there somewhere. I was very pleased when I read that paragraph.

I wasn't very fond of the character Tiny Cooper, for some reason, although I really did love how he influenced the story. Overall, this book was incredible, and is probably my favorite of all the things that Green has done. I cannot say the same for David Levithan, simply because I have not read anything else of his (but I plan on it!). They both did a remarkable job.

Also, congratulations to Will Grayson, Will Grayson for appearing at #3 on the NYT Bestsellers list! It deserves it, by far. Also, if I'm not mistaken, it is the first book featuring homosexual characters to make the list. Well done!
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LibraryThing member mad.
When I first started reading Will Grayson Will Grayson I had doubts, but the characters grew and changed so much during the story and I loved it. Will Grayson just slips through life being quiet and letting his best friend Tiny Cooper do all the talking. Will Grayson (number 2) cares only about his
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online friend Isaac. But one night at frenchie's everything changes. Will Grayson meets Will Grayson. It's pretty awesome. I liked that the link between the two Will Graysons was Tiny Cooper. And of course Tiny Dancer/Hold Me Close the musical was amazing. How is it possible for David Levithan and John Green to create such splendiferousness?!?!
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LibraryThing member calmclam
This had an amazing portrayal of depression, and a really good send-up of the "it's all in your head, just get out and enjoy life" meme. Both Will Graysons rang very true to me, and Tiny was larger than life but someone I would have loved to know.

My only complaint was that this book fails the
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Bechdel test pretty badly.
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LibraryThing member SJKessel
Green, J. , & Levithan D. (2010). Will Grayson, Will Grayson. New York: Dutton.

9780525421580

310 pages

Appetizer: Set in Chicago, this novel goes back-and-forth, sharing the story of two teenage boys named Will Grayson. In the odd-numbered chapters, John Green writes the story of the first Will
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Grayson, who lives life by two simple rules: 1) Don't care to much and 2) Shut up. But his friend Tiny Cooper (who is HUGE, gay and plays football and is writing a play about Will and him) makes it difficult for Will One to stick to his rules and he soon finds himself forced to help with Tiny's musical production of his life story, while resisting a girl named Jane who he both likes and doesn't like.

David Levithan's Will Grayson--of the even chapters--is struggling with his depression. The one bright spot in his life is his love for a boy named Isaac who lives in Ohio. But Will won't admit that he's in love with Isaac to anyone. He won't even tell his only friend Maura that Isaac exists. As Will and Isaac plan to meet for the first time, Will prepares to go to Chicago, a trip that will send him to run into the other Will Grayson. Both will find that their lives are changed by their meeting and following interactions.

As far as co-written experiments go, I really loved this one. The two Wills' have very distinct voices and Levithan's Will only narrates in lower case and presents dialogue in script format. Green's Will is also often referred to as Grayson instead of by his first name, which helps to keep the already very-distinct voices separate and clear with just a glance at the page.

I absolutely loved Green's writing. It was him at his best--super quirky and humorous. He still hasn't really wandered away from his tendency to write from the perspective of a tall, skinny, upper-class white guy with a best friend who is somehow marked or marginalized. But, while a limited perspective, he writes what he writes WELL. I found that I enjoyed his Will Grayson much more than I kinda-sorta liked the first half of Quentin in PaperTowns.

Although, I still have to admit, I found that my passion did fade in the last third of the book. Maybe there was a little less humor, maybe Green's Will Grayson was kind of squared away and the story began to belong to Tiny and Levithan's Will. But there were fewer chuckles on my part.

I was surprised by Levithan's writing. The only books I'd previously read by him was Boy Meets Boy (which is wonderful, humorous LUV! and sticks to the fluffier-side of life as a homosexual teen) and Wide Awake (which I felt 'eeh' about). So, it was very surprising to start chapter two and read the dark voice of his Will Grayson. Startling, in fact. But as I kept reading, I started to like that Will Grayson more, as he became more rounded than just the consuming depression and anger that initially surprised me.

The character, Tiny Cooper has a central role in both Will Graysons' lives, helping to make this book extend beyond being about romantic love, to being about all love, (but particularly friendship love!). But, after finishing the book, I still felt I didn't completely know Tiny. Yeah, I thought both authors did a fair job of presenting his character consistently, but I still felt I only understood Tiny at the surface level. Part of my problem could be how outgoing and energetic Tiny was as a character. I'm more of the withdrawn, silent type, and I still have trouble understanding what makes talkative people tick when they're real and I can actually ask them "hey, what makes you tick?" I have yet to get an answer that is sensical or that doesn't make me feel exhausted just listening.

I'm glad this book came out when it did, because next week I plan to do a lesson on stories that are co-constructed. While I'd planned to focus in part on Chester (in which a character battles his author for power over the story) and on the awesomeness that is mad libs (oh girl scout camp in fourth and fifth grade, you will always being associated with these and my childhood deep-rooted fear of forgetting what an adverb is), this will add a nice YA touch to the talk.

Dinner Conversation:

"When I was little, my dad used to tell me, "Will, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose." This seemed like a reasonably astute observation to me when I was eight, but it turns out to be incorrect on a few levels. To begin with, you cannot possibly pick your friends, or else I never would have ended up with Tiny Cooper" (p. 1).

"i am constantly torn between killing myself and killing everyone around me.
those seem to be the two choices. everything else is just killing time" (p. 22).

"This is a great picture of you. This is what you look like," I tell her. And it's true. That's the problem: so many things are true. It's true that I want to smother her with compliments and true that I want to keep my distance. True that I want her to like me and true that I don't. The stupid endless truth speaking out of both sides of its big, stupid mouth. It's what keeps me, stupidly, talking. "Like, you can't know what you look like, right? Whenever you see yourself in the mirror, you know you're looking at you, so you can't help but pose a little. So you never really know. But this--that's what you look like" (pp. 53-54).

"still, i can't help thinking that 'getting a life' is something only a complete idiot could believe. like you can just drive to a store and get a life. see it in its shiny box and look inside the plastic window and catch a glimpse of yourself in a new life and say, 'wow, i look much happier--i think this is the life i need to get!' take it to the counter, ring it up, put it on your credit card. if getting a life was that easy, we'd be one blissed-out race. but we're not. so it's like, mom, your life isn't out there waiting, so don't think all you have to do is find it and get it. no, your life is right here. and, yeah, it sucks. lives usually do. so if you want things to change, you don't need to get a life. you need to get off your ass" (p. 65).

"There aren't that many Will Graysons," he says. "It's gotta mean something, one Will Grayson meeting another Will Grayson in a random porn store where neither Will Grayson belongs."
"Are you suggesting that God brought two of Chicago-land's underage Will Graysons into Frenchy's at the same time?"
"No, asshole," he says, "but I mean, it must mean something."
"Yeah," I say. "It's hard to believe in coincidence, but it's even harder to believe in anything else" (p. 114).

Tasty Rating: !!!!
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LibraryThing member megmo07
I adore John Green and think he is one of the best YA writers of his time. However, I was not impressed with Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I usually have such a strong connection to John's characters but this time I just didn't. Maybe I'm just not a fan of a dual authorship.
LibraryThing member crochetbunnii
One Will Grayson is a fairly typical, stando-offish high schooler whose best friend, Tiny Cooper, is quite possibly the most amazing friend ever. Even if Tiny Cooper has written, is starring in, and producing a high school musical about his homosexual relationships and his friendship Will
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Grayson.

The other Will Grayson is severely depressed with a morbid outlook on life. But he seems to grow on you as the book goes on. He seems like an odd match for Tiny Cooper, but the relationship just may save his life, especially after he is set up with an imaginary boy concocted by Will's on again, off-again female friend.

I enjoyed this story of love and relationships for the most part. At times it did get a little heavy on the personal reflection of the relationships and individual actions, but Tiny pulls it out in the end. I listened to the audiobook version and thoroughly enjoyed it. Will Grayson and OWG have two separate and wonderful voice actors and the piece from Tiny Dancer are sang beautifully. Tiny Cooper's fabulousness is almost too much to be believable, but he would be a perfect imaginary friend. I particularly liked the difference in perspective from the Will Grayson's and how they interact with characters.
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LibraryThing member abbylibrarian
When two boys named Will Grayson meet randomly in Chicago one evening, both their lives take unexpected turns. This is exactly what you would expect from YA powerhouse authors Green and Levithan. At turns funny and poignant, it's a book for which fans of either author will clamor. And rightly so.
LibraryThing member Cheeseball701
Green and Leviathan write convincingly from the voice of each titular Will Grayson. The high-school story is both funny and on a search for emotional truth. Green manages to make his manic pixie dream girl (Tiny) flawed from the beginning. I really wish The Maybe Dead Cats were real. And, knowing
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The Nerdfighters, they will be shortly.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2010-04-06

Physical description

310 p.; 8.1 x 1 inches

ISBN

0142418471 / 9780142418475
Page: 5.7662 seconds