Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Product Type: Book
Product Price: $17.99
Manufacturer: Dutton Juvenile
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Description
One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.
Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both them legions of faithful fans.
Amazon Best Books of the Month, April 2010: What's in a name? A pretty fantastic book idea, for starters. At heart, Will Grayson, Will Grayson is about a couple of kids figuring out how to be themselves. Two of those kids happen to have the same name, and not much in common outside of that, but their serendipitous friendship sets the stage for a much larger, braver, and more candid story than the simplicity of the plot might suggest. The relevance for teens here is clear--high school is the only time in your life when you have the undivided opportunity to obsess over your every move, sentence, and outfit change--but the part about understanding who you are doesn't stop when you graduate. That's what makes Will Grayson, Will Grayson as interesting a pick for adults as it is for teens: the questions don't get simpler, but looking at them through the eyes of a 16-year-old brings a welcome sense of honesty and humor to this thing called life. No one's ever too old to enjoy that. --Anne Bartholomew
Amazon Exclusive: David Levithan and John Green Talk About Names
Will Grayson, Will Grayson is about two teenage boys with the same name, whose lives intersect in unexpected ways. The book originated with the thought of giving two different boys the same name, and to give that name some meaning. It also comes from David's own experience. So to give you an inside peek at the making of the book, we figured it would be fun to give you insight into our own names, as well as Will Grayson’s.
David Levithan
To my knowledge, there are only two other David Levithans in the world – my dad’s cousin, and a lawyer in South Africa who, as far as we can tell, isn’t family. The last name Levithan is actually the invention of an immigration official – when my great-grandfather came to America from Russia, it should have translated to Levitan. But somehow the h got in there. Now, whenever I meet another Levithan (which is rare), odds are good that he or she is related to me.
That said, the story of Will Grayson, Will Grayson came from someone whose name is close to mine, but not identical. David Leventhal went to Brown at the same time I did, and people would confuse us often.
This ended up being something of a joke, because David was an extraordinary dancer, while I was…not an extraordinary dancer. So people would exclaim, “We had no idea someone as clumsy as you could be so graceful on stage!” and I’d have to say, “Well, un, that wasn’t me.” Finally, right before graduation, I contacted David and we met up. We became instant friends, and when we both moved to New York after college, we were always in each other’s company. The similarity of our names often threw people for a loop… and I thought, well, that might make an interesting story.
Amusingly, David Leventhal’s college roommate’s name was . . . Jon Green.
John Green
I was named after my great-grandfather, John Michael Crosby, an itinerant minor-league baseball manager and occasional catcher. I like my name, but being a John Green can certainly be inconvenient, because there are a lot of us. Among many others, there is John Green the realtor in Mississippi (who owns johngreen.com, much to my chagrin), John Green the Australian botanist, and of course John Green the world-renowned Bigfoot scholar. This last John Green, who is so revered in the field of Bigfoot research that he is often called “one of the four horseman of Sasquatchery,” is kind of my mortal enemy. I once wrote a magazine article in which I passingly noted that Bigfoot is, you know, fictional, and John Green replied with a letter arguing that my anti-Bigfoot stance was besmirching the good name of John Greens everywhere.
Such is the curse of being a John Green. Or a Will Grayson, for that matter.
Will
We decided that I (David) would choose our character’s first name, and John would choose his last name. I liked the name Will because of its different, sometimes contradictory, meanings. As a noun, it can be so strong – where there’s a will, there’s a way, and whatnot. But as a verb, it’s split. Sometimes it’s just as definite (It will be done!), but that definiteness is underscored by an uncertainty – you say it will be done, but it hadn’t been done yet, has it? And put it at the start of a question (“Will you still love me tomorrow?”) and it becomes the entrance for all kinds of vulnerability. That seemed right for the characters.
Grayson
I liked Grayson because whenever I would hear that name, it always sounded to me like “grace in,” which always struck me as a richly ambiguous phrase – is “grace in” the beginning of a clause or the end of it? Are we being asked to find grace in something, or to let grace in? Those questions seemed like interesting ones for the guy I wanted to write about.
Reviews
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-09-06
Summary: "My Feel-Good Book of the Year"
John Green and David Levithan are basically literary YA gods as it is, but when you put them together, you get something that is essentially perfection.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson is easily my feel-good book of the year. It's witty, hilarious, comically outlandish, yet tender, charming, and full of heart. The two Will Grayson's are so different from one another and have such distinctive voices that I found myself tearing through the pages to see just what was happening with each of them.
Will Grayson #1, the Will who has a not so tiny best friend named Tiny, comes off as that always in the background kind of guy. He tries to stick to everyone's periphery, but has a hard time doing that with such a huge and flamboyant best friend. His girl issues, friend issues, and fake ID issues are told in such a matter of fact way that I couldn't help but feel for him, but laugh at the same time. Out of the two Wills, this one is my favorite.
Will Grayson #2, the Will with no real friends and a gay secret, comes off as just depressed and almost pitiful. I couldn't help but feel bad for him, but this Will does not take pity. His anger and self-hatred comes off so raw that it's impossible to not feel something for him.
As the story progresses, the pent up emotions that both Will's harbor begin to boil to the surface and explode with the opening of Tiny's biggest gay musical in history. As far as characters go, this book has them in droves. Will Grayson and Will Grayson and interesting and unique, but the supporting characters are all very strong and well-fleshed out as well. Tiny, the gay football player, Jane, the pretentiously cute girl, Isaac, the online gay buddy, and even depressing, `I want to be more than just friends' Maura, all have something that makes them stick out. Their personalities are as large as Tiny and they refuse to go unnoticed.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson is an incredibly well-written gem that sticks out in the mountain of YA books out today. This more than lives up to the hype with zingers on every single page and characters that I'm not likely to ever forget. I had a goofy grin plastered on my face nearly the entire time I was reading this and that's doesn't happen too often.
Opening line: 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." ~ pg. 3
Favorite line(s): this is why we call people exes, i guess - because the paths that cross in the middle end up separating at the end. it's too easy to see an X as a cross-out. it's not, because there's no way to cross out something like that. the X is a diagram of two paths. ~ pg. 277
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-09-05
Summary: "Excellent"
I've just finished Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan.
Others have already raved about this book, so I won't add much more other than to say---read it! It's very funny, and it brought to mind memories and situations I haven't thought about for ages, of my own high school days and all the drama to be found in friendships and romantic relationships when a person is that age. Definitely recommended.
(Don't forget to watch the little video interview with one of the authors, here on the Amazon listing---very funny.)
The dust jacket on this one cannot be duplicated on a computer screen; it's one of those holographic covers in which the colours shift according to the angle of the light, while different details swim in and out of focus; looks almost three-dimensional. I was looking at it in direct sunlight, and as it nearly blinded me I suddenly thought "Aha, I totally get this!" The cover is, in fact, just what you would see if you are standing on stage looking out into a darkened auditorium (there's even a hint of the lighting gridwork at the top). It's been many years since I trod the boards---not since high school---but suddenly I was transported back to a moment on stage in the spotlight. And that's just how the book ends---with a big climactic scene with all the characters performing an outrageous musical that I would absolutely LOVE to see!
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-26
Summary: "Will Grayson, Will Grayson-- Amazing, Amazing!"
I can safely say this is one of the best books I've read this summer. I adore both John Green and David Levithan, and together, they are a dynamic duo! Both authors are extremely skilled at creating characters that come alive on the page. I really felt like I knew both the Will Graysons and even Tiny. While reading I laughed out loud and even became a little teary. I even read my favorite parts out loud to my husband!
Of course, I love the characters. But surprisingly, I think I enjoyed the minor characters even more than the main characters. Both Will Graysons are great, but, for example, who can deny how wonderful and fantastic Tiny Cooper is?! He's very large person with a very large personality. In fact, I wish there really was a Tiny Cooper because I'd want to be his friend. I know deep down he's insecure about his appearance and being gay, but he doesn't let that show. He oozes confidence whether it's real or not. He's also a loyal friend to both Will Graysons no matter what happens between them. Plus, Tiny Cooper created his very own high school musical! He really steals the spotlight, pun intended.
The story is told from both Will Graysons, switching perspectives each chapter. As I mentioned, Tiny Cooper is gay and so is one of the Will Graysons. The really nice thing about Will Grayson, Will Grayson is the overwhelming success it's had. It's about time that a young adult novel featuring a gay character has been an overwhelming best-seller. Even better, is that both Will Graysons, despite their sexual orientation, are dealing with similar issues (and of course they are!). They both feel isolated, misunderstood, are afraid to love, etc. This is a novel that all teenagers should read, and because of how amazing it is, many teenagers will.
I can't wait to rave about this once school starts. Really, the title should be Will Grayson, Will Grayson (Amazing, Amazing)
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-08-21
Summary: "Heart-warming"
It's been a while since I laughed out loud and felt fluffy inside from reading a book. "Will Grayson, will grayson" did it for me. The story is realistic and emotional without being too depressing or cheesy. I can't really pinpoint what I got out from the book but by the time I put it down I was mesmerized by the characters and the transition they went through. It's nothing short of fascination and compassion.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-12
Summary: "Loved it, loved it"
Will(s), Tiny, Jane, Maura. . . all kept me company the past few nights of insomnia. I have to say - they made the sleepless nights and groggy days worth it. A lovely story with so many spot-on observations about love and authenticity that really resonated with me.