From Goodreads:
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 both legions of faithful fans.
TINYCOOPERTINYCOOPERTINYCOOPERTINYCOOPERTINYCOOPERTINYCOOPERTINYCOOPER.
Sorry. Just had to get that out of my system. So, you guys. This book. It's freaking awesome. It's told from alternating points of view: Will Grayson, and will grayson. Two teenage boys. One name. Sounds intriguing, right?
IT SO IS. Will Grayson, John Green's character, has two rules in life: 1. Don't care too much. 2. Shut up. He thinks he can just float through high school and get out of there as soon as possible. If it were up to Will, he would just blend right in with the hallway, not doing anything to draw intention to himself.
Unfortunately, this is not possible. Why? Well, because he has Tiny Cooper for a best friend. Tiny Cooper is very large, and very gay. He falls in love every hour with a new boy, and he is enthusiastic and glamorous and fabulous in every way. Tiny is always drawing attention to himself, the last thing Will wants. The way Will sees it, he's stuck with Tiny. If he could have picked his best friend, he would have picked anyone but Tiny.
As if he doesn't have enough problems, Will also struggles with his feelings for a girl. Her name is Jane and maybe he likes her, maybe he doesn't, he doesn't really know, but wait she has a boyfriend, but now he thinks he likes her, what should he do? I think Jane is an interesting and unique character, and I really like her.
will grayson, david levithan's character, doesn't capitalize things. this is the first thing i noticed about will's parts of the book. in the beginning, it's a bit strange and kind of distracting, but you eventually get used to it. you realize that it just makes sense. that's how will writes. all lowercase. it fits his personality.
will is a, well, to put in bluntly, he is a pretty screwed-up kid. he's angry and bitter and kind of hates everything/everyone. and the thing is, that's what so many teenagers are like. i think will is a character that readers can all relate to in some way.
also: he is gay. and you know what? i wish there were more books with gay protagonists. because i really liked reading from will's point of view. there's not really all that many gay characters in young adult books, so this was really refreshing. i love david levithan's writing, and i will definitely be reading some of his other books soon.
When will and Will, two people who have absolutely no business being in a porn shop, both end up in the same porn shop at the same time, they form a connection. Maybe it's just because they have the exact same name, or maybe it's something else. Either way, meeting each other changes something about them. Maybe it's small and insignificant, but something definitely changed when they met each other.
The rest of the book has Will and will caught up together in one world, their lives overlapping with each other's. And the glue that holds this story together?
TINY COOPER.
Tiny is funny and loud and passionate and sometimes annoying. He means a lot to both Will Graysons, and both Will Graysons mean a lot to him. And I freaking love Tiny Cooper. He spends the majority of the book working on a musical that is based on his life. He is the writer, star, director, producer, casting director, and about a thousand other jobs. Tiny provides comic relief on pretty much every page, but he also manages to have deep and meaningful scenes that make both the characters and the readers think.
Favorite Character: Tiny Cooper. I mean, duh. I want him to be my best friend. Also, I would pay so much money to see Hold Me Closer.
Favorite Scene: Probably the scene where Will and will actually meet. Previous to that point, their stories had been really good, but separated. I liked it when the finally met and their lives started overlapping.
Favorite Quote(s): There are so many quotes from this book that I freaking love. So I'll just include a few. Okay my "narrowed-down list" still manages to be really long. Sorry, but there are just so many good lines in this book. Some of them made me laugh out loud, and others made me like, think. And stuff.
"I realize this is not, like, boyish. I realize that properly speaking guys should only think about sex and the acquisition of it, and they should run crotch-first toward every girl who likes them and etc. But: The part I enjoy most is not the doing, but the noticing. Noticing the way she smells like oversugared coffee, and the difference between her smile and her photographed smile, and the way she bites her lower lip, and the pale skin of her back. I just want the pleasure of noticing these things at a safe distance- I don't want to have to acknowledge that I am noticing. I don't want to talk about it or do stuff about it." -page 47
"me giving me mom romantic advice is kind of like a goldfish giving a snail advice on how to fly." -page 66
"Dear Jane, Just so you know: e. e. cummings cheated on both of his wives. With prostitutes. Yours, Will Grayson" -page 139
"I realize this is not, like, boyish. I realize that properly speaking guys should only think about sex and the acquisition of it, and they should run crotch-first toward every girl who likes them and etc. But: The part I enjoy most is not the doing, but the noticing. Noticing the way she smells like oversugared coffee, and the difference between her smile and her photographed smile, and the way she bites her lower lip, and the pale skin of her back. I just want the pleasure of noticing these things at a safe distance- I don't want to have to acknowledge that I am noticing. I don't want to talk about it or do stuff about it." -page 47
"me giving me mom romantic advice is kind of like a goldfish giving a snail advice on how to fly." -page 66
"Dear Jane, Just so you know: e. e. cummings cheated on both of his wives. With prostitutes. Yours, Will Grayson" -page 139
"You may choose your song, but know this: Tiny. Cooper. Hates. Over. The. Rainbow." -page 162
"me: why is it upset? shouldn't it be downset?
gideon: i will file a lawsuit against the dictionaries first thing tomorrow morning. we're going to tear merriam a new asshole and throw webster inside of it." -page 264
"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." -page 277
"I hear in the distance a thunderous roar followed by a horrifying series of splashes, and my first thought is, Tiny has written an elephant into the play, and the elephant has just vomited, but then I realize that Tiny is the elephant." -page 281
"i lose track of how long it takes. then, when it's all over, the applause starts. the loudest applause you've ever heard." -page 310
Also: the whole thing with Schrödinger's cat is so genius and cool and awesome.
I know you're probably sick of hearing this, but OMG I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH. If you haven't read it, you should definitely change that soon. This is one of those books that I think everyone will enjoy.
DFTBA
-Rachel
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