As you may have guessed, this book follows the stories of two teenage boys named Will Grayson, both residents of the Chicago suburbs. Capital letters using-Will narrates the first chapter, and then he and lowercase will switch off.
Will essentially drops us right into the middle of his life, telling us about about his friend Tiny Cooper and their misadventurous night out at what was supposed to be a Neutral Milk Hotel concert.The brightest part of the night? Meeting Jane, a new friend of Tiny's who may or may not be into Will.
will's life, however, isn't quite as typical suburban teenager-y. He's on antidepressants and has only one real life friend, a relatively annoying girl named Maura. Mostly what he lives for is talking online with his crush, Isaac.
Will and will meet when Will's fake ID isn't quite fake enough to get him into a 21+ concert with Tiny and Jane, and will learns that there never was an Isaac for him to meet. Isaac was actually Maura catfishing him. Will and will chat for a moment before Will hands will over to Tiny, who is flamboyant, fabulous, and a sucker for boys like will.
Their stories both collide and diverge as the novel goes on. Will falls for Jane, but she has a boyfriend, of course - why else would he be interested? will starts to date Tiny, but the difference in their lifestyles slowly drives will away. Tiny Cooper affects both Wills for the better, though, and they decide to show their appreciation for him at the opening night of Hold Me Closer, Tiny's autobiographical, self-directed, self-led musical.
(Wow, that may have been my most succinct summary ever. Good job, me!)
I realize this book is about the Wills Grayson, but let's be real, the actual star of this novel is Tiny Cooper, the world's largest, gayest man. He is loving and hilarious and surprisingly deep, and I want him to be my best friend forever and ever. I also want Hold Me Closer to debut on Broadway, like, immediately. (Levithan already wrote one of the songs! It could happen!)
I also love the amount of character growth in this novel. Both Wills realize that instead of hoping Tiny becomes what they want him to be, they should learn to accept Tiny for who he is and maybe not care so much about what the imaginary audience of their lives should think, and it is beautiful. Will goes from a rigid, arbitrary rule-loving kid to someone who understands that you have to put yourself out there for love and will learns that being an angry loner isn't the only option available to him, and it feels good.
My favorite Will Grayson is probably capital-W Will. I found myself getting frustrated with will's constant anger, although it made me question whether he was doing it consciously or if his depression made it uncontrollable at times. I still enjoyed will's portions, but I liked Will's narration (and especially Tiny and Jane's appearances) better, probably because I liked his friends.
Overall, Will Grayson, Will Grayson is emotional and funny in turns, and it delves into both hetero- and homosexual relationships without making one seem better or more normal than the other. It also gives equal time to the friendships that comprise a lot of the story, which you don't always see in YA fiction. Four and a half stars.
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