"Will Grayson Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan

[Tenley Nadine]

I'm pleased to announce that this will be the Blurbing Book Club book from April 6th - May 6th. 

Here's what you should do during that time: 

1. Read the book (obviously). 

2. Come back to this forum and leave your thoughts about the book. You can write a sentence, you can write an essay, it doesn't matter, whatever you want. 

3. Blurb the book. 

Some of you may not know what a blurb is so allow me to explain: A blurb is a sentence of 10 words or less, that sums up the book in question. If you want an example, look on the back (occasionally the front) of some books lying around your house. Those are blurbs. 

Keep in mind that you can also compose lol-cat blurbs if you'd like (the same thing but with internet slang). 

[Rachel]

i so agree with you!

[Rachel]

i think it really taught me a lot of things and made me have a new perspective on life. i really related to some of the characters and i could pair most of the characters with someone i know and that was really great. over all, it had a great message and its just a wonderful book. plus, i found it to be so hilarious at parts, it was just so true and funny. I love love love this book!

"It's not about the falling, it's about the floating."
"try-error-try-error-try-error-tryit."
"cock + pussy = happy rooster-kitten couple" <-- i love that
-rachel boyd (DFTBA!)

[Ava Spiegelman]

I finished a while ago but just joined the site, so this is my first response! At first I didn't really like the book because I didn't connect with the characters and wasn't that big on the 2nd Will Grayson. But once i got into it I really started to enjoy it and I loved the way the two Will's lives collided and intertwined. By the end of the book I loved Tiny (he was hilarious and totally reminded me of one of my friends) and I loved the ending. Everyone should read this.

[Tim the Scientific Ostrich]

I haven't been able to get my hands on it until today and I finished it in one sitting, and my first response? Mind is blown. I'm going to need a second read through to pick up more of the details and properly form something from the swirling mass of my thoughts, but here are my initial reactions.

Spoiler alert.

Tiny Cooper at first repulsed me, but at the end I quite liked him. I felt that he was as much the centre of the book at Will Grayson and Will Grayson.

John's Will is absolutely brilliant in that he sees the world in such a way that the normality in me identifies with. I especially appreciate the way his thoughts iterate his feelings, and the way he describes the life around him. Sometimes I found myself sympathizing with this Will and everything that he's been through. I don't blame him for being upset at feeling like Tiny's Plan B, and to be honest, I thought that at times Tiny treated him like crap, but I do also realize that he treated Tiny like crap too. I love that it shows how two radically different people can still be best friends and have it work out.

David's Will is absolutely brilliant. Halfway through the first sentence I was in love with its style because, even though the grammar really annoyed me at first (at the end I loved it and honestly couldn't distinguish it from the normal punctuated Will Grayson unless I carefully looked at the page), it really suited his personality and who he is as a person. It conveys his sense of the world and how monotone it seems (in the beginning) to him and how indifferent he (appears to be) to the world. I also find it interesting that this Will does not impart his impression of dialogue directly using this style, and thus he is harder to find, but ultimately it develops his character much better than normal punctuation, grammar, and dialogue would have. I did find that at the end, even though the style was the same, he sounded like a different Will Grayson (which he even admits that he is). And that both Will Graysons become more like each other.

I also loved how I could relate to the emotions of both Will Graysons as well as Tiny. I was heartbroked when Will found out about Issac.

I liked how Tiny, being a part of both Will Grayson's lives, allowed Will Grayson to affect the life of Will Grayson indirectly through Tiny. It was an amazing book that I am now completely in love with.

I'm too late to enter a blurb =( But on the other hand, I can't think of a good enough one.

[Marni Shelkin]

Blurb: There are at least two sides to every Will Grayson.

[Kaitlyn Scarlett]

Have any of you heard John Green on SmartMouths Podcast? He spend over an hour talking about the book, and they asked really brilliant questions. I think I spent most of the podcast listening with my mouth open in awe. ;3
You can find it by searching SmartMouths on iTunes or litening to/ downloading it here: http://smartmouthspodcast.com/smart-mouths-61-will-grayson-will-gra...
It's episode 61.

[Alexandra]

This was not what I expected. I think the book kinda sucked. There wasn't this big plot going and I just didn't find intrest in it. The character were just awful. I hated every single one of them.

[Forrest Philpot]

I read this before it was published due to an Advance copy. I love both of these guys' previous work(s). Levithan has such a carelessly eloquent writing style that is so easy to fall in love with. Of course, we shan't forget John Green, lest we forget a truly remarkable writer. Green's style is so easy to relate to, it's really actually very hard not to become part of the book- to feel inside of it.
As for the book itself, it was a very original idea, that brought about a lot of nostalgia from the two authors' other books. However, I might note that Green did a very good job with staying away from the "get the girl" plot. I felt that was a huge step in Green's development as a writer. Levithan does an excellent job with trying to push us away from his Will Grayson. The distanced feel that we get from this character is, ironically, attractive. We want to know more about this strange person. Who is he? What's he like?
My favourite character in the novel is Jane. We don't notice it, but she is actually a very intriguing specimen in this book. Throughout the pages, we get little hints at Jane's inner conflict. She's constantly faced with decisions, and it's so refreshing to dig into her character to see what's really going on.
In conclusion, it was a great book. I really enjoyed reading it.

[Kira Cassandra Cantrell]

I know this is way late, but I just joined ning.... Anyway, Will Grayson, Will Grayson was the first book I read by John Green. I loved it. It was fantastic and both his and David David Levithan's writing styles are great. I especially loved the ending, and even though I'm not named Will Grayson, I wanted to stand up in that audience and shout, "I appreciate you, Tiny Cooper!" with the rest of them :)

[solveig]

It's kind of awesome how David Levithan uses no Capitalization in his part of the book. And I loved Tiny Cooper as a character. In all his craziness, he is kind of cool, and he seems like a strong person (mentally  he he).

As people have mentioned John Green's part of the book is full of a sertain depth and brilliance that he has shown in his other novels, but I liked Levithans part too, exept from his rough language compared to John Green, if that made any sense at all.

Anyway, I loved the book ;)

[Mimi Starson]

I really loved this book. First of all, I'm a HUGE supporter of gay rights, and totally against prejudice against gay people (in case you are wondering, no I am not gay). But the one thing that I really got from this book:

Shut up and stop caring.

And I know in the book that Will Grayson #1 learns that those aren't ideal rules to live by but I have interpreted them into my own way:

Shut up trying to be someone you're not and stop caring what other people think about the REAL you.

But anyway, Will Grayson, Will Grayson was an amazing book and I really liked it. 

To sum it up:

Two awesome people learn to stop avoiding their lives.

[Renoir]

So...

 

I read this. And then I sat. And then I dug through the book and reread my favorite parts. And then, I sat again.

 

And for whatever reason, I started crying because I felt like I read something life-changing, something with so much heart, and something with a spirit I almost never see in the books I read anymore.

 

Let's see if I can be a little more eloquent...

 

From cover to cover, this book made me laugh, yell at the characters, and cry when things didn't go well for them. The two writers have a distinct style, particularly from each other, so that gave the book more depth because of how each writer wrote those "holy crap, I never thought of that," moments.

 

Like when Green's WG talked about how in every lie there is a truth, and when David's WG talked about how life is an anvil that continuously brings you back to reality.

 

Incredible stuff, this book.

 

John Green's WG (Will Grayson) was so well-developed, and one thing I also liked about him was that, aside from his "Don't care, shut up," rule, he was different from Green's other protagonist in the light that he didn't really have a QUIRK persay, like knowing famous last words. Green's WG was just an incredibly intelligent, incredibly thoughtful imperfectly perfect character. As for David, I've been a fan of his work for a while now, so I was ecstatic to read his part.

 

I honestly, wasn't disappointed. Some might say he sounded too "emo" or "depressed," but I loved David's WG from the first sentence, and was waiting for the moment when we'd see more of who he really was. That came every time he talked to Isaac, and every moment after he met Tiny. We got to see him as a person who really is caring, loving, just afraid of showing it because he doesn't feel like he deserves it in the first place. I guess I could relate more to David's WG, even with his dislike of things like LOL, and therefore like him slightly more. And, I had someone do to me what Maura did to him, and it hurts so incredibly bad that you want to crawl up in a sewer and cry for the rest of your life. I got that, and David wrote him wonderfully.

 

And Tiny. What can I say about Tiny in one word?

 

Magical. Absolutely magical. And that is all. The ending made ME feel like I was floating.

 

BTW: If anyone has any thoughts about Gideon/Will Grayson, please message me, because I have comments about them!

 

For a blurb, I guess...oh, gee, I really don't know.