By John Green and David Levithan
I was impressed with this book, even more so because I loathe alternating first person narrations. Loathe. As in, I almost put the book down when I saw that chapter two was from a different Will Grayson's point of view. But then I started reading chapter two, and I then I decided that I might be able to put my preferences aside and see what was going to happen.
The book is about two teenage boys who share the same name, but who are as different as could be. Green's Will (I could hear John Green's forceful, fast-talking voice in the narration from the first sentence) is a slight underdog of a guy aspiring towards normalcy who is overshadowed by his confounding best friend, the giant, gay, Tiny. Levithan's Will is an emo-ish closeted gay boy with few friends and a secret internet boyfriend. When the two Wills meet, their lives become strangely intertwined through their relationships with Tiny.
More than romance or homosexuality, I felt like this story was about friendship, and understanding what it means to accept your friends for who they are, instead of trying to change them into who you want them to be. It was funny at times, serendipitous at times, sad at times, but in the ways that real life is funny and serendipitous and sad. The issues that the characters deal with are difficult but relevant. My only criticism is that the characters didn't have enough difficulties.
Overall, this was an endearing page turner that I highly recommend.
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