Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan - Recently I
posted a breakdown of all the David Levithan books I loved, all the ones I hated/did not finish, and all the ones I was on the fence about.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson was one I was anticipating, and despite the fact that every review I read was a glowing, 5-star gush and a recent Top Ten Favorite Characters list hosted by
The Broke and The Bookish featured Tiny Cooper on Almost. Every. List. I was not impressed. Apparently, the chances that two of my favorite authors will let me down are high - so high, in fact, that
Will Grayson, Will Grayson made my recent
Top Ten Tuesday listing books that I liked more or less than I anticipated. As I wrote in that post,
I began Will Grayson, Will Grayson with
high hopes only to be let down by the same overly prophetic message
about love and homosexuality that has turned me off in some of Levithan's other novels. I get it; people should be allowed to
love who they want, but like I tell my students all the time, show me;
don't tell me (or in Levithan's case, beat me over the head with it). I love a good musical, but as I read Will Grayson, Will Grayson, I felt as if I had been unwillingly thrown center stage into an all-out Glee marathon. The novel and the character of Tiny Cooper were just a little too much for me. While I may not be singing praises for Green and Levithan's duet, I can hardly refrain from admiring their writing styles. Green and Levithan know how to pen an intelligent, biting sentence that channels a full gamut of emotions from sensual to farcical. Two of my favorites are excerpted below:
"She kisses like a sweet devouring" (134).
"Just so you know: e. e. cummings cheated on both of his wives. With prostitutes" (139).
(Especially distressing for me to hear because I love e. e. cummings - but I have to admit, it's quite an effective relationship deterrent!)
Best matched with fans of Glee and Green's and Levithan's distinctive writing styles.
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