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

Synopsis:

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.

Review by Patrick:

Will Grayson, Will Garyson was probably one of the most unique books I have read. I enjoy John Green immensely (so much so that I call myself a Nerdfighter and watch his YouTube channel Vlogbrothers). This led me to want to read all of his works, and as this is one of them, I picked it up to read. I also have heard good things about David Levithan, and several of his books are on my "To-Read" list as well. So, this seemed like the perfect book for me to read to allow me to further the goal of reading all of John Green's works and introducing me to David Levithan.

Unless I am mistaken, this book was written by both writers in an oscillating format. I believe one wrote one chapter, then the other wrote the second, then the first wrote the third, and so forth. This is by no means the only book written this way, but it may be the first I've ever read, and it was interesting. It was neat to see two different stories that also intertwined together. I know most books have more than one story, or the story is about more than one character that inevitably interacts, but this was different. It really was about two different stories.

I liked the book. It was very engaging, and I wanted to keep reading it. Even though there was a significant portion of the book relating to gay sexual preference (full disclosure: I'm not even a little bit gay), it wasn't weird or sexual. It was... normal. Which I guess was kind of the point: to show that teens who are gay are not weird or different or... weird. They are just teens, trying to make it through high school, alive, and understanding themselves and their relationships.

Although I did like the book, it was not what I would typically read (although, spoiler alert, it was nice to read a book where no one dies for a change). It's pace was good as it kept me wanting to drive somewhere to finish the book. The ending chapters were fantastic. But all the same, I'm going to rate this book a 3.5. Maybe it deserves a higher rating for many readers, and I'm glad I read it, but not my cuppa tea.

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Moby Dick and Dracula.