Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a collaboration between John Green and David Levithan and tells the story of two teenagers both named Will Grayson. It is fairly obvious which author penned which Will as the story continually changes point of view between the two characters.

Green's Will (here after referred to as Will) is quite typical of his characters. He's somewhat nerdy, smart, has a biting sense of humor, and proceeds to fall for the first female character introduced. He lives by two rules: 1. Don't care too much and 2. Shut up. His best friend is a giant (equally wide as tall) ironically named Tiny, who is fabulously gay and trying to stage a musical based on his life. Tiny attempts to set Will up with their friend Jane, another typical character of Green's - the smart, quirky female. While Will initially balks at this idea, as it will violate his two rules, as the story goes on he begins to reconsider.

Levithan's Will (here after referred to as will, as in the book) is in many ways a stark contrast to Green's Will. He is a loner, moody, depressed, comes from a broken home, and is gay. will feels hope for his future for the first time in a long while after meeting a boy named Issac online. will travels to Chicago to meet Issac and ends up crossing paths with Will in the most unlikely of places - a porn shop. The night is quickly becoming one of the worst nights in will's life, but all that changes when Will introduces will to Tiny. One chance encounter will have lasting effects on all those involved.

I really liked this book, especially the juxtaposition of the two authors' styles. The weird lower-case style of will's story was initially jarring, but quickly overcome and I think it kind of added to the character. I got the impression prior to reading the book that it was the two Wills that were going to be the cause of inevitable change in the lives of the characters, but now having read the book I think it was really Tiny that changed the lives of Will and will. He is this amazing force that is really at the heart of a story that speaks to friendship and love. I found myself laughing out loud throughout the book and wishing that I could have been in the audience for the debut of Tiny's musical - easily my favorite scene in the whole book. A 4 star read for me.