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.

Every Day by David Levithan

Every day A wakes up in a different body, to a different life. It has been this way for A for as long as A can remember. A never knows who he will wake up as or where he will wake up (Note: I use "he" as a loose term here as A does not identify as either male or female). He has woken up as a male, as a female, as a drug addict, as an athlete. The only consistency is that all of his host are same age as A.

A's hosts (for lack of a better word) are for the most part oblivious to his possession, which never lasts more than 24 hours. A is able to "access" the memories of his host, which allows him to get through a day in their life, but he does not have access to their emotions or feelings. When he leaves their body, they are left with the memories of what they did that day, but have no memory of A's possession.

A has accepted his fate and lives by simple guidelines: Don't get too attached, avoid being noticed, and do not interfere. All that changes for A when he wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon. For the first time, A wants nothing more than to wake up every day in the same body so that he can see Rhiannon again. As A and Rhiannon fall for each other, they must struggle to find a way around their biggest obstacle: how do you love someone who changes everyday?

When I first read the synopsis of this book I was immediately intrigued by the idea of the story. It was a very quick read and I enjoyed the story very much. It raises some interesting questions about love and our perception of each other. How do you love someone who appears different to you every day? I think that we would all like to think that when it comes to love, the physical doesn't matter, but it does. So I can completely understand Rhiannon's struggle. How can you love someone fully when you have no mental construct of the person, no way to really define them? How do you reconcile that person in your mind when every day they appear in a different form? How does your mind wrap around that idea? And if the person never knows where they are going to wake up, how do you depend on that person? What if love isn't always enough?

My only problem with the book was that it felt unfinished, or underdeveloped might be the better word.

The next part of my review may contain some spoilers, so proceed with caution.