Counting Down: My Top Five

4. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green & David Levithan


Plot: 

Meet Will Grayson and will grayson. Yes, they are two different people, unknown of each others existence. Will tries to float through life without being noticed - a feat that is barely manageable considering his best friend is name Tiny, but is larger than anything and very much gay. will has no reason to really live, besides a developing online relationship.

Their coincidental meeting one night leads to a story of maturity, acceptance and identity.

Reason:

As a collaborative novel,  I find that Will Grayson, Will Grayson provides a bit more than what John Green usually has in his novels. I am a big fan of his writing and do enjoy his other novels but I think WG, WG  is probably the best.

Whilst Green wrote the chapters for Will, Levithan was the brain behind will. Their writing really complimented each other though, with the transitions being seamless yet, able to differentiate between both characters. I found though, that both Will's acted only as a vehicle for the meaning of the story. Instead, it's Tiny - Will's best friend - that really stole the "show" and became my favourite character. Tiny embodied the values and morals that readers will learn once finishing the novel, and he was such a vivacious character. Probably the one most memorable character out of all of Green's novels is Tiny.

I would have to say the reason why I loved WG, WG so much is because of its story. As a coming of age story, WG, WG is very much relatable for high schoolers. Both Wills experience identity crisis although in their own ways and struggle to really fit in somehow in their life. If you don't identify with one "Will", you might with the other.

The concept of parallel lives is also quite interesting. I mean its not that easy to walk down the streets and find someone with the same name as you. Is it?

Overall, WG WG has a message that should speak volumes to YA readers. It's touching and has great characters. (Although in this novel the female characters aren't that great, so that's a minor problem). I loved the ending and would have to say Tiny is an inspiration to live by.

Also, just a minor warning. If you're quite conventional in regards to homosexuality then I have to tell you now, this novel does cover that issue quite a bit. If you're not okay with it then maybe this isn't for you.

Favourite Quote:

“In my kind of falling, there’s no landing. There’s only hitting the ground. Hard. Dead, or wanting to be dead. So the whole time you’re falling, it’s the worst feeling in the world. Because you feel you have no control over it. Because you know how it ends.”