Will Grayson, Will Grayson in Pick-a-Shelf

May 08, 2015 Lorna rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction-romance, young-adult, realistic-fiction, friendship, a-z-challenge-2014

3 1/2 stars.
The cover states that the book is "funny, rude and original". I guess the rude part is what makes it so I can't give a higher rating. ...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Lanica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, audiobooks, read-in-2011, young-adult

SCHOOL LIBRARIAN REVIEW:

Overview: Although some of the writing was cheesy and the plot was forced a bit here and there, I loved this book and would recommend it to high school librarians for several reasons.

#1 - It raises discussion questions that are current and important. It's hard to think about some of the things kids go through these days. I never had to worry about half the things the Internet has brought into our lives. For the most part I knew who my friends were, I knew who my enemies w SCHOOL LIBRARIAN REVIEW:

Overview: Although some of the writing was cheesy and the plot was forced a bit here and there, I loved this book and would recommend it to high school librarians for several reasons.

#1 - It raises discussion questions that are current and important. It's hard to think about some of the things kids go through these days. I never had to worry about half the things the Internet has brought into our lives. For the most part I knew who my friends were, I knew who my enemies were. I knew the reasons people talked about me behind my back and I was able to handle it. I don't know how kids today are able to cope with the overwhelming amount of garbage that gets spewed into their lives via social media. Hate speech is so much easier via the Internet. How does the Internet affect you or your students? Is homophobia as prevalent as it was 20 years ago? Where is the line between spying and friendship on the Internet? Themes to discuss: Depression, homosexuality, Internet safety, honesty, socio-economic differences between the characters, etc.

#2 - It's great for teachers (I include myself in this, so no offense is intended) to be reminded that all students are unique. Each needs to be treated as an individual. Teachers who read this book will be reminded in a calm and beautiful way that not all students fall into neat boxes that can be labeled and stacked together. It's good for teachers to see the world through the eyes of their students. Some books push me away, "I can't believe this is how kids really think. No way is this authentic to any school age kid I know." Some are too heavy handed. "Yeah, we already know that." But, this one caught me off guard and I kept thinking, "I wish I could help this boy." The lives we see though this book may not be exact replicas of students we work with, but at least one of the individual aspects can be found in every kid I know.

#3 - The shared writing technique is a great idea for a class project. This is a very successful combination of two writers exchanging chapters and characters to build a wonderful book. I loved the idea of co-writing a book, but I had no idea how well it would blend together. Having one author write from one characters point of view and the second author writing from the other characters point of view worked brilliantly in this book. I'd love to see students give it a try and learn how hard it is to write collaboratively.

#4 - There are so many deep thoughts and wonderful quotes in this book I would love to sit in an English class and talk about which ones grabbed the students the most. As the students read, I'd collect a list of the best quotes and post them all over my room for discussion as we read the book.

#5 - It includes everyone. Name a 'group' in your school. They're in there, somewhere.

PERSONAL REVIEW:
The first chapter caught my attention, the second almost pushed me away. I could not imagine reading any more from inside the mind of this depressed, angry, possibly-homicidal boy. Then I realized - with a little help from the writing - that is exactly how I feel about real people that rub me the wrong way, in a scary depressed, dark sort of way. I choose to avoid people who are 'to hard' to get to know. Now, I may get a bit odd here, but as a teacher and as a 'civilian' I'm of two different minds about this...I go out of my way for these types of students, but when I meet someone who wants to be a friend of my own age, I tend to shy away.

I continued reading because I knew that the book would end and that I could set Will Grayson, both versions of him, aside whenever I needed to. That's the great thing about books!

I am so glad I didn't quit reading. I admit the ending is really cheesy, and the character of Tiny is just too sweet to be believed, but really, I could see a whole lot of my friends mixed into this story. By the end I was engrossed enough in the story that I could overlook the sickly sweetness to enjoy a nice ending. I did like that a whole lot of things went unsaid at the end. Live continues on for these characters and there are no little bows to tie it all up, or strangle the plot into submission.

I am afraid to mention the homosexuality aspect of the book, because it is not what the book is about. It's not about being gay, or straight; it's not a coming-out book; it's not about coping with being gay; although, all those aspects are in this book. It's a book about learning how to have relationships with other people. It includes friendships, false friendships, toxic friendships, platonic love, sexual love, and love of self. To mention the homosexuality is likely to get it pushed into a corner...and it deserves its own spotlight.

Anyway, I liked it an would recommend it to mature young adults who might learn from it. I recommend it to teachers who would like to be reminded what it's like to be a student. I would love to moderate a book club about it and see how students talk to each other both before and after having read it. ...more

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Apr 21, 2011 emily rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 2011-to-2015, fiction-contemporary, owned-physical, queers-and-queer-relationships

this is sincerely one of the best books i've read all year, and definitely the best YA i've read since i finished libba bray's "great and terrible beauty" trilogy. this book is fantastic. the two narrators are both engaging and interesting; i loved both of their stories, and the ways they intersected kept me turning pages. i really couldn't put this one down; i was up until 3am reading it because i just had to know what would happen next. the first will grayson's struggle to figure out who he is ...more

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Oct 30, 2020 Cora rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, young-adult, chicago, illinois, audible, alternating-narrators, friendship, relationships, teens, love

This is the story of two teens that share the name Will Grayson. They both live in the suburbs of Chicago navigating the ups and downs of friendships, first loves, and high school. I thought the book was excellent. The characters seemed real and honest. The story was more than the love story typical of most young adult novels. I liked that the real story seemed to be about the theme of love between friends and how hard, yet rewarding it is to maintain those friendships. I think their friend Tiny ...more

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Dec 18, 2009 Ashley rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 2010

This book was good. I would really give it 4.5 stars. I was part of an ARC tour. I will post a more in depth when it comes out. The characters and story were awesome though!!!!

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