-John Green, Will Grayson,Will Grayson
"i am constantly torn between killing myself and killing everyone around me."
-David Levithan, Will Grayson,Will Grayson
"Will Grayson, Will Grayson" is a relatively easy book to read, and while yes that's partially because it's not all that complicated or complex, it's primarily because this book is such a compelling read. Despite it having it's dry spots, it still doesn't cease to be a page turner.
I think what makes this so compelling is that it's a collaboration between two authors, John and David, and despite them both being YA authors they're styles, at least in this book, are definitely different. John Green's sections of the book come off as warmer and more welcoming, while David's sections of the book feel a lot more lonely and pessimistic.
Personally, I preferred David's sections of the books, I feel like all of his characters had this sense that there was more to them than you'd think at face value. It's actually rather subtle how you get just a glimpse into the side character's inner struggles and turmoil. While David had less side character's than John, I did find them far more interesting; I can barely remember half of John's side characters due to everyone other than (the fabulous) Tiny and Jane feeling boring and two dimensional. He failed at convincing me that these people had lives when they weren't on the page. I did however thoroughly enjoy the character of Tiny, he was fun and eccentric and really brought joy and character to John's sections of the book. With him spontaneously falling in love with every guy he dates he felt like a genuine teenager, I especially loved how his insecurities were explored later in the book. I equally enjoyed the development of the relationship between (John's) Will and Jane, they contrasted each other nicely and i feel that the pacing of the progression they made together and the relationship itself was done nicely.
While I did enjoy John's sections of the book, I did feel that his Will Grayson was no where nearly as interesting as David's Will Grayson. John's just felt like your average joe, and I didn't really feel anything about his character really made him stand out for me, and while he did have his moments (him breaking down later in the book and him realising how much Tiny means to him being highlights of the book) overall he just felt rather generic and kinda bland. Don't get me wrong, he was a nice guy, he just wasn't all that interesting. He's not a bad character, but he's not great either. On the flip side I loved David's Will Grayson and just how much he grows during the duration of the novel. He starts off so bitter and angry, but also lonely and insecure. He's a flawed character, in fact there were moments in this where I really disagreed with his treatment of others, especially Maura, and just how self centered he can be at points of the book. He was very much in his on head too much and failed to see how he was affecting the people around him. But I think this was done intentionally, and by the end of the book he was a rather likable character. I just really enjoyed seeing him come to terms with himself and the people around him. I also enjoyed the dry, darker sense of humor in David's sections of the book.
All in all, I did really enjoy this collaboration between John Green and David Levithan. It was a fun, humorous read that actually had some really impactful, genuinely touching moments. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who's already a fan of young adult fiction.
No comments:
Post a Comment