This New York Times bestselling novel was written by two authors, John Green and David Levithan, who alternated chapters, each penning from the point of view of a boy named Will Grayson.
Green writes the odd-numbered chapters of Will Grayson conventionally capitalized, a straight boy who has a larger-than-life gay best friend named Tiny, “the world’s largest person who is really, really gay” and “the world’s gayest person who is really, really large.” Tiny is putting on a musical at their high school about his flamboyant and fabulous existence, to be titled Tiny Dancer, and Will, to his horror, is the inspiration behind one of the musical’s main characters.
David Levithan writes the even-numbered chapters of will grayson with no capitalization in his name. He is a depressed and lonely high school student who spends all his time on an internet chat room talking to another boy who may or may not exist. He spirals into depression until he meets the other Will Grayson and Tiny, who changes his life.
What makes Will Grayson, Will Grayson stand out isn’t just its accurate portrayal of what it is to be a modern gay teen, but what it is to be a modern straight teen with gay friends. Although Will and Tiny have their problems, Tiny’s sexual orientation isn’t one of them.
With an easy flow, each page brings you back to high school in such an entertaining way that I almost found myself wishing I really could go back, just to walk the hallways of my youth with Tiny’s attitude, which fiercely says, “I’m here, I’m queer, get used to it, or I’ll sit on you.”
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