Largest, gayest young adult fiction contest EVER*!

I don’t read a ton of young adult fiction, and when I do, it’s usually by Meg Cabot. (I did give up on the Princess Diaries series somewhere in the middle, though.) So when I received a book by two “superstar authors”—John Green and David Levithan—it wasn’t a huge shock that I hadn’t heard of either of them. (Levithan, it turns out, co-wrote Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, the movie adaptation of which is in my Netflix queue, along with every other movie ever made. Seriously, my Netflix queue is its own infinite playlist.)

So I read the book with pretty much no expectations. And wound up really, really enjoying the book.

It’s the story of two high schoolers named Will Grayson who live nearish Chicago. It’s about their romances, their friendships, and Tiny Cooper, “the world’s largest person who is really, really gay and also the world’s gayest person who is really, really large.” And about the gayest musical ever, which is possibly also the most fabulous production ever put on by a high school.

The thing that impressed me the most about the book is how much I could relate to it. I wasn’t terribly fond of one of the Wills—too angry for me, really—but it all just felt incredibly real. There’s so much that the Wills deal with that I can remember all too vividly; some of it is stuff that I still deal with. And the character all were well fleshed-out; even the minor characters were fully formed. Angst of teen romance? Feeling unappreciated by friends? Thinking the best way to get through life is to shut up and keep your head down? It's in there.

Which is not to say that the book is perfect, of course. I’m still not sure how I feel about the ending. I can’t tell if the focus is in the right place, and I keep veering back and forth on it. Plus, I realize that Schrodinger’s cat is not an uncommon experiment brought up in popular culture…but it’s not THAT popular. The way it was used in a storyline made me think of it on The Big Bang Theory. It made sense in both places, sure, but me thinking about Penny and Leonard brought me out of this story a bit.

I do highly recommend this book—the characterizations are spot on. And honestly, it really is all worth it for the big gay play. For which I want to see a whole script and hear the songs.

As I mentioned above, I received a copy of this…from the book’s publicists. Want to read Will Grayson, Will Grayson? Leave a comment below and I’ll randomly choose someone to get the copy I was sent. Contest ends 11:59 PM on Sunday, April 4.

*On this blog, at least.

And the winner is...Steve!