Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Reader: Elise S
Age: 13
Title: Will Grayson, Will Grayson
Author: John Green, David Levithan
Publisher: Dutton
Pub Date: April/2010
Galley: No
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: I would say that, once you got past the initial five chapters, it was a highly enjoyable read, and at points was laugh-out-loud funny. Some of the characters were very real, but some of the characters felt flat for the first 5-6 chapters of the book.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: Once you get past the original block of icky language and humor and not-caring, I got attached to the characters. I thought it was really compelling to watch the characters grow into themselves. There were some very interesting concepts shown—self-image, online relationships vs. real people, and Shroedinger's theory about dead cats!
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I almost didn't read past the 5th chapter because A) nothing had happened B) both of the main characters were jerks at that point and C) It really bugs me when characters swear every other word. However, the ending of the book was very sweet and satisfying (if a little bit improbable!).
Comments: There was a LOT of crass humor that really put me off for a while. However, that went away as you read further. I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but if it was it would be a nice touch.
Did the cover tempt you and/or reflect the contents of the book: I thought the cover was majorly cool, and very awesome. The shininess drew me in, but that might just be my love of shiny objects. I couldn't really find much meaning in relationship to the book in the cover, it was just pretty. I liked the title's print, and the way the letters blended together.
Age Range: 14-18 up
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal