Green, John, and Levithan, David. Will Grayson, Will Grayson
(audiobook), performed by Andrews, MacLeod, and Podehl, Nick. Brilliance Audio,
2011. $49.97, ISBN: 978-1-45587-017-2
Plot: In this co-written book, John Green and David Levithan
portray two teenage boys, Will Grayson, a bottled up kid whose main problem is
his passivity, though he believes it to be his friend, an outsized gay football
player named Tiny Cooper. The other will grayson (whose name isn’t capitalized
in the book) is a hostile gay teen in a town about a mile away, who is roiling
with anger and self-disgust over his father’s disappearance and his mother’s
attempts to make things all right. Lowercase will’s only relief from pain is
his relationship with Isaac, but their only interaction during the course of a
year has been online.
Critical Evaluation: John Green’s section is read by Nick
Podehl, who captures Will Grayson’s reserved, good-guy charm, and Macleod
Andrews takes on angry will. The narrators express the confusion and hurt of
the characters and do a fantastic job of revealing the cracks in their hardened
shells when the time comes. Tiny Cooper, voiced by Nick Podehl, has an infectious
charm and listeners will laugh every time they hear his trademark “GRAYSON!!”
The audiobook format is perfect for this book, since it is written by two
different writers, and includes song snippets from Tiny’s musical, a listener
can have a very rich experience.
As
different as they are, both Wills have similar issues – an inability to reach
out to someone else. Tiny Cooper, on the other hand, can’t stop reaching out.
Levithan captures the anger and fear of his character while John Green infuses
his section with his trademark philosophical probing about the nature of love
and trust.
Reader’s Annotation: One Will Grayson feels stuck with a
childhood friend, the huge and very gay football player Tiny Cooper; the other
will’s only connection is with an Internet friend. When the two Wills meet,
their lives will never be the same.
Author bio:
John Green -- Born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1977, John
Green grew up in Florida and then went to a boarding school in Alabama
(inspiration for his acclaimed debut, Looking
for Alaska, which was set in a boarding school).
Green,
who majored in English lit and religious studies in college, became a chaplain
at a children’s hospital, an experience which has, he says, informed every book
that he has written. He has lived in Florida, Chicago, and New York. He
currently lives in Indianapolis with his wife and toddler son.
David Levithan -- A native of New Jersey and graduate of
Brown, David Levithan got involved with children’s literature when he landed an
internship at Scholastic. He has worked there ever since; he’s now editorial
director and the founder of the Push imprint, Scholastic’s foray into edgier YA
books.
Boy Meets Boy began as an annual letter
to friends, and it was lauded as a groundbreaking novel. Levithan collaborates
with other YA writers (John Green and Rachel Cohn). He has won two Lambda
literary awards.
Genre: Realistic fiction.
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas:
Focus on the idea of a quiet kid stuck with a wild, outsized
friend.
Play parts of the audio – such as the first paragraph or two
in which Will grouses about being saddled with Tiny.
Focus on the difficulty both of these characters have in
reaching out to others – the fear of stepping forward, trusting, taking a
stand.
Reading Level: 5th grade
Interest Age: 14+
Challenge Issues: Although there are no graphic scenes, the
many gay characters in the book would be disturbing for some.
Challenge Response: Know the content of the book; discuss
the themes of the book.
Keep the book’s many positive reviews on hand.
Keep the authors’ bios on file – that both are very
respected writers in the field, with Levithan working at Scholastic for years.
Why Included: This book was recommended by a teen librarian
in the Burbank Public Library system.
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