125. WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON

John Green & David Levithan 2010

An endearing young adult book about the friendship between Will Grayson who is straight and Tiny Cooper who is gay. After an unexpected twist of events, they meet another Will Grayson and all their lives change forever. The two authors of this book triumph in their collaboration and through alternating narration by the two Wills, the novel succeeds in highlighting today's modern teenage relationships. And as much as I like the two Will Graysons, I adore Tiny Cooper's character the most. I love that he is honest and warm-hearted and funny and talented and breathes music. With Tiny's fantabulous musical play as the perfect ending, I cannot help but recommend this book.

'When I was little, my dad used to tell me, "Will, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose."(opening line)

'Tiny Cooper is not the world's gayest person, and he is not the world's largest person, but I believe he may be the world's largest person who is really, really gay, and also the world's gayest person who is really, really large."(3)

'i feel my life is so scattered right now. like it's all these small pieces of paper and someone's turned on the fan. but talking to you makes me feel like the fan's been turned off for a little bit. like things could actually make sense. you completely unscatter me, and i appreciate that so much.'(37)

"There aren't that many Will Graysons," he says. It's gotta mean something, one Will Grayson meeting another Will Grayson in a random porn store where neither Will Grayson belongs."(114)

'me: you know what sucks about love?

o.w.g. what?

me: that it's tied to truth.'(125)

"Like, do you believe that people's attitudes can change? One day you wake up and you realize something, you see something in a way that you never saw it before, and boom, epiphany. Something is different forever. Do you believe in that?"(130)

'with a dip of his head, tiny starts to hum a little to himself. once he's gotten the tune, he closes his eyes, opens his arms, and sings:

i thought you'd make my dreams come true

but it wasn't you, it wasn't you

i thought this time it would all be new

but it wasn't you, it wasn't you

i pictured all the things we'd do

but it wasn't you, it wasn't you'(143)

'after tiny has tried ballerina pose, swing-batter-batter pose, pump-up-the-jam pose, and top-of-the-mountain-sound-of-music pose in the reflection of the bean, he walks us to a bench overlooking lake shore drive. i think he'll be all sweaty because, let's face it, most fat people get sweaty just from lifting the twinkie to their mouth. but tiny is just too fabulous to sweat.'(146)

'when things break, it's not the actual breaking that prevents them from getting back together again. it's because a little piece gets lost -- the two remaining ends couldn't fit together even if they wanted to. the whole shape has changed.'((174)

'tiny: you know what's a great metaphor for love?

me: i have a feeling you're about to tell me. ...

tiny: sleeping beauty. ... because you have to plow through this incredible thicket of thorns in order to get to beauty, and even then, when you get there, you still have to wake her up.'(242)

"Being in a relationship, that's something you choose. Being friends, that's just something you are."(260)

'this is why we call people exes, i guess -- because the paths that cross in the middle end up separating at the end. it's too easy to see an X as a cross-out. it's not, because there's no way to cross out something like that. the X is a diagram of two paths.'(277)

'i lose track of how long it takes. then, when it's all over, the applause starts. the loudest applause you've ever heard.'(310)

a Dutton Book, hardcover First Edition

310 pages

Book owned