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thegreatmanda 's review for:
Will Grayson, Will Grayson
by John Green, David Levithan
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Here's what I loved about this book: I enjoyed the loose writing style that made it feel like the authors were just telling me this long story as a conversation. There were a lot of quiet moments of loud truths - big things about life and love and friends, stated plainly and openly. The finale was spectacular and hit me with some big, good feels. Lowercase-Will-Grayson's experiences and descriptions of living with depression were so accurate and reminded me that I'm not alone with it, which is a reminder I pretty much always need.
Here's what I didn't love: The constant mentions of Tiny’s size got old pretty quickly, although I think it would have bothered me a LOT more if Tiny himself wasn’t so clearly OK with it and comfortable with himself. I also wasn’t thrilled about lowercase-Will’s level of discomfort with things that fit certain stereotypes of “being gay”. These are probably things that ring true for a lot of teen readers, and Will’s opinions in particular definitely fit his personality, but taken together with the theme of relationships changing (and potentially being grown out of) over time, I kept feeling more real-life-sad than I wanted to feel.
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OK, it has now been four or five days since I first posted this review, and as time passes, what I think of when I think of this book is the constant focus on Tiny's size and the way he's almost a caricature of an obese gay teenager. I know I said he seems very comfortable with himself, but even he says toward the end of the book that it's really difficult knowing that all anyone ever sees when they look at him, is his size. It had some good moments, but I doubt I will read this book again.
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Favorite Quotes:
Here's what I didn't love: The constant mentions of Tiny’s size got old pretty quickly, although I think it would have bothered me a LOT more if Tiny himself wasn’t so clearly OK with it and comfortable with himself. I also wasn’t thrilled about lowercase-Will’s level of discomfort with things that fit certain stereotypes of “being gay”. These are probably things that ring true for a lot of teen readers, and Will’s opinions in particular definitely fit his personality, but taken together with the theme of relationships changing (and potentially being grown out of) over time, I kept feeling more real-life-sad than I wanted to feel.
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OK, it has now been four or five days since I first posted this review, and as time passes, what I think of when I think of this book is the constant focus on Tiny's size and the way he's almost a caricature of an obese gay teenager. I know I said he seems very comfortable with himself, but even he says toward the end of the book that it's really difficult knowing that all anyone ever sees when they look at him, is his size. It had some good moments, but I doubt I will read this book again.
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Favorite Quotes:
Honestly, none of them ever seemed to like me, but they were around, which isn't nothing.
the first bell rings. like all the bells in our fine institute of lower learning, it's not a bell at all, it's a long beep, like you're about to leave a voicemail saying you're having the suckiest day ever. and nobody's ever going to listen to it.
The question is rhetorical, but if I wasn't trying to shut up, I'd answer it: You like someone who can't like you back because unrequited love can be survived in a way that once-requited love cannot.
And then I realize the full extent of the insanity. Tiny Cooper has brought me to a Gay-Straight Alliance meeting to hook me up with a girl.
maura is the kind of friend i enjoy swapping doomsday scenarios with. she's not, however, someone who makes me want to prevent doomsday from happening. for the year or so we've hung out, this has always been a problem. i know if i told her about liking guys, she'd probably stop wanting to date me, which would be a huge plus. but i also know i'd immediately become her gay pet, and that's the last kind of leash i want. and it's not like i'm really that gay. i fucking hate madonna.
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.
by saying you don't care if the world falls apart, in some small way you're saying you want it to stay together, on your terms.
this is what i never allow myself to need.
and of course i've been needing it all along.
still, what could i say? that i didn't just feel depressed — instead, it was like the depression was the core of me, of every part of me, from my mind to my bones? that if he got blue, i got black? that i hated those pills so much, because i knew how much i relied on them to live?
no, i couldn't say any of this. because, when it all comes down to it, nobody wants to hear it. no matter how much they like you or love you, they don't want to hear it.
how have i ended up dating this sprinkled donut of a person?
"Dad, I don't need your approval," I say softly.
"I know," he answers. "But I thought you might like it anyway."
it just goes to show, if you try to ruin someone's life, it only gets better. you just don't get to be a part of it.