Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Last updated
Will Grayson, will grayson
WillGrayson.jpg
Author John Green and David Levithan
Cover artist Rodrigo Corral [ citation needed ]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Young adult problem novel [1]
PublisherDutton
Publication date
April 6, 2010
Media typePrint (hardback, paperback)
Pages310
ISBN 978-0-525-42158-0
OCLC 277118356
LC Class PZ7.G8233 Wil 2010

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a novel by John Green and David Levithan, published in April 2010 by Dutton Juvenile. The book's narrative is divided evenly between two boys named Will Grayson, one of whom is straight and is referred to in capitalized letters, and the other who is gay and is referred to in lowercase. Presented in alternating chapters, Green wrote all of the chapters for "Will Grayson" (capitalized) and Levithan wrote all the chapters for "will grayson" (lowercase). [2] [3] The novel debuted on The New York Times children's best-seller list after its release and remained there for three weeks. It was the first LGBT-themed young adult novel to make it to that list. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Collaboration

In designing the plot for the book, the two authors decided to split it evenly in half. John Green wrote all the odd-numbered chapters (capitalized Will Grayson) while David Levithan wrote all the even-numbered chapters (lower case will grayson). This also held true for the main characters' names, with Levithan choosing the given name and Green the surname. [7] The only plot they decided on together was the fact that the two characters would meet at some point in the novel and that their meeting would have a tremendous effect on their lives. After this decision, they separately wrote the first chapter for their half and then shared them with each other. After sharing, they then "knew immediately it was going to work", as stated by Levithan. [8] [9]

Structure

The narrative unfolds from two distinct perspectives, presented through the voices of Will Grayson 1 and Will Grayson 2. In chapters with odd numbering, the reader observes high school life through the lens of Will Grayson 1, a heterosexual teenage boy known for his inclination towards reticence. Conversely, even-numbered chapters offer insight into the high school experience from the viewpoint of Will Grayson 2, a depressed, gay teenager. Despite the separate characters narrating the tale, the overarching storyline remains consistent from its inception to conclusion. Over the course of the narrative, these perspectives gradually coalesce into a unified and coherent storyline, transcending the initial duality presented by the two characters.

At the story's outset, a clear distinction exists between the voices of Will Grayson 1 and Will Grayson 2. Will Grayson 1's chapters exhibit adherence to proper punctuation and capitalization, while Will Grayson 2's chapters are characterized by a more liberal use of vulgarity. Notably, the vulgarity present in Will Grayson 2's chapters contrasts with the conventional portrayal of Will Grayson 1, who is equally prone to crude language. Will Grayson 2's chapters also incorporate character scripts detailing both casual and digital conversations with his mother, his friend Maura (who harbors both platonic and romantic feelings for him), and his initial crush, Isaac, referred to as boundbydad in online messaging.

The progression of the narrative sees the intertwining of the stories of Will Grayson 1 and Will Grayson 2, navigating themes of young love, teenage angst, rebellion, and self-discovery throughout the narrative until its culmination.

Dialogue

With the story's strongest focus being the musical about Tiny Cooper, Tiny Dancer, the chapters that are enumerated for Will Grayson 2 all follow a written dialogue that echoes that of a script, with character names preceding a colon before their dialogue is written in the text. The conversations before Will Grayson 2 meets Will Grayson 1 echo that of a chatroom instant message, with usernames and special nicknames for the characters preceding each of the conversation pieces. The text is written this way to help the reading audience relate to the happenings of the story better, by familiarizing the way that each chunk of dialogue is received.

Synopsis

The novel follows two boys who both have the name Will Grayson. The first Will, who writes in sentence case, is described as trying to live his life without being noticed. This is complicated by the fact that his best friend, Tiny Cooper, described as "the world's largest person who is really, really gay" and "the world's gayest person who is really, really large", is not the type to go around unnoticed. Tiny is also throughout the novel trying to create an autobiographical musical, which further draws attention to himself and everyone around him.

The other Will Grayson, who writes only in lower case, goes through his life without anything good to hold on to besides an online relationship with someone who goes by the name Isaac. Intent on meeting up with Isaac, Will Grayson sets up an encounter one night in Chicago but eventually finds out that Isaac was invented by a girl named Maura (who is also his peer in his daily school life). [10] What ensues brings both characters together and changes both of their lives forever in ways they could never have guessed or imagined. [2] [11] [12]

Characters

Main characters

Secondary characters

Themes

Friendship assumes a notable role within the individual narratives of the characters. Predominantly, the association between Will Grayson 1 and Tiny Cooper is characterized by a scattered nature, marked by discernible fissures stemming from Will's past errors. Conversely, the dynamics between Will Grayson 2 and Maura manifest as a touch-and-go relationship, exhibiting intermittent phases of connection and detachment contingent upon Will's fluctuating acknowledgment of Maura as a friend. The burgeoning bond between Jane and Will Grayson 1 precipitates a gradual distancing between Will and Tiny. The thematic thread of friendship instigates a sequence of transformations, fractures, disparities, and conflicts throughout the respective stories of the protagonists. [19] [20]

Musical references permeate the narrative, notably through the inclusion of Neutral Milk Hotel, a band serving as a unifying force for the primary characters, interwoven into their respective storylines. Although the musical entities, whether actual or fictional, do not assume the role of characters within the narrative, the compositions they produce gain significance in shaping the individual identities of the main characters. The shared affinity for the alternative band Neutral Milk Hotel serves as a common ground for the enigmatic Jane and the nonchalant Will Grayson 1. In contrast, the flamboyantly charismatic character, Tiny Cooper, exhibits a predilection for grandiose Broadway show tunes and music that achieves mainstream recognition as iconic within popular culture.. [21] [22] [ better source needed ]

See also

Other books by John Green

Other novels by David Levithan

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<i>If on a winters night a traveler</i> 1979 novel by Italo Calvino

If on a winter's night a traveler is a 1979 novel by the Italian writer Italo Calvino. The postmodernist narrative, in the form of a frame story, is about the reader trying to read a book called If on a winter's night a traveler. Each chapter is divided into two sections. The first section of each chapter is in second person, and describes the process the reader goes through to attempt to read the next chapter of the book they are reading. The second half is the first part of a new book that the reader ("you") finds. The second half is always about something different from the previous ones. The book was published in an English translation by William Weaver in 1981.

<i>The Pioneers</i> (novel) 1823 historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper

The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna; a Descriptive Tale is a historical novel by American writer James Fenimore Cooper. It was the first of five novels published which became known as the Leatherstocking Tales. Published in 1823, The Pioneers is the fourth novel in terms of the chronology of the novels' plots.

<i>The Garden of Eden</i> (novel) 1986 posthumous novel by Ernest Hemingway

The Garden of Eden is the second posthumously released novel of Ernest Hemingway, published in 1986. Hemingway started the novel in 1946 and worked on the manuscript for the next 15 years, during which time he also wrote The Old Man and the Sea, The Dangerous Summer, A Moveable Feast, and Islands in the Stream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Levithan</span> American author and editor

David Levithan is an American young adult fiction author and editor. He has written numerous works featuring strong male gay characters, most notably Boy Meets Boy and Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List. Six of Levithan's books have won or been finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, making him the most celebrated author in the category.

<i>Boy Meets Boy</i> (novel) 2003 novel by David Levithan

Boy Meets Boy is a young adult novel by David Levithan, published in 2003. Set in a gay-friendly small town in America, it describes a few weeks in the lives of a group of high school students. The story follows the standard romantic trope usually known as "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl" except that the main characters are both boys, the narrator Paul and newcomer Noah. The novel won a Lambda Literary Award in 2003.

This article deals with writing that deals with LGBT themes in a Singapore context. It covers literary works of fiction, such as novels, short stories, plays and poems. It also includes non-fiction works, both scholarly and targeted at the general reader, such as dissertations, journal or magazine articles, books and even web-based content. Although Singapore lacks a dedicated gay book publisher or gay bookshop, it does have at least one dedicated gay library, Pelangi Pride Centre, which is open weekly to the public. Many of the works cited here may be found both in Pelangi Pride Centre, as well as the National Library or other academic libraries in Singapore, as well as in some commercial bookshops under 'gender studies' sections.

<i>Looking for Alaska</i> 2005 novel by John Green

Looking for Alaska is a 2005 young adult novel by American author John Green. Based on his time at Indian Springs School, Green wrote the novel as a result of his desire to create meaningful young adult fiction. The characters and events of the plot are grounded in Green's life, while the story itself is fictional.

Collaborative fiction is a form of writing by a group of authors who share creative control of a story.

<i>City of Night</i> 1963 novel by John Rechy

City of Night is a novel written by John Rechy. It was originally published in 1963 in New York by Grove Press. Earlier excerpts had appeared in Evergreen Review, Big Table, Nugget, and The London Magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT themes in comics</span>

In comics, LGBT themes are a relatively new concept, as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) themes and characters were historically omitted from the content of comic books and their comic strip predecessors due to anti-gay censorship. LGBT existence was included only via innuendo, subtext and inference. However the practice of hiding LGBT characters in the early part of the twentieth century evolved into open inclusion in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, and comics explored the challenges of coming-out, societal discrimination, and personal and romantic relationships between gay characters.

Gay teen fiction is a subgenre that overlaps with LGBTQ+ literature and young adult literature. This article covers books about gay and bisexual teenage characters who are male.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Green</span> American author and YouTuber (born 1977)

John Michael Green is an American author, YouTuber, podcaster, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including The Fault in Our Stars (2012), which is one of the best-selling books of all time. Green's rapid rise to fame and idiosyncratic voice are credited with creating a major shift in the young adult fiction market. Green is also well known for his work in online video, most notably his YouTube ventures with his brother Hank Green.

<i>Nick & Norahs Infinite Playlist</i> 2008 film by Peter Sollett

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is a 2008 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Peter Sollett and starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Written by Lorene Scafaria and based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, the story tells of teenagers Nick (Cera) and Norah (Dennings), who meet when Norah asks Nick to pretend to be her boyfriend for five minutes. Over the course of the night, they try to find their favorite band's secret show and search for Norah's drunken best friend.

A motif is any distinctive feature or idea that recurs across a story; often, it helps develop other narrative elements such as theme or mood.

<i>Wide Awake</i> (novel)

Wide Awake is a speculative young adult fiction novel by David Levithan published in 2006. It is set in the near future, after fictitious events such as The Greater Depression, the establishment of Worldwide Health Care, and The Reign of Fear, which included The War to End All Wars.

<i>The Pale King</i> 2011 novel by David Foster Wallace

The Pale King is an unfinished novel by David Foster Wallace, published posthumously on April 15, 2011. It was planned as Wallace's third novel, and the first since Infinite Jest in 1996, but it was not completed at the time of his death. Before his suicide in 2008, Wallace organized the manuscript and associated computer files in a place where they would be found by his widow, Karen Green, and his agent, Bonnie Nadell. That material was compiled by his friend and editor Michael Pietsch into the form that was eventually published. Wallace had been working on the novel for over a decade. Even incomplete, The Pale King is a long work, with 50 chapters of varying length totaling over 500 pages.

<i>How Beautiful the Ordinary</i> 2009 anthology of LGBT short stories by Michael Cart

How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity is an anthology of LGBTQ short stories for young adults edited by American author Michael Cart. It was first published in 2009. The anthology contains an introduction by Cart, 11 short stories, and one novella by acclaimed lesbian and gay authors.

<i>The Fault in Our Stars</i> 2012 novel by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars is a novel by John Green. It is his fourth solo novel, and sixth novel overall. It was published on January 10, 2012. The title is inspired by Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, in which the nobleman Cassius says to Brutus: "Men at some time were masters of their fates, / The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings." The story is narrated by Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old girl with thyroid cancer that has affected her lungs. Hazel is forced by her parents to attend a support group where she subsequently meets and falls in love with 17-year-old Augustus Waters, an ex-basketball player, amputee, and survivor of osteosarcoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Strauss-Gabel</span> American publisher and book editor (born 1972)

Julie Ellyn Strauss-Gabel is an American publisher and editor of books for young adults who is notable for getting numerous titles on The New York Times Best Seller list.

<i>Another Day</i> (novel)

Another Day is a young adult romance and fantasy novel written by American author David Levithan. The novel was published on August 25, 2015 through Random House Children's Books. Another Day is the companion novel to Levithan's popular teen romance novel, Every Day. Every Day establishes the story line through the perspective of "A", a mystical soul who falls in love with a girl named Rhiannon. Another Day features a similar story line; however, it is retold through Rhiannon's perspective. Both books were followed up by a sequel in 2018 entitled Someday that incorporates both A and Rhiannon's perspectives in different chapters along with a multitude of other perspectives.

References

  1. Nigel Krauth (May 8, 2010). "Making a name for oneself in the search for self-worth". The Australian . Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Sue Corbett (February 15, 2010). "Children's Books: Double Identity". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  3. "Where there's a Will ..." The Sydney Morning Herald . May 17, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  4. Green, John. "Will Grayson, Will Grayson". John Green Books. Archived from the original on 2015-05-09. Retrieved 2015-05-04.
  5. Marjorie Kehe (June 24, 2010). "Gay-themed novels for young readers enter the mainstream". The Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  6. Staff writer (June 23, 2010). "Books With Gay Themes for Young Readers Take Off". Associated Press . Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  7. Miller 2010.
  8. Karen MacPherson (April 30, 2010). "Kids' books: 'Will Grayson, Will Grayson' packs 1-2 punch for teens". The Seattle Times . Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  9. David Wiegand (May 12, 2010). "Authors, characters in tandem in 'Will Grayson'". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  10. Green & Levithan 2010, p. 120.
  11. Staff writer (March 1, 2010). "Children's Books Reviews". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  12. Legert 2012.
  13. Green & Levithan 2010, pp. 3-, 257, 292.
  14. Green & Levithan 2010, pp. 35–36, 149, 215.
  15. Wetta 2013.
  16. Green & Levithan 2010, p. 3.
  17. Green & Levithan 2010, pp. 215, 247.
  18. Green & Levithan 2010, pp. 120, 247.
  19. Green & Levithan 2010, pp. 8–21, 16–20.
  20. Book Rags.
  21. Green & Levithan 2010, pp. 162–165.
  22. "Literary Themes of Will Grayson, will grayson". ENG347 - Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Wordpress.com. 18 May 2012.