Book review: will grayson, will grayson

So I just finished reading will grayson, will grayson by john green and david levithan which was leant to me by my awesome friend Pam at our last book club meetup. It's taken me a few months to actually get through it, because I'm super lazy, but I have to say it's quite an interesting book.

Two teens, both named will grayson, meet on a cold night in Chicago after having gone through some interesting events earlier on in the night. Their meeting causes a chain of events that really ends up making both characters grow up a little bit. 

Will Grayson is a sarcastic, hip teenager. Will has a best friend named Tiny Cooper, which is ironic since Tiny is not-so-tiny. Also, Tiny is very much the gayest person he knows.

"Tiny Copper 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 huge."

Will describes their friendship as almost being pushed onto him, like they wouldn't be friends if they hadn't met as eight year olds. When Tiny decides to put on a musical based on his life, tension between the two rise up enough to cause a fight.

will grayson is sarcastic, alone, and in love with a boy he met online. he has no friends except for maura who is as sarcastic and depressed as he is.

"it's like those people who become friends in prison even though they would never really talk to each other if they weren't in prison. that's what maura and i are like, i think."

Both characters meet on a night out in Chicago. Will Grayson is there to see some hipster band called the Maybe Dead Cats that he actually ends up not being able to get into due to his shitty fake ID. He ends up wandering the streets of Chicago while his two friends Tiny and Jane (maybemorethanafriend) enjoy the show, which is where he meets will grayson.

will grayson came to chicago to meet isaac, who he met in a chatroom. what he ultimately finds out is that issaac doesn't exist and was being portrayed online by his friend maura. 

This is the moment the two characters meet, and other than being  an awkward moment of two people having the same name, it goes quite normally. But when Tiny meets up with them after the concert, he is certain he is in love with other will grayson.

Teen angst, wittiness, musicals, internet speak, loud personalities are all things you can find in this novel. If you are looking for realistic portrayals of teenager, then don't look here. That is my only complaint about will grayson, will grayson; I don't really see the characters as being realistic. No teens I've ever known talk or act like the ones in this book. 

Otherwise, quite an enjoyable read. The thing I liked most of it was how it was written. The authors differentiate the characters by writing Will Grayson's chapters with no grammatical errors and will grayson's chapters with not capital letters and some internet speak. Maybe 3/5 stars for me.

Very excited!!

Like a lot of others, I have read the fantastic series by Suzanne Collins called "The Hunger Games".

The Hunger Games is a trilogy set in a dystopian world (a society in a repressed and controlled state, often a ruined world) where North America has fallen, now called Panem, and has been separated into 12 districts. The Hunger Games are an annual event that is put up for the enjoyment of the people living in the Capitol because of a rebellion that once occurred in one of the districts. Each year two tributes are picked from each district, trained in combat and then put together in an outdoor "arena" controlled by the Capitol to fight until  only one remains alive.

The main character, Katniss Everdeen (16), lives in district 12 and has had to put her name in once each year since her 12th birthday. Her sister, Prirose, has just turned 12 and it's her first year putting her name in. Among the thousands of names she is picked, and fearing for her life Katniss volunteers as the tribute. Along with her, Peeta Mellark is also picked and they are shipped off to the Capitol to begin training.

The series follows Katniss and Peeta on their journey of fighting and rebellion. 

This series has really set a new standard in YA fiction, as hundreds of new "dystopian" novels have popped up since claiming to be "the new Hunger Games". In a world currently obsessed with "Twilight" this is a refreshing change in reading trends for teenagers and lovers of Young Adult Literature.

The series has also been picked up by Lionsgate and their theatrical trailer came out this week! It looks amazing and from what I can see, seems to follow the book. I'm linking to the video so everyone else can enjoy!

What I've just finished reading

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

A book I picked up from one of my fathers bookshelves when I was about 13 or 14, when I was just really getting into science-fiction / fantasy. My father is the most well-read person I know, he can read an 900 page book in less than two days, and really he's the person I have to thank for my continued interest in reading.

40 Women have been living in a cage guarded by men for over ten years. They do not remember what caused them to be captured, only that they used to have lives before the cage. The main character of this novel is referred to as "The Child" because when they were placed in the cage she was only a child who could not remember her name or her family.

The first half of this novel deals with their daily lives in the cage: how they have an unknown fear of the guards and their whips, how they strive to remember their past lives and how they long for eventual freedom or an explanation.

One morning, the guards are bringing in food and an alarm sounds making them leave as quickly as possible, but leaving the door to the cage open accidentally. The women finally have freedom, and escape from their cage as swiftly as possible. What they discover is a land that is not familiar to any and as they start their search for answers or civilization they realize that they have just entered into a different kind of prison.

Very good book and a fast read, only 206 pages. What is so interesting about this book is that it is largely a description based book, sure there is dialogue but most of the action happens in the main characters mind and how she describes things. No chapters, just a steady stream of words. 

The science-fiction part of the novel is just a suggestion that is not weaved into the story line, so could be enjoyed by lovers of general fiction.

I give this book 4 stars and highly recommend reading it.