"Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan

Finally! A book I not only loved, but was laugh-out-loud funny. To be fair, I knew I would like it. John Green and David Levithan are not only favorite authors, they are exceptionally cool. When I learned that they wrote a book together, I knew that it would have to be gold. My only sorrow is that it didn't win any of the Printz Honors this year -- it should have won the Medal (IMHO). It did win a Stonewall Honor, a nod to the heavily gay themes (dude, it's David Levithan, what did you expect?). What is notable, for me, is that the gay themes aren't all about *being* gay, rather the entire book is really about teenage love, gay and straight, and how the rushed/over-the-top/confused romantic efforts of the young often go awry. Despite the title (oh yes, it is a tale of two Will Graysons), it is Tiny Cooper who stole my heart. A wild combination of an ex-boyfriend and most of the theatre guys I've known, Tiny is an absolute joy. "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" is an extremely mature book, one with two male protagonists who use the kind of language you are likely to hear on any secondary school campus, but not the kind usually heard in the classrooms. I think that is part of Green and Levithan's gifts as writers -- their characters are rippingly real. Neither one of these guys has forgotten what it was like to be 17. Clearly, their work resonates. The book has been extremely popular here and I understand why. Teens like books that are real, books that are funny, and books that speak to ~them~. This is clearly one of those books. Bravo. Enjoy.