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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Green, John &; David Levithan.  Will Grayson, Will Grayson.  New York : Dutton, 2010.

ISBN: 9780525421580.  $17.99
(Image Credit: Cape May County Library)

What are chances that two strangers with the same name end crossing paths?  What if that chance meeting ends up changing their lives in ways that they could never foresee?

For the first Will Grayson, high school is a strange, and sometimes, unfriendly place due to his friend Tiny.  Tiny draws attention wherever he goes.  He's huge, like 300 lbs., nice, loud, and proudly gay.  He's been Will's best friend for his entire life, but Will feels that Tiny's good intentions always complicate his life.  Will wishes Tiny would just tone things down a little, and maybe Will's life would become easier.  He would have some of his old friends back.  Maybe girls would notice him and not only his big friend.

Then there's the other Will Grayson.  He's depressed and miserable.  His friend Maura is always trying to get him to ask her out, when Will just wants to be left alone.  He would rather be home and on the computer talking to Isaac.  Although they have never met, Will has strong feelings for Isaac.   Isaac is also Will's biggest secret.  No one knows that Will is gay.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is more than just a book about teens and sexuality.  It's a book about friendship, love, tolerance, ignorance, and admitting when you are wrong to yourself and others.  All the characters in this book are completely relatable,  funny, witty, and charming.  As a reader, I found each one endearing with characteristics that not only show their good points, but also their flaws.  Will Grayson, Will Grayson is more a story about friendship and discovering why the people closest to you matter the most.

Check out John Green's commentary on Will Grayson, Will Grayson:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/mYTFJ1Z3DS3PS
John Green is well known for his novels:
Paper Towns
2009 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult NovelAn Abundance of Katherines
2007  Printz Award Honor Book
Looking for Alaska
2006 Printz Award
ALA's 2005 Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults

You can visit his websites:
www.sparksflyup.com
http://nerdfighters.com

David Levithan has penned:
Boy Meets Boy
Love is the Higher Law
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

You can visit his website:
www.davidlevithan.com

Melissa the Librarian

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Initiation

Fine, Susan.  Initiation.  Woodbury, Minn.: Flux, 2009.  ISBN: 9780738714660.  $9.95.  


When Mauricio Londono begins his freshman year at St. Stephen's School he feels optimistic, hopeful, and full of a renewed sense of purpose.  This is the best preparatory school in all of New York City.  It is the institution where the privileged and wealthy send their children.  Mauricio feels St. Stephen's will afford him opportunities he would never be able to attain in public school.  In fact, he feels that St. Stephen's will not only give him the best education money can buy, he also believes this is his chance to lay the foundation for becoming wealthy and privileged himself. 


Yet, all of Mauricio's optimism is crushed within the first few minutes of crossing St. Stephen's doors.  Here he sees the next four years of his academic life as rather lonely.  He doesn't know anyone and everyone seems to know each other.  Mauricio's hopes of finding a new life sink away faster than he can make himself try to fade into the background of St. Stephen's first assembly.  His goals shift from finding a privileged life to strictly surviving high school. 

Mauricio's initiation into St. Stephens goes beyond blending into the student body and trying to make friendships.  It also incorporates the knowledge and experiences he acquires as he progresses throughout the school year, where friends aren't always who they appear to be and where what appears to be occurring on the surface is just masking the drama and backstabbing floating underneath. 


Initiation has been reviewed in School Library Journal


This book would be a great read for anyone who enjoyed Robert Corimier's The Chocolate War