tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post6246156025143592241..comments2023-09-20T17:55:43.908-05:00Comments on BookLust: Musings: Will Grayson, Will GraysonAartihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-59085980469676672672012-01-25T00:10:41.361-06:002012-01-25T00:10:41.361-06:00I haven't read this one yet, but I agree with ...I haven't read this one yet, but I agree with you that the high school of YA books now is really different from the high school I experienced. I only graduated six years ago, but there are so many things that are different now -- people with ipads, all the social media, etc. And yeah, definitely only swore when something painful and unexpected happened to me, never snuck out of my house, broke curfew once (I was five minutes late, and called my mom to tell her), etc. I'm not sure if I was just really sheltered (I grew up in a small town in Idaho) or if sometimes books show a crazier scene than really exists.LLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11194834748090369779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-27029339147442410732012-01-22T07:49:17.736-06:002012-01-22T07:49:17.736-06:00The purpose of reading YA titles, for me, is to un...The purpose of reading YA titles, for me, is to understand the world my teenagers live in. If there's any YA literature out there reflecting the world of previous generations in high school, they wouldn't read it--they get enough of that stuff in things they're assigned to read.<br /><br />I loved the way the title skews the experience of reading towards the two Wills when Tiny is the center, because it shows a little of what it's like to be marginalized, to have your story only fully realized from someone else's point of view.Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374498643286099244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-81846093964002614242012-01-21T13:01:57.082-06:002012-01-21T13:01:57.082-06:00You are much closer to high school than I am, Darl...You are much closer to high school than I am, Darlyn, so maybe the age creep doesn't affect you as much yet as it does me! <br /><br />But I definitely think many characters have cooler lives than I do. Or not cooler, necessarily, as I don't know if the second Will Grayson had a "cool" life exactly- but I suppose I feel more like my high school experience was not story-worthy? Which I know is silly because obviously, stories are written to share experiences, and it's not as though Will Grayson's life was mind-blowingly amazing and mine was just completely unexceptional. But I always get that feeling, anyway!Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-43638449827786970312012-01-21T12:59:09.884-06:002012-01-21T12:59:09.884-06:00Haha, for me it was Spanish, but I hear ya!Haha, for me it was Spanish, but I hear ya!Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-69395597872355471542012-01-21T12:25:53.175-06:002012-01-21T12:25:53.175-06:00I have not read it, but it's on my wish list! ...I have not read it, but it's on my wish list! Thanks for the reminder :-)Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-13491575841307450202012-01-21T02:28:00.523-06:002012-01-21T02:28:00.523-06:00I kind of agree with you that the book is more abo...I kind of agree with you that the book is more about Tiny Cooper than either of the Will Graysons. I did think it was hilarious, though. :)<br /><br />Also, I don't feel old when I read contemporary YA. I just wonder at the fact that the characters' lives seem so much cooler than mine. LOL.Darlyn (Your Move, Dickens)https://www.blogger.com/profile/00979296421309409564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-4571824497829496142012-01-21T02:01:20.209-06:002012-01-21T02:01:20.209-06:00Have you read Mare's War? The main character, ...Have you read Mare's War? The main character, if I recall correctly, was pretty clean-cut and a good girl. She does, of course, go on a bit of an adventure, but maintains her good-girlness. I'm sure there are plenty of good-kid books that I just can't spring from the top of my head...<br /><br />And he only went to boarding school for high school, and maybe not even all four years of high school (though I think he did...), so he had plenty of suburbia, too. :)Jessicahttp://nisababepraised.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-9430824233974292392012-01-20T23:54:33.357-06:002012-01-20T23:54:33.357-06:00I agree- it's not very memorable for me, eithe...I agree- it's not very memorable for me, either, but then maybe we are not the target audience? I wonder if I were at the awkward, self-conscious stage that I would have been at say, 15 years ago, if this book may have just been so much more meaningful to me.Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-63278088789452226082012-01-20T23:53:34.520-06:002012-01-20T23:53:34.520-06:00Yes, for me- a FAR more innocent and naive place!Yes, for me- a FAR more innocent and naive place!Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-11837157939966156152012-01-20T23:53:21.475-06:002012-01-20T23:53:21.475-06:00I think the book is enjoyable to read, but I don&#...I think the book is enjoyable to read, but I don't think it's AMAZING. But you're right - many people do feel like it is, and I have a feeling that's because of how witty some of the lines are. I'm glad you trust me, though :)Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-10660522244556294042012-01-20T23:52:32.515-06:002012-01-20T23:52:32.515-06:00Well, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only on...Well, I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one!Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-60150648459839097052012-01-20T23:52:07.173-06:002012-01-20T23:52:07.173-06:00Renay - It's so interesting that you say that ...Renay - It's so interesting that you say that because it sounds like you are being self-deprecating about growing up in the country and thinking that not many stories are set there(of which I think there were probably many, just not in the past couple of generations). And that's basically my reaction, I think. I had a very pleasant upbringing, but not a very *exciting* one, and I can see why exciting probably sells more books, but I wish some of us less-high-intensity kids had stories that we could relate to, too.<br /><br />Jessica - He went to boarding school?! Wow, he doesn't WRITE like he went to boarding school. That is, the one book by him I've read (which had another author writing it with him) was so *suburban* in feel, if that makes any sense, that it's hard to believe he didn't live it that way himself.<br /><br />And I think you're right. It does seem a bit silly to say it, but you really only realize how strikingly varied lives can be as you get older. For instance, I think I only truly got a slight idea of how slavery could affect someone's pride and dignity last year, when I read Kindred, the first story I've read in a long time about slavery.Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-6203657459760072092012-01-20T11:20:14.619-06:002012-01-20T11:20:14.619-06:00I usually love John Green (and David Levithan, tho...I usually love John Green (and David Levithan, though my experience of his writing is smaller) but I have to mostly agree with you on this one. I didn't feel the book really was about the Will Graysons, but too much about Tiny. Not a bad book, but a bit forgettable for me (and here I realize, I even forgot to post my review of it!)kay - Infinite Shelfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08227285073921171393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-46897038591243704052012-01-19T23:34:56.968-06:002012-01-19T23:34:56.968-06:00Yep, I never can relate to the experiences that pe...Yep, I never can relate to the experiences that people have in high school in contemporary books. Either I lived under a rock in high school or it was a totally different place than other people experienced.Kailanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11136262232046813471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-18477240150693227342012-01-19T19:48:28.475-06:002012-01-19T19:48:28.475-06:00Apparently John Green really did go on adventures ...Apparently John Green really did go on adventures as a teenager and right after. Some combination of growing up where everybody drove and going to boarding school and... So it doesn't really surprise me that he writes about it. For the record, I loved WGWG. Not my favorite John Green, but things like Tiny taking over the story didn't bother me at all, and actually added to the book for me.<br /><br />I also found your intro really interesting, Aarti. For years I was convinced that school bullying was a myth because I honestly never saw (serious instances of) it when I was growing up. It was very weird as a 21 or 22 year old to be confronted, by people as close to me as my first cousins and with evidence as strong as teenagers committing suicide, that I was totally and completely wrong.<br /><br />We learn when we're really little that other people have different experiences than us, but I think that we still make the assumption that most people are like us, that they have experiences like us, until we're confronted with evidence otherwise. Not speaking specifically to your intro, just reacting to it.Jessicahttp://nisababepraised.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-55577336441889586132012-01-19T17:02:47.709-06:002012-01-19T17:02:47.709-06:00I'm not sure I would relate to this one either...I'm not sure I would relate to this one either. If the story holds together well it doesn't matter if I relate or not but this one seems to leave a little to be desired. I'd put it on my "maybe" list since some of the reviews I read seem a bit more positive than yours. But...I trust your judgement so this one will be far down the TBR list.Kathleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01739982274914536036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-80359437712573044302012-01-19T12:09:21.243-06:002012-01-19T12:09:21.243-06:00No, you didn't seem like a snob at all! :) I a...No, you didn't seem like a snob at all! :) I am lacking that experience, because no one has ever written a high octane teen thriller about my teenage experience where they tip cows and hang out down by the river telling stories by firelight. *g* So I am missing your perspective! It must be interesting to live in a place where those types of conflicting experiences can occur, where in my neck of the woods the world I grew up in had one similar narrative that could branch off into leaving that narrative for the city (remove themselves from it) or adding alcohol to that narrative for humiliating naked fun times. It's fascinating how places can have stories, just as much as people do.<br /><br />I also may be coming from a different angle because well done angst (that has good payoff) is so delicious and hits all the right buttons for me. I feel about this book that Green and Levithan (whose writing often leaves me cold) were trying to mesh their styles and it didn't work, much like Will and will never meshed for me. Tiny was a part of that, sort of, because he was an anchor for them, but I didn't get any sort of emotional response from their connection, which is what disappointed me most about the book beyond Tiny taking over the narrative. I feel like all the elements you cite -- Will's angst, will's angst -- would have had more of an emotional payoff if they could have made the connection click for me. Alas.Renayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02257037686279849460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-47161869435819407332012-01-19T11:54:47.727-06:002012-01-19T11:54:47.727-06:00I have the same issue with contemporary YA. I do e...I have the same issue with contemporary YA. I do enjoy the stuff, but it almost never has much in common with my own high school experience.Memoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03922151273874989122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-69204734920996519372012-01-19T11:02:35.394-06:002012-01-19T11:02:35.394-06:00Relieved to hear that I'm not the only human o...Relieved to hear that I'm not the only human on the planet who spent high school studying Latin....Shelleyhttp://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-61717343213521333552012-01-19T10:49:32.078-06:002012-01-19T10:49:32.078-06:00It didn't really work for me, either, so I can...It didn't really work for me, either, so I can't imagine I would convince you to read it based on this review!Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-9879811144321327262012-01-19T10:49:02.834-06:002012-01-19T10:49:02.834-06:00Yes, I wonder sometimes if we just don't REMEM...Yes, I wonder sometimes if we just don't REMEMBER our lives being like that, or if they really weren't like that? I don't think many of my classmates were on anti-depressants, for example, but maybe I just didn't know. And I didn't ever feel so isolated as so many people in YA do, and I wonder sometimes if that helps propagate the idea that all teenagers are maladjusted or angry or lonely, when not all of them are. Or it makes it seem as though feeling that way is really out of the normal experience, when most people do feel that way at that age.Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-11924635375656899332012-01-19T10:48:30.009-06:002012-01-19T10:48:30.009-06:00I kind of say, eh. I just do not think that this b...I kind of say, eh. I just do not think that this book would work for meBlodeueddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03435479623560871881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-36925160578859339142012-01-19T10:45:34.494-06:002012-01-19T10:45:34.494-06:00Yeah, after this, I don't feel much of a pull ...Yeah, after this, I don't feel much of a pull to read any more of his work, either. Especially as people say he uses females more as props than real characters.Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-40934562582203543022012-01-19T10:44:53.225-06:002012-01-19T10:44:53.225-06:00Also, I got rid of a paragraph above in the review...Also, I got rid of a paragraph above in the review so I didn't come off seeming quite so negative, based on Renay's interpretation above, so hopefully that helps ensure I don't come off like such a Negative Nellie!Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343567357202223317.post-45221128678296161372012-01-19T10:43:50.770-06:002012-01-19T10:43:50.770-06:00Oh, that's a good point, Jenny. I think I agr...Oh, that's a good point, Jenny. I think I agree with you, now that I think of it. I have a feeling, though, for someone dealing with mental illness, maybe the whole idea seems completely out of the blue to them, as then they would have "mental health" days every day to help them grapple with their problems. But just because they deal with things every day that the rest of us don't, that doesn't mean we don't all need some days to process what's happening to us.Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.com