Will Grayson, Will Grayson

It’s not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Gryason and Wil Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With apush from friends new and old—including the massive, and massively fabulous Tiny cooper, offensive lineman and musical theatre extraordinaire—Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most awesome high school musical.

Review:

John Green is AMAZING. I can’t really reiterate this enough. Combine him with David Levithan and you get a whole new level of awesomeness.

It’s hard for me to rightfully review this book because it is just great. It is such a simple concept, and one that is becoming more and more common in our real world. It is about two boys, who don’t know each other. One a young homosexual who struggles with depression and a not-so-stellar home life who has fallen in love with a boy named “Issac” online and is beyond nervous and ecstatic when Issac says he wants to meet him. The other boy is the quiet and some-what dramatic best friend of possibly the "world's largest person who is really, really gay" Tiny Cooper. The two boys live in separate towns near Chicago and have never heard of each other. They share one thing: their name. One fateful night they end up meeting, at all places, a porn shop. From there on out they are somewhat involved as they both grow into themselves and find love and true friendship. All the while helping, in some way or another, Tiny Cooper put on an amazing play about love.

It is so simple. It’s life! There are no dragons, no wizards, no psychopaths, or serial killers, there is nothing out of the ordinary. The fact that it is life and that John Green and David Levithan capture it so completely is what makes this book just astounding. They capture that feeling between wanting to jump over the edge and full head into a relationship, but at the same time wanting to pull back because you’re afraid you’ll get hurt. They capture the feeling of wondering if your friendship is real and struggling to be yourself and sometimes just to get through one day. These raw emotions that teenagers go through, they are capture so perfectly in this novel that it’s scary.

That’s what makes this book great combined with great writing, real side characters, a simply story, and two amazing leading teenage boys. It is life and it is captured perfectly in this book about finding love, finding ourselves, and finding friendship.
In all seriousness, everyone should read this book at some point. Everyone feels the way both Will Graysons do in this book, and this book lets you know it is normal.
By the way the book was hilariously funny at some parts, and so I included some quotes below. Though, they are probably funnier in context.

Amazing quotes:

“o.w.g: you know my name, and I love you, Tiny Cooper. Although not in the same way that the guy in the pink pants might love you.”

“I awake to the sound of my alarm clock, blaring rhythmically, and it seems as loud as an air siren, shouting at me with such ferocity that it sort of hurts my feelings.”

Rating: 5/5 Obviously.

Reviews from the Pros:

“Based on the premises that "love is tied to truth" and "being friends, that's just something you are," this powerful, thought-provoking, funny, moving, and unique plot is irresistible. Told in alternating chapters from each Will Grayson's point of view (one in lower case, effectively individualizing identities), complete with honest language, interesting characters, and a heartfelt, gritty edge, this quirky yet down-to-earth collaboration by two master YA storytellers will keep readers turning pages.”-School Library Journal

“makes a rousing and suitably theatrical finale for a tale populated with young people engaged in figuring out what’s important and shot through with strong feelings, smart-mouthed dialogue, and uncommon insight.”-Booklist

"An intellectually existential, electrically ebullient love story that brilliantly melds the ridiculous with the realistic." --Kirkus

"A wonderfully campy, sweet, romantic gesture in the spectacular style that readers have come to expect from these two YA masters." --VOYA

Warrior Princess

Summary: Fifteen year old Branwen’s life is changed forever when enemy Saxon troops attack her homeland and her brother is killed. Branwen wants to jump into action and avenge her brother’s death, but instead she is sent to a neighboring stronghold where she’ll be safe from harm. Yet while she is surrounded by exquisite beauty and luxury in her new home—as a princess should be—she feels different from the other girls. Deep down, Branwen has the soul of a warrior.

Then a mystical woman in white foretells a daunting prophecy: Branwen will be the one to save her homeland. Suddenly forced to question everything—and everyone—around her, she realized that the most difficult part of her journey is still to come. With no time to lose, Branwen must make a choice: continue on the path her parents intended for her…or step into the role of a true Warrior Princess.

Review:

“Felt dramatic—when I should’ve been feeling the character’s emotions all I thought was: how dramatic.” “Doesn’t grip readers, at first.” This is what I have written in my little notebook of notes on books. Her brother died in the first chapter and I should’ve been feeling Branwen’s emotions, instead I just thought ‘she is whiny’. I didn’t connect with Branwen in this book, I think that was my problem. I liked the story line and I loved Rhodri (who I hope never becomes a love interest because I can’t view him as more than a friend to Branwen).

The story line and plot were fascinating. Branwen…not so much. Branwen went through some traumatic stuff, and I should’ve felt some of it. I should’ve felt her anger leap out of the pages, her worry, her fear, but I didn’t. So that is my one complaint about the book: Jones didn’t connect emotionally with her readers.
That being said, by the end of the book I really wanted to get the sequel. So it was very well-written, just the main character wasn’t fleshed out too well.
It wasn’t terrible, and I enjoyed reading it for the most part.

Rating: 4/5

Review from the Pros:

“Exciting from start to finish.”-School Library Journal

“A fast paced plot that will keep readers turning pages.”-ALA Booklist.

13 Little Blue Envelopes

Summary:
Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1,000 and instructions to buy a plane ticket

In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat.

The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny: Find a starving artist.

Because of envelope 4, Ginny and a playwright/thief/bloke-about-town called Keith go to Scotland together, with somewhat disastrous—though utterly romantic—results. But will she ever see him again?

Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it’s all because of 13 little blue envelopes.

Review: I literally read this book a month ago…heh so this review is way over due. That being said I enjoyed Maureen Johnson’s 13 little blue envelopes. It was fun brain candy. It didn’t go quite as I had thought it would after I read the summary. I suppose that was a good thing.

Ginny was a very easily relatable character and pretty fleshed out. There isn’t much to say about this book. I liked it. It was an easy read. I don’t have any complaints over it. However, it was not anything e extraordinary.

Rating: 4/5

Reviews from the Pros:

“Equal parts poignant, funny and inspiring, with a delicious fairytale ending.”-Publisher’s weekly

“Johnson’s writing is sophisticated and humorous, her characterizations pitch perfect.”-Kirkus Reviews