I have no idea what other book I could compare with Will Grayson, Will Grayson. For some reason, I got a very strong sci-fi vibe from the synopsis of this book. The cover itself just screams alternate universes. But nothing like that was involved. It was just two guys in the same ol' regular universe who meet under unusual circumstances. No speculative elements involved. But I still loved it!! Imagine that.

Content warning for this book: Strong (yet hilarious) language including sexual references.

In this book, we meet two Will Graysons.

The first is John Green's Grayson. He is lovable, funny and best friends with this guy named Tiny Cooper, so I call him Best Friend Will. I really appreciate the fact that Best Friend Will isn't the kind of guy who runs crotch first toward any girls who like him. He keeps his distance, physically and emotionally, from relationships but never seems to do the same mentally. He is an over thinker, who notices every little thing about the people around him and analyzes each observation. But I wonder if guys really notice things like "the pale skin of her back, and how she bites her lower lip, and that she smells like over sweetened coffee". Maybe guys like John Green do. Who knows?

The second is David Levithan's Will Grayson, who is a closet homosexual, gothic, and a manic depressive. Him I like to call Eeyore Will. He's soft, fluffy and cute but always so sad and complicated. I get the feeling that David Levithan is a very complicated person. Not like that is a bad thing. Some of my favorite people are "complicated", probably even myself included. However, I really have no authority the subject of Levithan since this is my first book of his. Eeyore Will takes a while to get to know but definitely has the most dramatic turn around and largest character arc.

In truth - Will Grayson, Will Grayson isn't about either of the Will Grayson's. It's about Tiny Cooper. Anyone could see that. Really, it could have been called Tiny's Two Graysons.

Tiny Cooper is the world's largest gay person. Not necessarily the most gay or the most large, but the ultimate combination of the two. His personality is just as large as his exterior, and I loved him.

However, here's where I must issue a warning. Many people will not like him. His characteristics are very cliche and stereotypical, but I personally found him charming, not to mention, hilarious. Which is largely the result of the very good narration in the audiobook that got to the heart of each character. They all felt believable despite their flaws and stereotypes.

This is one of those that I can't possibly imagine NOT listening to as an audiobook. I would even go so far as to say that I really ONLY recommend listening to the audiobook. The quality and narration was ridiculously good. It took a bit to really get into the story, but once I did, I realized that the humor of the book was captured perfectly by the two readers who portrayed each of the Will Graysons. I laughed out loud so often that I didn't even care if I looked like a maniac who loves laughing to herself and driving like a grandma down the highway.

Strangely, I have found that audiobooks have the opposite effect of loud music. They make me drive super slow as I concentrate on and laugh hysterically over the book. So there I am driving along when all the sudden I burst out laughing: Hahahhahaa! Tiny Cooper wearing skinny jeans = denim sausage casings!!! Then after I've recovered from that, I'm driving along again. Dododododo. And Tiny sings this song to the Eeyore Will and he thinks to himself that Tiny's song must have carried all the way to the north pole. Then, he imagines that when Mrs Claus hears it, she turns to Santa and says "What the f*ck was that?" Those aren't even close to being the funniest lines.

It was like listening to a high school drama TV mini series. In fact, it reminded me a lot of My So-Called Life. Since the story is really about Tiny Cooper, that would make him the Angela Chase of this book. So then, Eeyore Will would be the tortured and complex Jordan Catalano and Best Friend Will would then be Brian Krakow, I guess. Angst... Drama... Intrigue... Hilarity.

The only major fail of the audio was how the IM chats were recorded with the screen names being said over and over again, faster every time. A few of the dialogue sections felt the same way with quick switching back and forth between the characters, but you don't notice it once you adapt to it. One of the best things about the audio was hearing Eeyore Grayson's poetry read first hand and hearing that narrators sing interpretations of the songs that Tiny Cooper wrote for his musical. EFFING BRILLIANT!!!

Oh, and in case you were wondering about the picture at the beginning. All of the characters in this book seem to be on a constant sugar high of the grumbles. Alot of whining and complaining and angst. They've got the crumbly grumblies and it can be overwhelming. But I found it a lot of fun. Gotta give me them, grumblecakes.

I loved the book. Though it took some time to connect to the characters, I believe it was well worth it in the end.

At it's heart, this book is really all about friendship. I love that the end all be all is not for certain couples to confess love for each other and end up together. It was about admitting love for your friends and the people who have been there for you.

It made me realize what an incredible thing we have going here on Goodreads.

What I would do with myself now if I couldn't get online and talk to you all about the books that we read? If I didn't have someone to share the ups and downs of these important stories, to talk about life lessons with, or someone just to flat out laugh about random things that non-readers wouldn't understand.

I laugh more than I ever thought I would, find books that I'd never think to pick up, meet people all around that world that I couldn't have met otherwise, and without a doubt, have an unbelievably amazing time with all of it.

We all learn so much about life and about ourselves by analyzing books and have way too much fun doing it.

So.... I appreciate you, Goodreaders. Whether you are grumblecakes or non-grumblecakes. This review is dedicated to you.

Thank you for being awesome!