Hold Me Closer is the companion novel to Will Grayson, Will Grayson and it's all about Will Grayson's loud, outgoing and extremely gay best friend, Tiny Cooper. Will Grayson, Will Grayson is one of my all time favourite books and Tiny is one of my all time favourite characters so I had extremely high expectations and David Levithan, as usual, did not disappoint. I completely adored this book. It was big, proud and really quite spectacular. Hold me Closer was exactly what I hoped it would be and more, it filled a Tiny Cooper sized hole in my heart I didn't even know I had.
Anyone who has read Will Grayson, Will Grayson will know that during it Tiny Cooper was attempting to stage a production of the musical of his life and Hold me Closer is – in perfect Tiny Cooper style – the extravagant and hilarious script of that musical. It starts at his birth with the opening number of 'I was born this way' and retells the tales of Tiny's childhood, school life and teenage years including, of course, the stories of his 18 infamous ex-boyfriends including familiar songs, lines and situations as well as lots of new ones.
Tiny was one of my favourite parts of Will Grayson, Will Grayson; he burst through some the dark pages like a ray of sunlight through a storm cloud and immediately after reading it I knew that I wanted to read from his point of view. Tiny's perspective is so amazingly positive that it was refreshing to read, especially when compared to both Will Graysons' narratives which were often cynical or riddled with sadness. I loved seeing the way Tiny saw characters we already knew, such as Jane and the Will Graysons, as it is entirely different from how they viewed each other and themselves. Hold Me Closer also introduced new characters such as Tiny's dad who was willing to take part in a mother-daughter fashion show for his son and the 17 previously barely explained exes.
As the novel is written as a musical, some people may be sceptical about reading it, but I really believe it was an ingenious way to write a book about Tiny Cooper. His personality is so outgoing and lively that he already seems like a musical personified; a Tiny Cooper book in any other form would just seem wrong. Also, the book not only has speech and stage directions but it includes extremely detailed notes which are written in a distinct Tiny Cooper style, revealing more about his character and helping to move the story along.
Hold me closer really allows the reader to view a very different side of Tiny. Some of my favourite parts of this book are the quiet moments. In Will Grayson, Will Grayson Tiny is not shown to be anything but a flamboyant extrovert, who would share anything and everything with anyone and everyone but in Hold Me Closer David Levithan shows off Tiny's (slightly) quieter side wonderfully. It becomes very apparent that Tiny had experienced hard times that he had dealt with alone, such as coming to terms with being gay and struggling to come out to his friend and family, which actually helped to develop his character and made him even more likeable. Tiny also experienced problems with his weight and found it hard to except himself which most teenagers will relate to. On the surface, Hold me closer may seem to be nothing more than a silly and light hearted musical but it has much, much more depth than that.
Hold Me Closer is one of my new favourite books. David Levithan is one of my most favourite authours of all time and has, once again, produced a unique, engaging and funny book for teens. It is heart-warming and at times slightly ridiculous (the ghost of Oscar Wilde does make an appearance) but, most importantly, it is nothing like anything you have ever read before. I was thoroughly entertained and would recommend it to anyone who a fan of David Levithan, John Green or anyone who fancies a change from the typical YA books that are out there. However, in order to read and fully experience the magic of Hold Me Closer it is necessary to have read Will Grayson, Will Grayson first (which is another fantastic book) otherwise you will be left feeling very confused.
If you haven't already done so, read this book or be left with a Tiny Cooper sized hole in your heart.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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