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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Wren

Hold Me Closer by David Levithan - review

David Levithan, Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story

Hold Me Closer is about love and growing up completely and utterly fine with yourself. It's about growing up gay and accepting your fabulousness. But since when did you not? It's about the Parade of Boyfriends you have. It's about the heartbreak. And Will. (Of course, Will.) It's about coming out and revealing your true person.

Tiny Cooper is back, and bigger and gay-er than ever.

And he's back with songs; who doesn't love a good musical?

We're meeting the boyfriends at last. And the Coming Out. And the music that is the cherry on top.

We're getting the actual play. Tiny's actual story. Which is something. We got hints in Will Grayson, Will Grayson; we knew about Tiny's long strand of boyfriends, but it was good to actually read his story, and about how he had got many boyfriends.

I really liked Tiny because he was true to himself. He didn't care about bullying, he just stood up, he was who he was. Nothing was hidden. I liked that. Standing up for yourself is important and he was true to himself. Not everyone is that way.

Tiny was in the spotlight. A true star. I can't imagine how Tiny might be in real life, he seems like a great and flamboyant guy.

And the songs weren't too shabby. I tried singing them but it sounded really bad (because of my voice). I don't think that David Levithan noticed how some lines were hard to sing (not that I'm a singer). They were too long, so I stumbled over them.

But the songs rhymed (and rhymed well, which is the amazing part).

But the plot isn't the most interesting; there isn't much happening. The boyfriends are one thing. But there isn't much drama. There isn't a fight scene. Nothing really catches my attention. With the boyfriends, we get who they are, nothing else, no drama. Not how the breakups were.

The boyfriends' act didn't have too many introductions to the boyfriends. They seemed to appear. How? Why? I don't get it. They have to have a story. They don't just appear.

And the story seems to end too early. What happens next with Will? What happens to Tiny? What now? I know it can't be very long. I know that. But still. There could have been more; maybe more on Will, or what happened after. I don't know…

Score:
4/5

• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.

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