This was really well done. There is a lot of nuance for such a small book. This is the story of two friends at a camp for troubled teens. You find out as the story goes why they are here and what their relationship is like.

They come from very different class backgrounds and there is some discussion about race and family. There's also a lot about people-pleasing from different angles and being true to yourself that isn't as cut-and-dry or maybe cheesy (that one might expect from the genre). Only one aspect of the story ties a little too neatly, but most of it ends up open in a way that I think is really realistic. Both characters seem to be questioning their genders but in different ways (they're both maybe nonbinary, but they both come to it and express differently and seem to be processing it differently) and one of them is asexual.

I think the nonlinear/flashback format worked well. I liked that the color pallet seemed to change subtly with it too.

I originally read this in 2012 or 2013. This was the first solo David Levithan book I read and he was the first gay author I knew of and read. So I reread it in 2026 just to see how it is.

My first read, I remember thinking the format was so interesting and what I remembered most was that it was bookended by these two boyfriends' poems. I don't remember much other specifics at this point but I really liked it.

On the reread, I still really like the concept but I can see how it could have been worked into so much more. I appreciate that there were so many different voices and styles of poetry with it, even if not every character or piece felt totally necessary. It's a little funny just how aged some of this feels cigarettes and fake IDs even felt like another world when I was a teen (though I read this at 19/20), so I'm unsure how well teens would take it now. I did like a lot of the themes about personal change and the hope and possibility of life.

I'm not star reviewing this bc it is just sort of difficult to do all things considered. This was interesting to revisit, but not something I'd recommend in 2026 (mostly on account of the fatphobia and bi erasure that are very reflective of the culture at the time (2010)... so that's a lot of fatphobia). It is interesting to go back and think of what I liked about it when I first read it in 2012. I remember resonating with the characters, especially Levithan's Will (the gay, depressed one... neither of which I knew I was but there I was anyways 🙃). The big thing that both Wills are really contending with is fear of vulnerability and hurt that comes with loving, being close to people -- and of course the big message is that it's worth it anyways. In that way, it's taken me down a road of self reflection in an interesting way, but unfortunately the book itself aged quite poorly. Also shout out to this book for making me aware of Neutral Milk Hotel; I didn't know who they were on my first read, but now I am a fan and have actually seen them live (unlike Will Grayson lol).