Book Review: Hold Me Closer by David Levithan

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Hold Me Closer
The Tiny Cooper Story
Will Grayson, Will Grayson Companion novel
Author: David Levithan
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genres: Contemporary | LGBT | Music
Released: March 17th 2015
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers

Watch out, ex-boyfriends, and get out of the way, homophobic coaches. Tiny Cooper has something to say—and he’s going to say it in song.
Filled with honesty, humor, and “big, lively, belty” musical numbers, Hold Me Closer is the no-holds-barred (and many-bars-held) entirety of the beloved musical first introduced in Will Grayson, Will Grayson, the award-winning bestseller by John Green and David Levithan.

Tiny Cooper is finally taking center stage . . . and the world will never be the same again.

This book follows the story of Tiny Cooper - who was first introduced to the world in the book "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" written by Levithan and John Green (I believe I wrote a review on this one too). However, reading that is not necessarily a prerequisite to this one. It may give you some clarity on certain characters or context towards the end, but totally not necessary. 

My rating on this story is completely subjective. Let me explain; this book was written as if it were a script for a musical play, a topic I'm not very informed in. With that being said, the story, at its core, was still very enjoyable because it had some personal anecdotes. 

Tiny is a big person with an even bigger personality. This musical is written in his point of view and covers everything from early childhood, to friendships, to relationships, to self-discovery, to finally coming to being O.K. with who he is. If you are an avid YA reader and are a musical theater buff, this book may just be right up your alley. The stories are heartfelt and the humor is relatable.