-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
It's Tiny Cooper's turn in the spotlight in this companion novel to New York Times bestseller Will Grayson, Will Grayson.
Jazz hands at the ready! Tiny Cooper ("the world's largest person who is also really, really gay") stole readers' hearts when he was introduced to the world in the New York Times bestselling book Will Grayson, Will Grayson, co-authored by John Green and David Levithan. Now Tiny finally gets to tell his story - from his fabulous birth and childhood to his quest for true love and his infamous parade of ex-boyfriends - the way he always intended: as a musical! Filled with honesty, humor, and "big, lively, belty" musical numbers, the novel is told through the full script of the musical first introduced in Will Grayson, Will Grayson.
"Starred Review. Levithan has turned in another star turn with a book that is witty, wise, and well worthy of an encore." - Booklist
"Starred Review. Tiny Cooper, the memorable best friend from Levithan and John Green's Will Grayson, Will Grayson, gets his own star turn in this companion volume, which contains the script and lyrics of the autobiographical musical he wrote and staged in the original novel. Ages 14 and up." - Publishers Weekly
"Shy readers should be warned: Don't read this in a public place unless you're very comfortable chortling out loud. It's big. It's gay. It's outrageous and hilarious." - Kirkus
This information about Hold Me Closer was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Beth Levithan
When not writing during spare hours on weekends, David Levithan is editorial director at Scholastic and the founding editor of the PUSH imprint, which is devoted to finding new voices and new authors in teen literature. His acclaimed novels Boy Meets Boy and The Realm of Possibility started as stories he wrote for his friends for Valentine's Day (something he's done for the past 22 years and counting) that turned themselves into teen novels. He's often asked if the book is a work of fantasy or a work of reality, and the answer is right down the middle—it's about where we're going, and where we should be.
If you liked Hold Me Closer, try these:
by Denne Michele. Norris
Published 2026
In this heart-wrenching debut novel, a young Black gay man reckoning with the death of his father must confront his painful past—and his deepest desires around gender, love, and sex.
by Lily King
Published 2025
From the New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers comes a magnificent and intimate new novel of desire, friendship, and the lasting impact of first love.
by Jamila Minnicks
Published 2023
Winner of the 2021 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, a thought-provoking and enchanting debut about a Black woman doing whatever it takes to protect all she loves at the beginning of the civil rights movement in Alabama.
Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
