Author Appreciation

WHY I LOVE JOHN GREEN'S BOOKS

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” 

- John Green, The Fault In Our Stars

John Green is one of the authors whose books I pick up without giving a second thought. I know even if I’m not gonna love it, at least I will enjoy reading it. But so far, I have not hated any of his books. He is an auto-buy author for me. I will pick up any book that he writes. Too bad he has no plans for publishing a new book any time soon, but his debut novel Looking For Alaska has been adopted into a series and will soon premiere on Hulu.

A Little Observation:

I’ve noticed that at least one character in John Green's book is a reader. Alaska was a reader in Looking for Alaska, Hazel kept re-reading Imperial Affliction in The Fault In Our Stars, Colin was a reader in An abundance of Katherines, Margo in Paper towns and Davis in Turtles all the way down had a library full of first edition hardbacks! Do you see a pattern here? He always writes a major character as a reader. And that’s something I really love. Just makes me connect even more.

JOHN GREEN’S BOOKS I’VE READ:

Looking For Alaska

"People, I thought, wanted security. They couldn’t bear the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldn’t bear the thought of their loved ones not existing, and couldn’t even imagine themselves not existing. I finally decided that people believed in an afterlife because they couldn’t bear not to." 

- John Green, Looking For Alaska

Looking for Alaska is his debut novel. This is a coming-of-age book about Miles Halter and is narrated in 1st person by him. This book deals with love, friendships, death, heartbreak and letting go.

This is the book that made me fall in love with John Green’s storytelling. The way he writes characters, friendships and relationship is beautiful. They are dynamic and so well developed. I feel like I read this book at the right point in my life. As the main protagonist, Miles went away from home for the first time to live in a hostel. I was going through the same experience of living away from home. 

I recently re-read the book and fell in love again. In my opinion, Looking for Alaska is John Green’ best book. Period.

Looking For Alaska will be premiering on 18 October 2019 on Hulu.

The Fault In Our Stars

“You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world...but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.” 

- John Green, The fault in our stars

 

The Fault In Our Stars is Green’s most popular and widely acclaimed book. 

The Fault In Our Stars follows Hazel Grace, who is terminally ill. Her life turns around when she meets a boy named Augustus Waters in a Cancer Support Group. This book showcases love and loss and what it means to be alive.

The main theme of the book is love. This book is romance heavy and shows you the power of love, and it's so beautifully written! I’m not a romance reader but if John Green writes it, I will read it. Frankly, I'd read his grocery lists. (People who’ve read or at least watched the movie would get that reference)

The fault in our stars has the power to make the toughest of us cry. And, what can say about Augustus Waters, He is swoon-worthy! Green makes you fall in love with him even though he’s in a limited number of pages.

The Fault In Our Stars was adapted into a movie in 2014, starring Shaileen Woodley, Ansel Elgort etc. & I think we all are aware of it.

Paper Towns

“Margo always loved mysteries. And in everything that came afterward, I could never stop thinking that maybe she loved mysteries so much that she became one.” 

- John Green, Paper Towns

 This book I feel is majorly a story of friendship. It’s narrated by our main protagonist, Quentin, who has loved a girl Margo all his life. All of a sudden, Margo goes missing. Paper Towns follows Quentin who takes upon him to find margo along with his friends.

This is my least favourite book by John Green. His affection towards Margo felt slightly like obsession. He had amazing friends and I felt like he didn’t value them in his mission of finding Margo. Even though his character does progress, but by the time I did, I was already annoyed.

This book was adapted into a movie in 2015, starring Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne

An Abundance Of Katherines

“I don't think God gives a shit if we have a dog or if a woman wears shorts. I think He gives a shit whether you're a good person.”  

- John Green, An Abundance Of Katherines 

This book follows Colin Singleton, a child prodigy, now a teen, who happens to have a type when it comes to dating: girls named Katherines. He goes on a road trip with his friend and is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.

This is a very underrated John Green book. It's actually pretty different and a clever book. I loved how maths and graphs were included in it to explain things. I didn't absolutely love the characters but I liked how they developed throughout the story and their friendship progressed. I’ll admit, Collins is annoying, maybe too much into himself. But that’s how teenagers are, isn’t it?

This is a hilarious, ingenious and quirky book. An Abundance Of Katherines shows that not everything goes the way you want it to, it's about reinventing yourself and learning as life goes by.

Turtles All The Way Down

“Your now is not your forever.” 

 - John Green, Turtles All The Way Down

Turtles all the way down starts with a mystery, progresses with friendship, romance and takes us towards mental illness. It follows Aza Holmes, a 16-year-old girl who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. We get to see what goes on in the mind of someone suffering from OCD.

I love how Green shows us the dark side of OCD with a light backdrop of high school, romance and teenage. The representation was well written.

I picked this book when I forgot about books and reading for almost a year because..life happened. Then I got to know about this book & pre-ordered it immediately. This book rekindled my love for reading. Took me out of a year-long reading slump.

AT LAST...

Green’s book, Looking For Alaska, made me fall in love with reading even more. And his book, Turtles all the way down made me realize why I started reading in the first place. His books, on the surface, looks like any other YA novel with teenage drama and romance, but they always have a deeper meaning with life lessons. And he writes them so effortlessly.  I love his writing style. The language he uses is always so beautiful and literally, quote-worthy. I love the way he writes friendships, relationships, love and especially death. His books aren’t perfect and not a literary masterpiece, but I love them for the way they make me feel and think.

Also Checkout: Review of The God Of Small Things