Turtles All the Way Down by John Green | Rating: ★★★★★

"True terror isn't being scared; it's not having a choice in the matter."

Years ago, a very good friend of mine (hello, Cynthia!) introduced me to John Green's work by having me read Looking For Alaska. At the time, I was just leaving high school and, for me, this was the perfect time to experience his words for the first time. A lot of bloggers and authors seem to like to criticize John (for some reasons that make sense, for others that... don't) but I remember thinking, as I made my way through the books he'd had under his belt at the time, that the way he wrote teenagers felt real to me.

The fast paced conversation. The wit. The tries at being (or sounding) like adults and succeeding for a moment, only to revert back to sounding infantile. For me, there was something easy to relate to as a teenager when it came down to his dialogue. It was like listening to my friends talk. Or an expression that I longed to write but never could. 

One of the most common bits of criticism we see about his writing is that the teenagers he writes have the knack of sounding "too adult" or pretentious. Turtles All the Way Down has garnered some of that same complaint, but I think--I'm not sorry to say this--that people forget that teenagers are at that point between childhood and adulthood. For some of them, this means immaturity and conflict; for others it means something else different.

Paper Towns by John Green | Rating: ★★★★☆

“Here’s what’s not beautiful about it: from here, you can’t see the rust or the cracked paint or whatever, but you can tell what the place really is. You can see how fake it all is. It’s not even hard enough to be made out of plastic. It’s a paper town. I mean, look at it, Q: look at all those culs-de-sac, those streets that turn in on themselves, all the houses that were built to fall apart. All those paper people living in their paper houses, burning the future to stay warm. All the paper kids drinking beer some bum bought for them at the paper convenience store. Everyone demented with the mania of owning things. All the things paper-thin and paper-frail. And all the people, too. I’ve lived here for eighteen years and I have never once in my life come across anyone who cares about anything that matters.”

Ugh, I know, right? A John Green book. So, like, totally, like cliche. But here’s the thing: I love John Green and his work. Say what you will, but I’m not going to deny that I love the way his words flow and his stories. His novels may often have a repetitive theme to it in terms of how his characters act but they still, for me, provide my mind with the opportunity to think. Really and truly think, you know? And that’s important when reading a novel.

And I’d like to make it clear that in spite of flaws and the certain level of pretentious that his characters sometimes reach, I think that his books are something special.

Looking For Alaska by John Green | Rating: ★★★★☆

“When adults say, “Teenagers think they are invincible” with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don’t know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail.”

Looking For Alaska was John Green’s debut novel as a published author. This was, years back, my first introduction to John’s writing and it is still the perfect place to start when you want to read anything by him. It’s made of all the things his writing is known for — coming of age thoughts and occurrences, quotes and references that will stick with you, dark comedy and characters that will come alive right before your eyes.

One of the best things about John’s writing is that it feels real — his world becomes something that can play right before your eyes. And it really helps to connect to its target audience. It will surely get teenagers reading and thinking, hey, this guy just gets it.

And gets it, he does.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green | Rating ★★★★★

"I’m a grenade and at some point I’m going to blow up. And I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?"

You’ve heard the hype — this is one of those books that has spread like wildfire amongst book lovers and even people who don’t seem to find pleasure in reading regularly. With a movie adaption fast upon us, the time is now to read one of John Green’s best works — but be sure to bring tissues with you while reading. And please note: it may not be the best idea to read this story in public.

Nearly three years ago, my good friend introduced me to John Green’s work via Looking For Alaska. And the first thing you should know about John’s writing, if you aren’t familiar, is that he does a damn good job conveying teenage angst that you can find yourself believing. Another thing you should know is that while all his books are simple to read, that doesn’t mean they lack substance.

Because let me be perfectly clear: there’s nearly nothing lacking in the way he writes. By the end of nearly each of his books, you will come out learning something — about the characters, the world, yourself. You will, without a doubt, fall in love with the characters he creates.

But onto the real article, here…