Asking any avid reader who their favorite author is can be a loaded question. Usually, when someone asks me that I give a whole spiel about how it depends on the genre, age group, and so on and so forth. Over the years, I have discovered one author that never lets me down except for one book of his (we will get to that later): John Green.
The first book I ever read by John Green was The Fault In Our Stars, and from there I was hooked. I have always been a sucker for a sappy rom com and this one didn't disappoint. If you have read this one then you know it's more than just a love story that has you ugly crying at 3:00 in the morning. (Don't get me started on when I thought it was a good idea to go and see the movie adaptation in theaters...) It makes you truly think about how we deal with love and loss in our lives. John Green delivers one of my favorite lines in a YA novel, inevitably giving you the answer to these questions "That's the thing about pain. It demands to be felt." For as long as I can remember I have always pushed down my emotions and tried to avoid any pain. Whenever I get to that point where I feel like I am going to break I have to remember that in order to cope I have to face my problems head on. And let's not forget the adorable "okay." Just one word means so much and I can't help but swoon every time I read it.
This quick but powerful read was one I devoured in one night . Its beautifully written narrative makes readers face the reality of mental illness, both within oneself and the people in our lives. This beautiful line has stayed with me over the years: "Maybe there's something you're afraid to say, or someone you're afraid to love, or somewhere you're afraid to go. It's gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt because it matters." I'm often my own worst enemy, because I'm afraid to express emotions for fear of being judged. When I get like this I have to just breathe and remember that not speaking up will hurt me more in the long run.
So, I can't talk about John Green without talking about this monstrosity. I'm sure there are plenty of readers out there who enjoyed this one, but I was not one of them. I really wanted to, but I just couldn't get into it like I did his other books. The whole character of Margo and how she strung Quentin along like a lost puppy was simply not for me. Honestly, I found myself struggling to keep awake during this one and was glad once I got to the end of it. The only good thing that we got out of this book was when Q finally learned that Margo was not this glamorous girl he thought she was, "What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person."
So, this leads us to John Green's newest book, The Anthropocene reviewed : essays on a human-centered planet, an adult non-fiction book, which I will let Green explain far better than I can:
If you haven't checked out John Green's YouTube channel, vlogbrothers, you are missing out. It's a collection of videos that John does with his brother, Hank. It started in 2007 when the brothers decided to cease communicating via text and chose instead communication through daily YouTube videos. They still put up weekly videos to this day discussing all sorts of things.
If you haven't picked up a John Green book before I encourage you to check one out you won't be disappointed...just avoid Paper Towns for your own sake.
-Ashleigh Edwards
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