Everything You Want to Know About John Green and His Books
John Green has undergone rare changes in his life that few people are able to do and became a person that everyone wants to be and know. He went from being an underachiever in high school, to an internet sensation, to possibly the best selling author in YA Fiction. Everyone knows who he is, but not everyone knows what he’s done and how much he has been able to influence whole generations of readers, writers, and Nerdfighters. As a writer, Nerdfighter, and fervent fan of John Green, I can only say that the world of literature would be a very different place without the presence of John Green.
Table of Contents
Yep, I’m also getting flashbacks of elementary and middle school.
Part One: John Green and Writing
- Who is John Green
- John Green Book Ratings and Reviews
Part Two: John Green and His Internet Persona
- Vlogbrothers
- CrashCourse
Part Three: Extra Information About John Green
- Personal Life
- Book Trivia
Part Four: Hank Green
- A Tribute to Hank Green
- Hank Green’s Books
Part Five: Links to Cool Pages
- Interesting Articles
- John Green’s FQA Page
- Vlogbrothers
- CrashCourse
- Quizzes
Part One: John Green and Writing
Who is John Green?
For anyone who does not know, John Green is an author and Youtuber. He, and his brother Hank Green, started Vlogbrothers in 2007 where they also formed the community Nerdfighteria two years after John released his first book “Looking for Alaska.” Later, in 2012, CrashCourse was founded as a virtual learning tool by the Green Brothers. He has since then continued writing and vlogging and says that he will keep doing so until his death.
Personal Trivia:
- He went to Indiana Springs High School and went to Kenyon college to pursue a double major in English and Religious Studies.
- He has a wife named Sarah Urist Green and two children, Alice and Henry Green.
- He was born on August 24, 1977 which is also the day that these events happened on: Link to Time and Date.
Book Ratings and Reviews
1. Looking for Alaska
The real reason why I first picked up Looking for Alaska was because I was searching for the book about Christopher McCandless. In the 90s, McCandless was a man who traveled to Alaska and lived in an abandoned bus after he graduated from Emory University. He lived there until he died of starvation and was found by a hunter. But even though I was expecting a completely different story than the one I got, I was pleasantly surprised by the one I ventured upon.
As the first John Green novel that I read, I’ve kept Alaska with me for many years, and I treasure her story because I know how many lives it has saved and how it has changed my own views on mental illness. It’s a raw, angst-filled, life-changing story, and because these characters are so blemished and quintessentially symbolic of their time that they can truly reach their readers. If I was rating Looking for Alaska on a scale of one to ten, I would have to give it an eleven.
2. An Abundance of Katherines
Colin reminds me of myself in a lot of ways, and I think his character (although whiny and a bit pretentious) is something that everyone can relate to at some point in their life. Mattering is a relative term, and I think it’s important to ask why we want to matter, and what drives the human need to be remembered after we die. John Green answers these questions poetically without being cliché, and I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders the first time I read An Abundance of Katherines.
But, while I love his second novel, I can see why it is an unpopular John Green book. It is not quite as mysterious as Looking for Alaska, nor as romantic as The Fault in Our Stars, and even though Green stays true to his style, his exceptionally gifted teenage character, quirky best friend, and profound metaphors have been exhaustlessly read by the time most people decide to read this lesser-known novel. As English nerd myself, I can also understand how the math aspect of the story can seem daunting (even if prior knowledge to higher level math is not needed to understand the concepts.)
But whether you like John Green’s writing or not, the plot, ideas, and characters are unique and captivating in An Abundance of Katherines, and the read is definitely worthwhile.
3. The Fault in Our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars is the pinnacle of YA Romance Fiction and is, in all of its essence, the Romeo and Juliet of the twenty-first century. It’s not a healthy kid dates a sick kid, and the sick kid teaches the healthy kid about how life is precious scenario. John Green rather paints young love and grief as something that even the healthiest of us associate those powerful emotions with- painful. It’s a beautiful novel and truly a classic of our time. There are overwhelming amounts of metaphors in the book and the plot might seem a bit gimmicky at first glance, but even through the tragedy, heartache, and bitter emotions the The Fault in Our Stars presents its readers with, the ending will leave you in awe of the strength that teenagers have and all that can be learned from the trials of youth.
4. Will Grayson, Will Grayson
The New York Times summed it up perfectly as “Funny, rude, and original.” With John Green writing the odd chapters, and David Levithan writing the even, they create a cool mix of plain hilarious and thoughtful comedy. Will Grayson, Will Grayson does a wonderful job of promoting gay rights while not making it cheesy or forced. Although I personally don’t enjoy the lowercase writing that David Levithan uses, it really fits Will Grayson Number Two’s character, and I think it made the story more authentic and made it easier to distinguish the Wills. I laughed out loud more than once and it was one of those books that apparently has superglue slathered on the cover. I’d recommend it to anyone (except maybe people who say that they’re “old-fashioned.”)
5. Let it Snow
Throughout time, humans have been developing shorter and shorter attention spans, and therefore, we have developed a taste for short stories. In Let it Snow, three writers, including John Green, worked up three holiday stories. Between deciding to place one of the main settings in Waffle House, the love triangles, and the overwhelming humor in each story, it’s a shame that it’s not as well known as other John Green novels. Let it Snow has become one of my favorite holiday staples and reading it during the holidays has a great affect on me. Whether you give it for a Christmas gift, or decide to just read it yourself in your free time after wrapping gifts, cooking Christmas dinner, and spending time with your friends and family, you’ll be happy these characters have entered your life.
6. Paper Towns
The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns are by far John Green’s most popular novels, but I have never really enjoyed Paper Towns as much as the general population. It’s brilliant, and the story is definitely intriguing, but I just never connected characters the way I wanted to. I suppose it was fitting for the story, but the characters always felt very dethatched from me, whereas in other John Green novels, I felt as if I was actually in the story. I know and hear about many, many people enjoying Paper Towns and I would never discourage anyone from reading a John Green novel, but as this is a personal review, I would probably give the book a three to four star rating out of five.
7. Turtles All the Way Down
Although I have not read Turtles All the Way Down and do not plan to for some time because that means I will no longer have any more John Green novels to read, his latest book has been very well received. From The Seattle Times quote of “An unflinching look at mental illness,” to The Guardian’s quote of “A new modern classic,” I have heard great things about John Green’s latest success and would not be surprised if I was in awe of his talent once more after reading it.
Sadly, there are no more John Green novels for me to review, but before you move on to the next section, comment below and tell other readers what you think about the books above, especially the one I was not able to cover very well, “Turtles All the Way Down.”
Part Two: John Green and His Internet Persona
Vlogbrothers
Vlogbrothers is an internationally known YouTube channel that features the Green Brothers. Started in 2007, the pair soon developed a community known as Nerdfighteria that is dedicated to, and I quote, “decreasing world suck.” The channel has over three million followers and has gone through many stages throughout the years. Vlogbrother eras such as Brotherhood 2.0 hit the internet as an immediate success and their new videos are still highly popular. I am a Nerdfighter myself and am grateful to have found a community of such intelligent and kind people.
The Motto is, “If you want to be a Nerdfighter, you are one.” There’s no catch. It’s a not-so exclusive club that just wants to share art and music and math and everything that makes the world what it is and everything that makes the world worth living in.
CrashCourse
CrashCourse was founded in 2012 as a way for kids and teens to teach themselves about the subjects they are most curious about. The Green Brothers have dozens of courses available ranging from artificial intelligence to Psychology. John and Hank Green actually host many of the videos themselves, so if you like their Vlogbrother videos, you’ll want to check their CrashCourse site and/or app out.
Part Three: Extra Information About John Green
Personal life
John Green was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on August 24, 1977 to Mike and Sydney Green. He grew up in Orland, Florida although his family moved from three previous states. He went to a boarding school in Alabama for high school, Indiana Springs, and later pursued a double major in English and Religious Studies from Kenyon college. His experiences at Indiana Springs in Alabama prompted him to write his first novel “Looking for Alaska” in 2005, but before then, his initial original goal was to become a priest. He spent much of his time at a hospital for the terminally ill as a Chaplin during the years he thought he was heading into a religious career which gave him the idea for his most famous novel, “The Fault in Our Stars.” Today, the writer is credited with creating a whole new group of young adult fiction that many newspapers such as the New York Times call “GreenLit.” As of 2020, he lives in Indianapolis with his wife, Sarah Urist, his two children, Henry and Alice Green, and his dog, Willy.
John Green Book Trivia
- The character that John Green still thinks most about from his novels is Hassan from An Abundance of Katherines.
- The candle on the cover of Looking for Alaska has nothing to do with Alaska’s candle volcano but was added because vendors did not like that the smoke resembled that of a cigarette (although it is.) John Green really hates the candle addition.
- In Looking for Alaska, the funeral scene was written after John Green had a fight with his roommate over a vacuum cleaner, and everything just poured out onto the page.
- This is not about John Green’s books, but one time, Hank Green tried to kill John with a hammer.
- He is a fan of Liverpool Football Club.
Part Four: Hank Green
A Tribute to Hank Green
As a writer himself, Hank Green is the youngest Green brother. As Wikipedia says, Hank Green is an “American video blogger, internet producer, musician, author, entrepreneur, and CEO.” In 2018, Hank published An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, and recently as of 2020, he has published A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor. I am sad to say that I have read neither of his books. He has been a huge inspiration to John Green as to the rest of the world, and for that, I am grateful that he has given so much of himself away to his audience and fans.
Hank Green’s Books
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
Part Five: Links to Cool Pages
Important Links:
Interesting Articles:
*John Green’s Fight Against His Keyboards
*Why John Green Writes What He Does
Quizzes:
*Which John Green Novel Should You Read
*Which John Green Character Are You
