The John Green YA Novel Phenomenon

With the upcoming and highly-anticipated theatrical release of The Fault in Our Stars, starring none other than Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort (both of Divergent fame), the nation has seriously been under the intoxicating and newfound spell of novelist/voice-of-the-young-people John Green. But fear not, skeptics, for this isn’t some Nicholas Sparks-type of hype; the buzz around Green is one of substance and one worth noting, especially considering the impact his novels are having not only in the entertainment world, where they translate well onto the silver screen, but in the eyes of young people everywhere who eat up anything and everything he writes.

After hearing so much about Green, it was hard for a person like me, who doesn’t always take too the latest YA book trends so easily, to try to get into some of his works. But with an open mind, and a Sunday afternoon free of homework and other humdrum responsibilities, I decided to take the leap and read TFiOS. A few hundred pages later, and with tear-stained cheeks, it is safe to say that Green’s 2012 novel is one of the better reads I’ve had in a while.

Green’s frank, funny, and witty writing style captures perfectly the way some of the jaded youth of this generation actually do feel about life, and although some of the topics in his books are pretty heavy and deep, you always finish them with hope that things will always look up in the end, and that perhaps there are always good things and people in the world.

Some of Green’s other books include Will Grayson, An Abundance of Katherines, Looking for Alaska, and Paper Towns, to name just a few.

A good cry is always only a few page turns away whenever you pick up a Green novel. We can’t wait to see some of Green’s page-turners on the screen too, but with as good of inspiration as Green’s books are, it’s no question that these films are probably going to excellent.

(Photo via Andres Otero/WENN)

- Raffy Ermac, YH Staff