John Green

I know this is a little odd, but I am a little resistent to reading books that "everyone" is raving about, especially when there are movies coming out and the hype is crazy. I did not start reading the Harry Potter series until Book 3 came out.  I started the Twilight Saga after Eclipse hit theaters. I only read Hunger Games because my mom made me. 

Naturally of course, John Green's The Fault In Our Stars recieved the same response.  This time though, before I caved in to peer pressure completely, I rebelled and read another John Green novel first. 

 

 

Looking for Alaska appealed to me in a "My So Called Life" sort of a way. In Looking for Alaska, Green very deftly and convincingly communicates the coming-of-age anxiety and angst that permeates those days when you are transitioning from a teenager to an adult.  You know, those intense feelings that no adult can even possibly understand that threaten to overtake your ability to function?  Those.  And Green does so in a way that is both realistic and compelling.  I could not put this book down. 

 

Finally, I opened up A Fault In Our Stars and I was not dissappointed.  I knew the basic premise of the book and its outcome before starting the novel, but I could not have guessed at how deeply the tragedy would cut.  I'm not talking about cancer and the toll it takes.  Certainly cancer is tragic-no argument there-but what I am referring to is the act of living while dying.  The knowing that life is going to come to an end and trying to grasp all that you can, while you can; the struggle of worrying about those you are leaving and not wanting to leave them.....  John Green captures the non-physical part of the cancer and it's devistating. 

 

Love them both.

 

Michelle