John Green: Genius

Hands up who has heard of John Green? I hadn't until a couple of years ago when I friend suggested I read his book, "Paper Towns." I was sceptical - I never read teenage books because I tend to find they have a fantasy theme and are generally just mushy romance as well. How wrong could I have been. A few months ago, I saw a video on youtube about NaNoWriMo and noticed that it was John Green talking. After seeing that, I finally read "An Abundance of Katherines" which is his second novel. Ever since I read the first page of that book, I have been addicted to his writing. He is a comic genius with a fabulous knack for creating engaging stories.

You may recognise him from his VlogBrothers videos, which he does with his brother Hank and let me tell you: the books are even better than the videos, as hard as that may be to believe. I recommend any one of his books to everybody.

After reading all of his solo novels, I was craving more so I decided to pick up "Will Grayson, will grayson," which is a book he co-wrote with David Levithan, an author I hadn't heard of before. That book was one of the best I've ever read. If you want a really good teenage tale with real, believable teenage characters then anything by John Green or David Levithan is for you. The books are mostly character-driven rather than plot but they're all fantastic. I will warn you though: "The Fault in our Stars" - Green's most recent novel - is heart-wrenching. I'd read it again in a flash because the story is told so wonderfully well by this talented writer but even I cried at the end. Don't let that put you off though. It's so worth it.

From there, I explored more of David Levithan's work - he writes mostly in the voice of gay teen guys, except in the case of his collaboration with Rachel Cohn for the well-known "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist." So go for it: broaden your horizons. I've now read all of John Green's books, about four of David Levithan's and I'm looking into Rachel Cohn too. Another similar book is one you may have heard of: "The Perks of being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky.

Ever since first reading "An Abundance of Katherines," I have been completely addicted to teenage road trip books. At the moment, I'm reading "Two Way Street" by Lauren Barnholdt, a tale told from the points of view of a girl and a guy who broke up and are now going on a roadtrip together.

Whenever people have asked who I aspire to be like, as far as writing goes, I never had an answer but now I know for sure that John Green is my idol.

Go out and buy any book by any of these authors, or borrow it from the library. You will not be disappointed.

Lydia