Born on August 24, 1977, it seems like John Green was destined to be not only a successfully published author, but somewhat of an icon in the Contemporary Fiction genre reading audience. He may be living in Indianapolis with his wife and son now, but Green was a very busy men while he gained success for his writing. In fact, with a video-blog on Youtube that he shares with his brother, a job as a book reviewer, AND a writer during his spare time, one can only wonder if John Green is in fact even human (in a good way).

It is thought that Green’s highly acclaimed novel, Looking for Alaska, was in fact based on his experiences while attending the private school “Indian Springs School” in his younger years. He graduated Kenyon College in 2000 and never looked back. With a double major degree in English and Religious Studies, Green spent a couple of years in Chicago working as a book reviewer for a magazine called Booklist Magazine. 

But the quickly rising career of this young author wasn’t ready to stop just yet. In 2007,
Green and his brother created a Youtube account where they would communicate solely by video blogs called the vlogbrothers. This creation turned out to be pretty advantageous since Green and his brother attracted a group of fans who call themselves the “Nerdfighters”. These loyal fans “ fight for intellectualism and to decrease the overall worldwide level of suck. (Decreasing suck takes many forms: Nerdfighters have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight poverty in the developing world; they also planted thousands of trees around the world in May of 2010 to celebrate Hank’s 30th birthday)” (John Green website). That’s a pretty impressive feat. 

Green has written several books, along with one short story. If you’re considering reading this author, maybe check out one of his books listed below.

1. Looking for Alaska

“Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves
for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the “Great Perhaps.” Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps. ”

2. Paper Towns

“When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night - dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows her. Margo’s always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q … until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q. Printz Medalist John Green returns with the trademark brilliant wit and heart-stopping emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers”

3. An Abundance of Katherines

“When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.”

4. Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with David Levithan)

“One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.”

5. The Fault in Our Stars

“Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind”

6. Let it Snow (with Lauren Myracle, Maureen Johnson)

“Sparkling white snowdrifts, beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons, and multicolored lights glittering in the night through the falling snow. A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you see only in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks. Thanks to three of today’s bestselling teen authors—John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle—the magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and breathtaking kisses.”

7. Zombicorns

“Dearest Reader, 

This is a bad zombie apocalypse novella. It was written in a hurry. It is riddled with inconsistencies. And it never quite arrives at whatever point it sought to make. But remember: The $25 you donated to charity in exchange for this steaming mess of prose will help our species shuffle along, and I hope you’ll feel warmed by your good deed as you read. Thank you for decreasing the overall worldwide level of suck, and as they say in my hometown: Don’t forget to be awesome. 

Best wishes! 
John Green ”

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