Tag Archives: John Green

May 6, 2014 · 8:47 am

Student Review: Anna S.: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books

Published: January 1st 2012

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Summary (from the cover flap): Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Review:

I am currently rereading The Fault in Our Stars for the third time and I don’t know if I’ll finish it. Not because it is a bad book. Heaven knows that The Fault in Our Stars is not a bad book. If fact, The Fault in Our Stars (let’s shorten it to TFIOS, shall we?) is likely one of the best books I will ever read in my life. John Green managed to convey the story of Hazel Grace is such a beautiful way the strikes me right to the core. This book makes me feel a array of emotions, but more than anything it makes me cry. It makes me cry for a million different reasons. While reading TFIOS I 1) cry because I am upset, 2) cry because this book makes me wish I was a better person, 3) cry because this book makes me wish other people were better people, but 4) mostly I cry because of how beautiful the story is, and how beautiful its theme’s are. Can you guess why I might not finish this book again? It’s because it makes me cry so much.

Sobbing Staab aside, this book is phenomenal. Never, ever, has a book stuck with me as much as this book has. I first read it ages ago, right around the time it was published (the beginning of 2012), but I live life the way I do because of this book. As mentioned before, the theme’s throughout this novel are immense. From acknowledging that sometimes life sucks but you have to make the best of it or from how people to often leave negative marks upon this world, the theme’s in this novel are not only thought provoking, but (at least to me) life changing. I’ve spent countless days and nights thinking about quotes from this book and what they mean to me, and I know I will keep on doing this until the day I die. Sometimes books do that. They stay with you long after you’ve read the last word. TFIOS is one of those books.

You might be thinking “I don’t want to cry” or “I don’t want to read a depressing book”, but this book is more than just a sad story. It’s not just a cancer story. It’s a story of two teenagers living their life. Hazel Grace is a funny and snarky narrator who feels like a long lost best friend, and Augustus Waters is the prince of this story. And oh my goodness, what a prince he is. If nothing else you should read this book so you can get to know Augustus Waters. If you think that you will never have a crush on a fictional character then read TFIOS and let Augustus Waters prove you wrong.

Did I mention that this book is getting made into a movie? Yep. And by the looks of the first trailer it is going to be a pretty amazing one too. So what are you doing? Read this book. Laugh. Cry. Then watch the movie and laugh and cry a little more. Trust me, it’s good fun! 🙂

I’ll end this review with a fantastic quote from the book that basically sums up all of my feelings in one neat little sentence:

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”
-John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

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May 28, 2013 · 6:00 am

Student Review by Tyani J.: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books

Published: June 12, 2012

Summary (from Goodreads): Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, 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
Tyani’s Review: John Green; I’ve reviewed nearly all of his books but I don’t think any combination of the 26 letters in the alphabet can come close to describing how perfect this book was. TFIOS was the first John Green book I had the pleasure to read; I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. This book will take your emotions for a ride that is most definitely not a roller coaster that only goes up, my friend. If you have read Looking for Alaska, that one smashed your heart into a bajillion pieces, but TFIOS will take those pieces, set them ablaze, and feed the ashes to the wind. It is a book full of pain and hope and it is honestly one of the best books I have ever read. The character development is beautifully planned out so that by the end of the book, you feel as though you were right there with Hazel and Augustus as they went on their adventure. John Green has created another masterpiece that is definitely worth the tears.

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March 30, 2013 · 6:00 am

Student Review by Tyani J.: Paper Towns by John Green

Title: Paper Towns

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Published: 2008

Summary from Goodreads:

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life – dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge – he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues – and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer Q gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew.

Tyani’s Review:

Oh, John Green how you never cease to amaze me. Paper Towns has once again, exceeded my expectations. Not only is it beautifully written, like every other John Green book, but it is able to entice you and masterfully reel you into the adventure that Quentin experiences throughout. You are right there next to him from the beginning adventure with Margo and all the adventures that he has. One of the main things I liked about the book is the overlying idea that even though people seem to be one person, on the inside they could be someone completely different. “Just remember that sometimes, the way you think about a person isn’t the way they actually are… People are different when you can smell them and see them up close…” Throughout the whole story, Quentin believes he is in love with Margo Roth Spiegelman, the most popular, most beautiful girl, with the perfect life, but as he goes on, he realizes that the Margo Roth he fell in love with really isn’t the Real Margo Roth. I think that this book was written so perfectly, in a way that almost every person can relate to because no matter how hard we try, we don’t always let people see the real us.

The book keeps you on the edge of your seat just waiting to see what will happen next.

At times I just wanted to flip to the end of the book to see how it ended because I couldn’t take the suspense. Paper Towns is simply another masterpiece beautifully written by John Green.

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March 6, 2013 · 6:00 am

Student Review by Mackenzie S.: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

An abundance of Katherines

Title: An Abundance of Katherines

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Published: September 2006

Genre: contemporary realistic fiction, coming of age

Mackenzie’s Summary:

An Abundance of Katherines is about a seventeen-year-old teenager named Colin who, much to his dismay, is not a ‘genius but a child prodigy’. Colin is good at everything educational; languages, math, reading, and anything else intellectual. Although Colin is smart, he is not good with the ladies. Colin has dated nineteen girls named Katherine in his life, and sadly has been dumped by every single one of them. In Colin’s words, he is a “dumpee.” After being dumped by the 19th Katherine, Colin goes on a road trip with his best friend, Hassan, in attempts to get over his post-breakup depression.

I really enjoyed this book mostly for the writing style and the unique plot. The writing style is enjoyable to read and adds to the characterization. The way Green writes is easy to read and flows well. I really enjoy John Green’s nerdy, yet amazing humor and his vocabulary in all of his books.

Honestly, this was my least favorite book by him, mostly because the plot was more predictable and it wasn’t as emotionally deep. If you don’t want to cry your eyes out than this is the John Green book you want to read. This is on my top ten of best books I have ever read and I promise you will love it.

My 2 cents: John Green happens to be one of my favorite authors. However, I haven’t picked this one up yet. I will add it to my ever-growing TBR list.

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December 5, 2012 · 5:00 am

Review: Looking for Alaska

Title: Looking for Alaska

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Release Date: March 3, 2005
Published: Dec. 2006

Pages: 160 (Hardcover)

Genre: realistic, contemporary, YA

Audience: 16+

Source: District book give-away

Summary from Goodreads:

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter’s whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the “Great Perhaps” (François Rabelais, poet) even more. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

Overall Impression: This book has sat on my shelf for two years and I can’t believe that I allowed that to happen. I fell in love with this book. John Green is quickly turning into my favorite author. However, I must warn my students that Green is not for everybody. Looking for Alaska deals with some mature issues and some of the language could be deemed offensive. I highly recommend this book along with a few other Green titles that I will share at a later date.

What I liked: Everything! To begin with, the structure is unique. The chapters are broken down into a countdown of days. The very first page pulls you in and after that the book never lets you go. In addition, the characters are intelligent teenagers. It’s a nice to see teenagers portrayed as witty and smart, young adults. The quirkiness of the characters is what makes them so appealing (Pudge with his last lines and Alaska with her books). I liked that the story was reminiscent of A Separate Peace and Catcher in the Rye but with a whole new, modern twist. I don’t want to put in spoilers so I’m speaking vaguely but you will laugh out loud and cry. This is a book you won’t want to put down, yet you will dread the day you finish it.

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December 3, 2012 · 4:30 am

It’s Monday! Here’s What I’m Reading…

It’s Monday! What are you Reading?: From Picture Books to YA is a meme hosted by TeachMentorTexts .

Here’s what I read this past week:

Title: Eleanor & Park

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Release Date: March 2013

Genre: Realistic, historical fiction

Summary from Goodreads:

“Bono met his wife in high school,” Park says.
“So did Jerry Lee Lewis,” Eleanor answers.
“I’m not kidding,” he says.
“You should be,” she says, “we’re sixteen.”
“What about Romeo and Juliet?”
“Shallow, confused, then dead.”
”I love you,” Park says.
“Wherefore art thou,” Eleanor answers.
“I’m not kidding,” he says.
“You should be.”

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Publication Date: Jan. 10, 2012

Genre: Realistic fiction

Summary from Goodreads: Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now.

My reading plan for this week:

Period 8 by Chris Crutcher

Listening to on Audible:

Crossed by Allie Condie

On my Kindle App:

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yavonoff

Want to know what others are reading this week? Read more at TeachMentorTexts.

What are YOU reading this week?

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Tagged as Allie Condie, Brenna Yovanoff, Chris Crutcher, It's Monday, John Green, Rainbow Rowell, weekly event

November 26, 2012 · 4:30 am

It’s Monday! Here’s What I’m Reading…

It’s Monday! What are you Reading?: From Picture Books to YA is a meme hosted by TeachMentorTexts . It’s a spin off from Sheila at Book Journeys It’s Monday! What are you Reading? with a focus on Children’s books and YA (pretty obvious).

Here’s what I read this past week:

Before leaving for NCTE I finished:

Looking for Alaska by John Green (Goodreads)

During break I read:

2. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green (Goodreads)

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.

Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both them legions of faithful fans.

3. Hokey Pokey by Jerry Spinelli (Goodreads)

Welcome to Hokey Pokey. A place and a time, when childhood is at its best: games to play, bikes to ride, experiences to be had. There are no adults in Hokey Pokey, just kids, and the laws governing Hokey Pokey are simple and finite. But when one of the biggest kids, Jack, has his beloved bike stolen—and by a girl, no less—his entire world, and the world of Hokey Pokey, turns to chaos. Without his bike, Jack feels like everything has started to go wrong. He feels different, not like himself, and he knows something is about to change. And even more troubling he alone hears a faint train whistle. But that’s impossible: every kid knows there no trains in Hokey Pokey, only tracks.

Master storyteller Jerry Spinelli has written a dizzingly inventive fable of growing up and letting go, of leaving childhood and its imagination play behind for the more dazzling adventures of adolescence, and of learning to accept not only the sunny part of day, but the unwelcome arrival of night, as well.

My reading plan for this week:

1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green