By NICOLAS NEGRON
Staff Writer
John Green is an accomplished writer and video blogger, having written four novels and co-authored another two. John and his brother Hank have over 1.7 million subscribers on YouTube, and are responsible for the yearly YouTube convention, VidCon. The brothers have gained a huge fan base, and have inspired many school clubs. Green has gained a loyal readership amongst young-adult fiction readers in the past eight years.
Green was an English and religious studies major at Kenyon College. He once critiqued books for the New York Times Book Review. His plans were to become an Episcopal priest. “The Fault in Our Stars” was inspired by Green’s experience working in a children’s hospital for those with serious illness; this is how he chose the path to become an author. The idea for this novel came to his mind in 2000, but he did not write it immediately due to his anger over young lives being taken so quickly. Green has stated that the novel could not be possible without the inspiration of the late Esther Earl, a girl who died at just 16 years old from metastasized papillary thyroid cancer in 2010.
“I could never have written this if I hadn’t known Esther. She introduced me to a lot of the ideas in the book, especially hope in a world that is indifferent to individuals, and empathy. She redefined the process of dying young for me,” says Green to goodreads.com.
“The Fault in Our Stars” is a love story between main characters Hazel Grace Lancaster, who has thyroid cancer, and Augustus Waters, who is in remission from osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. There are surely tears to be shed when reading this young adult novel and it has become a favorite of many. I have read the novel and find it extremely compelling. The reader almost has to take a break between sittings just to digest that seriousness of the situation Hazel and Augustus are in. This is an addicting book and the absolute best love story published in young adult literature in the 21st century. After reading the novel, I realized that I was not as thankful for my health as I should be. All Hazel would like is to breathe properly, an action that most people take for granted. It is not until we look into the lives of others, whether they are fictional or real, that we become grateful. The book is not just a novel for females. The Green brothers have both loyal male and female fans that support the novel.
“[‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is] an electric portrait of young people who learn to live life with one foot in the grave,” says Jodi Picoult, author of the famous novel “My Sister’s Keeper,” another tearjerker about those with a terminal illness.
The book debuted at number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Children’s Chapter Books, although it is for every age. It also hit number 1 on the Wall Street Journal’s Best Seller List. As of late 2013, there are over 1 million copies of the novel in print.
The book has recently been turned into a film directed by Josh Boone. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort star in the film as Hazel and Augustus, respectively. John Green was on set during production and has made video blogs about his experience. Fans are appreciative that Green was on set, giving hope that the book-to-film adaptation has been done right. The film will hit theaters on June 6, 2014. The success that John Green has had is not due to anything but his artistry. He has not written any dystopian fiction series that one would expect an author in the young adult genre to write. Instead, he has written very realistic novels with themes deep routed in the issues teenagers face today. At the age of 36, Green has a long illustrious career to unfold.
