Paperback's Pondering's is a weekly discussion when I take a topic and well, ponder about it! This week's topic is where I discuss why John Green books seem to have more negative reviews than good in the bookish community, and why I think he deserves a lot more credit than he gets.
There is one bookish opinion that I have had since I first started YA and that will probably never change, and that is that I love John Green books. I read TFIOS first, and I fell in love with the characters and the quotes. Then I read Paper Towns, which was by far one of my all time favourite books. I respect this author a whole lot, so something that I wasn't expecting when entering this bookish community was the amount of people who seem to hate his books.
John Green gained a lot of hype around 2013/14 when the TFIOS movie came out. Suddenly, quotes spread like wildfire on Tumblr, Ansel Elgort became a teen idol, and even the non-readers fell in love. This YA book was hyped until it couldn't be hyped anymore. I came to discover John Green earlier than the hype, but I have to admit, once it started I bought into it so much and appreciated this book even more. So you can imagine my surprise when I started my blog and wanted to fangirl with anyone and everyone, and I didn't find many people who liked his books.
I can honestly say that I have yet to meet a book blogger who loved TFIOS. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not telling people that their opinion is wrong, but I wonder where all the John Green lovers are? Certainly I'm not the only devoted bookworm who appreciated his books so much?
A lot of people argue that his books are cliche, predictable and just appeal to the hyped up teenage fangirl. Well I beg to differ. Green writes in way that sounds like a song. To me, he weaves humour into tense moments with such grace, that it almost makes you laugh when you actually should be crying. His quotes speak to me on an emotional level, and I think he puts such a positive outlook on life in his books. So why can't other people see that?
I think that there is an image of John Green books that they only appeal to light and fluffy fangirls. Well let me tell you, if you've ever read TFIOS, then you will know that it is far from light and fluffy. People just assume that because the book was hyped up so much, that it has basically been butchered and is too mainstream to try. I wish some people would look beyond the hype!
I have seen negative reviews of Paper Towns as well, which I can't even bring myself to read because I just love this book so much, but there are many times where people almost make me feel bad for loving his books. They are MORE than the hype, they are MORE than just Ansel Elgort's pretty face, and I just want them to touch other people as emotionally as they touched me.
Again, if you've read his books and didn't like them, I'm obviously not telling you that your opinion is wrong, this is just a call out to people who haven't read his books to still give them a try! I also want to be able to connect with more lovers of his books, so if you do love his books, PLEASE let me know! Sometimes I feel as if I'm the only one here.
I want to know what you think! Do you love/hate John Green's books, and WHY?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY AND THANK YOU FOR FINALLY SAYING THIS.
ReplyDeleteTfios is my favorite John green book! I love it endlessly! I adore all of John greens books and his writing, but sometimes it throws me off because people don't really like his books.
When I was booktubing, I made a video where I did a story time on the time I had to defend him from some snotty guy at my school. He said he I only liked him because he had one best seller? I was in such shock of how arrogant his statement was that I couldn't think of something sassy to say back.
OMG YAY!!! Tfios was literally a masterpiece of large proportions. It seriously annoys me when people literally judge you for liking his books. I mean, many other authors are bestsellers but nobody gives their fans a second look, you know what I mean?
DeleteYES! I agree so much! John green has flaws in his books but that's what I love so much about them. He has beautiful writing and flaws where we need imperfections!
DeleteDefinitely an amazingly crafted author :)
DeleteSee, I'm not a fan of his writing and it's not because of the hype. I've read all his books because I so desperately wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I honestly wish I'd stopped after I read TFiOS. I read Looking for Alaska first and enjoyed it - thought it was unique, even. Yeah, Alaska was an annoying Manic Pixie Dream Girl but I could look past it.
ReplyDeleteGoing on to read all his other things I noticed that he has a formula: quirky, nerdy, awkward male main character + Manic Pixie Dream Girl + pretension. All of his character felt like carbon copies of each other, and Paper Towns and An Abundance of Katherine's were basically the same book.
I don't care that his books are so popular, I just care that - in my opinion - he can't craft unique stories or change his voice throughout his works. I see him as a bit of a one trick pony, but I won't be going out and criticising the people who like his books. I'm sure there are authors I like that people think 'what is she on about?!'
I feel this same way! His books are very formulaic to me.
DeleteI don't really feel the same way obviously, but I respect your opinion! It just annoys me the amount of people who hardcore judge his readers, that's not cool. I appreciate you giving him a try though!
DeleteAnd I respect yours! I don't like John Green and you don't like Throne of Glass - we just have different preferences. I agree that it's not cool to judge his readers though. Surely any reading is good, regardless of if you like the same books as someone else?
DeleteAbsolutely! I'm just more of a contemporary gal while you're more of a fantasy, and some people need to realize that that's ok!
DeleteI love the TFIOS! it was a beautiful book! It tugged on all my heart strings! His writing style is different from that of other authors, I agree with you that he has a song like quality to his writing!
ReplyDeletevictoriaahelenn.blogspot.com
Thanks for stopping by! He has an amazing style that it different from everyone else that's for sure.
DeleteI haven't read any John Green books (*hides under desk at barrage of fangirls yelling at me*) so I can't comment on him as an author really.
ReplyDeleteThe reasons I haven't read John Green are numerous, and range from his books being ever-absent from the library, to TFioS being mega-hyped when my mother was actually going through cancer treatment... and I just couldn't deal with a sad cancer book at that point. I just couldn't.
One of these days I might get around to picking one up... but it'll be when I feel like it, and not before.
But if you love his books Em, shout it from the ever-loving rooftops!!!! This is why we're all here - to talk about the books we love :)
I definitely think you should give one a try! I'd personally recommend Paper Towns as its a lot lighter in tone and utterly hilarious. And I definitely think I need to proclaim my love for these books more, others must hear about his greatness!
DeleteNice post! Personally, while I quite enjoyed TFiOS, I absolutely hated the rest of his books. They are so similar to me and follow the same formula. Sometimes it is hard to tell if there is anything truly different from each book. And they really seem like cookie cutter books catered to the teen girl population. I like him as a person, but as an author, he's not good in my book.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people have been saying that, but maybe I just see his books differently than everyone else. I find him to have an incredible voice that really speaks to me in his books. Happy you like TFIOS though!
DeleteGreat post Emily! Different opinions are ALWAYS so fresh to read. I personally don't enjoy John Green books. (I love him as a person though). I actually don't think his books are for the teenage girl population- I have seen guys read his books, which is rare for guys reading YA.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with his books is the tone. The first few pages it's witty and crisp, but after a while it kind of drones on and on and on. After my first two John Green books, it seemed like the jokes and characterization was trying too hard. That's my opinion :)
I think that's the main thing that I've been hearing from people. I really enjoy the wittyness personally, but I can see how that would get annoying.
Deleteit's great that you can love something so much! i personally don't like john green's books. i've seen a good mix of bloggers who like and dislike his books, though, so it's strange you've only run into bloggers who dislike green. most blogger's i've seen who dislike green's works don't cite the hype as their reason for disliking his writing, though, usually it's because they find his works boring, pretentious, and formulaic. all i know is that i just couldn't get into paper towns and tfios, they just werent for me. but again, im glad you love his works because, honestly, that's all that matters :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you didn't like Paper Towns! I don't think I'll ever understand why many don't like his books, I just can't see them that way, but that just proves that everyone views a book differently. And I'm definitely not letting anyone rain on my parade.
DeleteI'm highly offended, Emily! I absolutely LOVE TFioS and I've only read one other John Green book (Looking for Alaska) and I loved it too! I think he has a lovely, very captivatng writing style, and I like his wit and humor too! I'm sorry you've so far only come across bloggers who don't like the author's works, but rest assured that there are a lot of us who DO love them! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to hear that, Ruzaika! You must read Paper Towns, it's even more humorous than the others. I can't believe I didn't know you liked his books, we must talk about how great they are haha!
DeleteI read a few of his book, and they just feel okay to me. I mean, the plot is pretty decent, but others are quite formulaic. The dialogue are pretentious, the characters are copy of each other. But he got a lot of fan, and he's a really nice person. It's okay though, we all have different reading preferences :D
ReplyDeleteTasya // The Literary Huntress