John Green: Redundant or Unique?

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kristenjc
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John Green: Redundant or Unique?

Post by kristenjc »

Admit it, we were all big fans of John Green when we were around the age of thirteen. At least I know I was. To my thirteen year old self, John Green "understood me." He wrote about novels that had quirky girls and always a semi average guy as the lover. Of course, I Imagined myself as that quirky girl that no one could understand. I felt connected to these books. Don't get me wrong, at nineteen years old now, I still can appreciate the works of John Green and I love him as a person, but now I look upon those books and notice how damn redundant they all were. Each had a normal guy just trying to do his thing and along comes his manic pixie dream girl and oh my his whole world is turned upside down! A+ John for really understanding how to cater to young teens. Anyway, the point I am trying to make is, yes, John Green is a great author and writes well, but yes, he is redundant as hell. So no, I will not be reading his new book Turtles All the Way Down. However, I bet my thirteen year old self would have as she fell into that never ending loop of reading books with extremely similar plot lines and cliches.
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DustinPBrown
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Post by DustinPBrown »

He's found his niche. Is it any different from any mystery writer who has a 14-book series following the same detective? Or the romance writers with hundreds of erotica to their name? I've only read one of his books (and it was exactly how you described it), and I agree, he's a fine writer and tells his stories well. But yes, they're all essentially the same. If his market is young teens, then I say let him go at it.
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mollymce
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Post by mollymce »

I always have a good time reading John Green books. The characters may be a bit flimsy, but the stories are just so adventurous and easy to follow that you just want to snuggle up and read one of his books. For example, Looking for Alaska was an interesting story. But Pudge and Alaska were stereotypes disguised as people. I enjoy the storyline itself (the iconic toothpaste scene) but the characters were too weak to get any real depth from the book.
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Post by Mekkinism »

He's fine. I cried a little bit reading the Fault in Our Stars, I'll admit. I do find though, that all his characters sound the same and they all sound more like him than any actual teenager. I think his teenage audience appreciate those characters because at that age it's really hard to distinguish intelligence and maturity for obnoxious pretentiousness. (I certainly couldn't!). He's a good writer, though, there's no doubt about it.
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Post by Fu Zaila »

I wasn't a big fan of Fault in Our Stars when I read it at age 14, nor was I a fan of Looking for Alaska which I read around the same time. But I love his thought process and his writing style. Sure, he does have a repetitive plot in his books, but I find myself reading his books all the same.
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Post by TaaraLynn »

I've only read Fault in Our Stars, but I was already in my twenties by the time I read it. At first and at certain points, I could not get into it, but when I did, boy, did I enjoy it. Even pulled a full quotes from it because I was inspired. I had seen the names of his other books/summaries in Fault, and I was just like meh, I'd never really read those. The summaries of those books seemed similar. Honestly, I ask myself today, 'Did I really enjoy Fault in Our Stars, or did I make myself like it because it was all the hype?'

I think I liked the random few quotes that I pulled from it rather than the whole book. But everyone's gotta find their niche, right?
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Post by varshita kolipaka »

I've read only one book by John Green, his recent " Turtles all the way down" which does NOT disappoint. He addresses OCD with a quirky young girl's point of view quite realistically since the author himself is diagnosed with it. Like most of his novels the story revolves around quirky characters. It's predicable yet lovable.
I must say, if you read too many of his books, it might be redundant. However, It's an insightful and a refreshing take on people with mental problems especially if you're new to his work.
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Post by AliceofX »

I think that happens with a lot of people. The things they liked as a child (under 10 or so) are classics. Even as an adult they still give you those warm, fuzzy feelings and good memories. Whereas the things you liked as a teen now seem cringe-inducing and should be buried in the deepest hole you can dig.

As for John Green, I've only read Paper Towns and that was as an adult. It was okay, but it made me realize his books are not for me. Sorry, but I don't look back on my teenage years as the best time of my life.
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Post by zarah_ »

His books are okay; I don't dislike them but I don't love them either. Read his book a few years ago out of curiosity (because my other friends were reading them as well. I have to agree that he's a good writer, but the stories never really "stuck" with me.
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Post by _Delly_01 »

Yay! I'm so glad someone said it. Yes, he is most definitely redundant. The only book he's written differently is The Fault in Our Stars, and I hated it because the kiss in the Anne Frank house seemed so disrespectful to me. I was never a fan, but now I stay well away.
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Post by jolener23 »

To be frank with you, I never liked his work. I always felt uncomfortable reading it, maybe it was too cliche for me. It reminds me of a bad fanfiction story about Harry Styles.
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Post by sush_destiny »

Yes, he is redundant and cliche, but, honestly, which teenager doesn't like him? It is only later that you realize that he was redundant.
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Post by Amyra27 »

I think that Titles All The Way Down was a really great book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Yes, you can say that he is redundant but his books are really different. His writing makes his books stand out.
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Post by Nisha Ward »

To be honest, I've never wanted to read his books because by the time I'd heard of him, his books just all seemed to be the same thing with different skins to me. There's nothing wrong with that, but he's a writer in a niche genre I'm already not a huge fan of, so the redundancy turned me off. I'm sure he's a fine writer otherwise.
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Post by Jake7542 »

I'd say definitely unique. The whole perspective of the book is different and makes you truly think about what some people may be going through. For instance the whole band-aid upsession and 'bacteria which are the only reasons we are alive' really got me personally thinking- in the end it's the parasites that have control over our lives.
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