In honor of his new book coming out, I thought I would give a little insight as to why John Green has my undying devotion and support as a high school English Language Arts Teacher.
1. His Books Are Just That Good
Any book that can draw you in from the first page is a good book in my eyes. And all of his books have that magic quality that just makes you want to keep reading and reading. I have had to beg students to put the book away so we could finish a lesson and then promised them that they could take it back out as soon as their work was done. Fighting a student to get them to stop reading? An English teacher’s dream. And the best part? He keeps writing books, which means this fight is never-ending. :)
2. The Sophistication of the Language and Style of Writing
All of Green’s books are intended for a teen/young adult audience. And yet he does not do the normal dumbing down of plot lines and language. His characters, plot, and literary techniques are complicated, sophisticated, and of quality. Because he believes that teenagers are complicated and sophisticated and deserving of quality words to read. The simple assumption that teens can, and want to read high end prose is one that I thank him for. I love any book that gets students hooked on reading regardless of the quality of writing ( I’m looking at you Twilight). However, there is a special place in my heart for the books and authors who respect my students brains enough to give them beautiful literature that assumes they are intelligent, and forces them to think without being so highbrow that the text is inaccessible. From his allusions to Shakespeare and Hemingway’s style in TFIOS, to the complicated math in An Abundance of Katherines, Green respects his teen readers enough to give them complicated material to grapple with. But he also sets them up for success and interest when their pesky ELA teachers hand them these classic texts.
3. The Assumption That Teens Have Meaningful Stories All On Their Own
I love a good dystopian story as much as the next Hunger Games fangirl. But this narrative that one must be special, have a special skill, stand out from the crowd, be the “chosen one”, can leave a lot of kids feeling left in the dust. We can’t all be Katniss or Tris ( as much as I really want to be). Green celebrates the everyday teen without unattainable plot points. His characters are normal boys and girls. In fact, his most beloved characters are boys and girls who are living lives that are way less than ideal. And yet their stories are important. Their stories are interesting. Their stories are exactly what our students need to hear. For this, I am so thankful. To be able to a student a book that they can see themselves in is a true gift. ( and exactly why we need more diverse books, but that is a whole different blog post)
4. The Message That Teens Can Be Smart and It Is Cool To Read and Learn
John Green, you made reading cool. You made learning cool. You made my most reluctant readers want to talk to their peers about books. You made my students have strong emotional reactions to a piece of literature ( How could you do that to Gus?!). You made my students have opinions on what they read. ( “Paper Towns isn’t as good as TFIOS” “No way! Have you read Looking for Alaska?” ) Your words were the catalyst for conversations on books from students who I had never seen pick up a book before. Your words let teens know that you can think big thoughts, and have educated opinions on the world. Teens are capable of being intelligent, and still having fun. I will never forget the day in my ELA class where I threw out the question, “ What is it that you fear?” in reference to a classic text. And I had my most timid and shy student immediately throw her hand in air and answer “oblivion”. I owe John Green for the gaggle of girls who raced into my room the day the Paper Towns trailer came out and begged me to play it nice and big on my projector screen after school. And then their friends in the hall popped their heads in and we played it three more times for even more kids. And these same teens talked up these books and walked right to the school library to see if they could check out something to read. Reading is cool because John Green says it is on instagram and tumblr. And I would never argue with anything posted on tumblr.
Can you tell I am beyond excited to add another Green book to my collection on books to read and recommend? Which of his books is your favorite? Let me know below!
