YA Authors You Need to Read: John Green

This article first appeared on the examiner on July 22, 2010.

John Green is a New York Times Bestselling author of four books for teenagers. His first book won the Michael L. Printz award and his second book earned him a Printz Honor mention. In addition to his writing, he is incredibly popular on the Internet with his twitter and his youtube channel. When not spending time writing or tweeting, Green devotes his time to his newest project—a baby boy.

“Looking for Alaska” won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award and was also listed as one of the American Library Association’s top ten Best Books for Young Adults. “Alaska” is a heartbreaking story of friendship between three teens at a private school. Miles, ironically nicknamed Pudge because of his complete lack of body fat, is looking for his great perhaps—his life altering experience. He finds it when he meets Chip, nicknamed the Colonel, and Alaska, a wild carefree girl with deep dark wounds that only occasionally surface. The characters are interesting, three dimensional, and dynamic and the story is realistic and well written. Green’s inaugural novel definitely deserved the high honor of the Printz award.

Subsequent Books

“An Abundance of Katherines” (review here)
“Paper Towns” (East Greenbush YA Librarian Chrissie Morrison’s review here)
“Will Grayson, Will Grayson”

You can find more information about John Green on his website or follow him throughtwitter. You can watch his vlogs with his brother Hank Green on their youtube channel.

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