By Ellen Madden
John Michael Green was born in Indianapolis on the 24th of August 1977. He is a well-known young adult romance author, philanthropist, and vlogger. Green graduated from Kenyon College with a degree in English and Religious Studies. He was then a student pastor at a children’s hospital. As he dealt with grief, he decided to change his career path from being a priest to being a writer. After this realisation, he applied to work as a publishing assistant and production editor for Booklist.
In 2005, John Green published his first book, Looking for Alaska, which deals with a teen boy in a boarding school experiencing friendships, love, and loss. In 2006, Looking for Alaska was awarded the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award and the Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults.
A year later, An Abundance of Katherines was published. This book is based on a road trip Colin goes on with his friend Hassan to establish a math equation to predict a successful relationship after being dumped by nineteen Katherines. An Abundance of Katherines won a Booklist Editors’ Choice Award and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year.
Paper Towns was published in 2008; after the success of the book, there was a film adaptation released in 2015. High school seniors Quentin and Margo are in a relationship. Margo helps Quentin with his pranks but disappears suddenly, leaving clues for him to find her. Paper Towns was awarded an Amazon Top Ten Books for Teens title and won the Edgar Award.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson was written by David Levithan and John Green in 2010. This book is written about two teens called Will Grayson who decide to interlock their lives after they meet. This co-written novel won a New York Times Book Review “Editors” Choice Award and an ALA Stonewall Honor Book title.
His most famous book, The Fault in Our Stars, was published in 2012 and later had a film adaptation in 2014. This book is a true heartbreaker as it deals with two teenagers, Hazel and Agustus who are in a relationship, both battling cancer. The Fault in Our Stars was a number one New York Times Bestseller and starred reviews from SLJ and Booklist.
Turtles All the Way Down was his latest published novel 2017. This novel deals with Azas’ perspective on life while dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Green was awarded the Number One Wall Street Journal bestseller and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.
John Green won various awards for his numerous novels, including the number one bestseller. John Green and his brother Hank started a YouTube channel, VlogBrothers, in 2007. Three years later, they cofounded VidCon, a yearly event where video creators can communicate. Between 2018 and 2020, John Green established his podcast, The Anthropocene Reviewed. He later published a book based on several podcasts.