A Tribute to John Green

John Green is an author who captures the heart of every people like me. The lessons I get from his books stays with me until today. I have all his books in my shelf, and I look at them with perfect satisfaction. Here are the reviews of all his books. To J.G., your mind is messing with mine in such a very beautiful way.

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The Fault in Our Stars

In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Cassius says, "The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings." This suggests that life is what we make it. That we are just beings capable of committing mistakes. However, John Green presents Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters as good versions of teens living their lives as good as possible yet, still challenged by cancer. Cancer is most of the time caused by mutation that is in turn most of the time, spontaneous. It was not Hazel's fault to have lung cancer or Augustus to have osteosarcoma. It's their fate. Therefore, the fault in some ways lies in our stars. What makes this book so great is that despite all of these uncontrollable variables in life, they still beautifully managed the only thing that they have hold of- their choices.

The book tackles many themes about life and death and choices. My favorite is the obsession of humans to leave a mark after death. Green concluded that life is better lived when you know that you may not be loved widely but greatly. Oblivion is inevitable, and we ought not to leave something here. We ought to live life as wonderfully as we can.

John Green don't just tell a story. He opens your eyes to realisations. Here are some beautiful quotes I will always use and remember forever. I smile whenever I hear and think of them:

My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations

Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book

As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once

You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world...but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices

Maybe 'okay' will be our 'always

I'm in a rollercoaster that only goes up, my friend.

It's a metaphor, see: You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing

The world is not a wish-granting factory

But you keep the promise anyway. That's what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway

Oh, I wouldn't mind, Hazel Grace. It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you

There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1... Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.

But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful.

The marks humans leave are too often scars

I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.

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Looking For Alaska

Alaska Young smoked to die, Augustus Waters smoked to prove he wouldn't. Another masterpiece John Green brought to us was the love story between Miles "Pudge" Halter who is obsessed with famous last words and the reckless Alaska Young. No, he is not trying to be Nicholas Sparks, he is just being John Green. As compared to the great works of Sparks, John Green tells a love story differently by putting the readers to the reality of how people of today's generation lives. This book deals with the themes of getting out of suffering, conquering fears, being brave and standing up for yourself, and self-confidence. Among all John's books, this is the only one with highlights on them. Here are my favourite quotes:

So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane

When adults say, "Teenagers think they are invincible" ... they don't know how right they are

I may die young, but at least I'll die smart

Sometimes you lose a battle. But mischief always wins the war

Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die

Thomas Edison's last words were "It's very beautiful over there". I don't know where there is, but I believe it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful

The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive

So the labyrinth has a double meaning. It is a metaphor of suffering and doing wrong and having wrong things happen to you and pain yet it also refers to Alaska.

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Turtles All the Way Down

This is the only hard bound John green book we have. It was given by my sisters classmate as a Christmas gift last 2017, that's why. What I love about this book is that it's biological and I can relate to it as i am studying Biology as my undergrad. This book I suppose should be taken seriously since it focuses on obsessive-compulsive behavior by a character named Aza Holmes. As Holmes deal with her spiralling thoughts, she also struggle to become a good version of her vocations: a daughter, a person, a student, a friend. This book also proves that John Green loves mystery so much as Aza solves the mystery of the disappearance of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett.

Here are my favorite quotes from the book:

... but it didn't matter because we were looking at the same sky together... It's quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see

...no one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again

The thing about a spiral is, if you follow it inward, it never actually ends. It just keeps tightening, infinitely

I was beginning to learn that your life is a story told about you, not one that you tell

You are as real as anyone, and your doubts make you more real, not less

What I love about science is that as you learn, you don't really get answers. You just get better questions

To be alive is to be missing

It's turtles all the way fucking down, Holmesy

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Papertowns

Another mystery book that left me with the same feeling I got by reading Looking for Alaska and Eleanor and Park is this masterpiece. It talks about the teenage angst and rebellion that leads to a very wonderful search for life's meaning and life's mysteries. I can't say the movie was excellent because I suggest for you to read it still even if you've already seen it. "Margo always loved mysteries. And in everything that came afterward, I could never stop thinking that maybe she loved mysteries so much that she became one"

An Abundance of Katherines

I love John Green but I've never really loved this book as I love him. Maybe I was too occupied during the time I was reading this or maybe this it was not my type. Anyhow, as Turtles All the Way Down dealt with Biology, this one dealt with Math. Oh that makes sense. I'm not fond of math.