3.5 stars, really.

I’ve been a fan of John (on YouTube) for years now, and I think I just have to accept I’m not really a fan of his writing. I need to remind myself I don’t need to like every part of someone’s ‘presence’ to enjoy other parts.

I find the way he writes first person narratives very out of touch with how real people think and speak. No one in real life speaks and thinks in so many metaphors, and it makes it a bit of a trawl to read.

The plot of this book is probably my second ‘favourite’ JG book, after TFIOS (which made me cry a lot). His other books I ended up giving away because i just couldn’t cope with the writing style and how pretentious the characters are.

The good parts? The plot was interesting and does raise awareness about mental health (although as someone who doesn’t suffer from this particular MH issue, I don’t know how accurate the portrayal is). The writing style was more manageable than other books of his I’ve tried to read.

It probably doesn’t help John’s case that I’m a super fantasy fan, and contemporary doesn’t engage me as much. Plus, at 30, I probably am not the age of the target audience. Again, I need to remember that I can be a John Green fan without being a John Green The Author fan.