Green beautifully tackles mental illness in ‘Turtles All the Way Down’ (2017, 2024)
Book and movie reviews: The author manages to make modern troubled teens not annoying. Just don’t come here for the mystery.
Green and his prankish teens seek meaning in ‘Looking for Alaska’ (2005)
Throwback Thursday (Book review): Green’s debut novel pulls off the neat trick of making its title character both ephemeral and believable.
‘Let It Snow’ is a light but watchable Gen Z X-mas gathering (Movie review)
“Let It Snow” (November, Netflix) comes from a 2008 novel co-written by coming-of-age chronicler John Green. It’s adapted by Kay Cannon (“Pitch Perfect”) and two other writers for this who’s-who of Gen Z actors. Although I only recognized Kiernan Shipka (“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”) and Jacob Batalon (the best bud in the MCU’s “Spider-Mans”), the
Eulogy for a trope: ‘Looking for Alaska’ turns its Manic Pixie Dream Girl into a full-fledged character (TV review)
The eight-episode Hulu series “Looking for Alaska” shatters the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope while also being one of the best MPDG stories ever told. Walking a delicate tightrope from start to finish, showrunner Josh Schwartz (“The O.C.,” “Gossip Girl”) – who writes or co-writes five of the eight episodes – gives us the teen
‘Paper Towns’ is ‘American Graffiti’ for a new generation … but it’s no ‘American Graffiti’ (Movie review)
On the surface, there’s a lot to like about “Paper Towns” (now available from Redbox), as a group of high school seniors goes on one last (or one FIRST, as the case may be) grand adventure before graduation. Quentin (Nat Wolff) and his friends explore the run-down urban areas of west Orlando for clues left by his
‘The Fault in Our Stars’ romanticizes cancer … beautifully (Movie review)
Have the Kleenex ready for “The Fault in Our Stars,” a story about a teen stricken with the death sentence of cancer. Or have your stress pills ready. This movie, based on the popular young-adult novel by John Green and now available on DVD, has garnered its share of backlash from those who believe it romanticizes cancer.