I first heard about John Green from a friend who said she bawled her eyes out while reading one of his books. Yes, you guessed it right. It’s THAT book I am talking about. So I ordered a copy, started reading, and before I knew it, I had finished the entire thing in one sitting. Let’s just say that my friend wasn’t exaggerating.
I mean, come on. You all would agree with me. Just like millions of other readers, even I was an emotional wreck by the time I reached the last page. What fascinated me the most about the story was its characters. They were real and raw as if they had walked straight out of life and onto the book.
Of course, once I tasted the heartwrenching end of his book, I had to go down the rabbit hole and read everything he’s ever written. A few books by John Green broke me, but they’ve all healed me in some way or the other. So, I’ve decided to rank them. From the ones that completely wrecked me in the best way possible and the ones that left me a little underwhelmed:
1. The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet (2021)
This one sits at the very top for me because the book felt the most personal and real. Unlike his other novels, this is John Green unfiltered. He reflects on life, love, pain, joy, and the strangeness of being human.
I rarely read non-fiction books but this one floored me. I loved how he could write about something as small as Diet Dr Pepper and make it feel profound. It’s the book that made me pause, reread, and really think about my own life. The Anthropocene Reviewed made me realize that John Green is simply an excellent writer.
Favorite Quote: “We all know how loving ends. But I want to fall in love with the world anyway, to let it crack me open. I want to feel what there is to feel while I am here.”
2. The Fault in Our Stars (2012)
The Fault In Our Stars made John Green a household name and my entry point to the author. The way Hazel and Augustus talk, joke, and fall in love while living with the shadow of illness is both heartbreaking and strangely hopeful.
John Green’s quotes, his way of weaving sentences together, is what makes him one of the best YA writers of all time. He has this rare ability to take ordinary thoughts and turn them into lines that feel both timeless and deeply personal. He has beautifully written some of the most beautiful sentences of all time that will make you want to carry them in your heart forever. If you are looking for some sad books to read, this is your best bet.
Favorite Quote: “As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.”
3. Turtles All the Way Down (2017)
I bought this book the day it was released, and I was so stoked to read it. And honestly, I was disappointed at all. This book hit me in a very different way. It wasn’t about grand adventures or love stories. It was about living in your own mind and how exhausting that can be.
Aza’s OCD felt so raw and honest that I couldn’t stop thinking about it long after I finished reading the book. It is heavy, but also strangely comforting, because it reminded me I am not alone in my own spirals. This is easily one of the best YA books of all time.
Favorite Quote: “You’re both the fire and the water that extinguishes it. You’re the narrator, the protagonist, and the sidekick. You’re the storyteller and the story told. You are somebody’s something, but you are also your you.”
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4. Paper Towns (2008)
Paper Towns was a quick read but it was a bit mediocre in terms of storyline. It was a fun book with mystery and the road trip adventure angle. However, it was lacklustre because I couldn’t connect with the characters. They felt more like ideas than real people.
Margo as the mysterious ‘manic pixie dream girl’ trope, and Quentin as the lovestruck boy projecting his fantasies onto her. Their interactions didn’t feel grounded enough for me to care deeply about them, which made the emotional payoff fall flat. It’s a good book but it’s not worthy of being in the top 3 list.
Favorite Quote: “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.”
5. Looking for Alaska (2005)
Looking for Alaska is John Green’s debut novel. Perhaps that’s why this coming-of-age novel feels a bit unpolished. The book is powerful. It is chaotic, emotional, and full of teenage intensity. At its core, the book is about friendship, grief, and the search for meaning, told through the lens of a group of misfit teens at a boarding school.
The first half captures the thrill of discovery. Falling in love, making friends, testing boundaries. The second half hits with the weight of loss, guilt, and unanswered questions. It’s a good book and has a sad ending but it’s not impactful and you won’t remember any of the events or characters after you finish the book.
Favorite Quote: “We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, and we cannot die.”
6. An Abundance of Katherines (2006)
An Abundance of Katherines is undoubtedly my least liked John Green book. It is quirky and nerdy in its own way, but it just didn’t resonate with me the way his other novels did. The whole premise of Colin dating nineteen girls named Katherine felt more like an attention-seeking gimmick than the foundation for a meaningful story.
It had math equations, footnotes, and anagrams but they still didn’t draw me in. However, the book still has traces of John Green’s quintessential writing. The witty banter, lovely quotes, the exploration of identity, and the search for meaning in everyday life. But compared to the raw emotional punch of Looking for Alaska or The Fault in Our Stars, this one just didn’t leave a lasting impression on me.
Favorite Quote: “There’s some people in this world who you can just love and love and love no matter what.”
Final Words
All of John Green’s books have left me with something lasting. A lesson, an ache, a spark. But above all, they have left me with a longing. An intense longing to write a book of my own someday. And maybe that’s the greatest gift his work has given me. Not just the joy of reading, but the courage to dream of writing something that might one day make someone else laugh, cry, or simply feel a little less alone.
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