Looking for Alaska / An Abundance of Katherines / Paper Towns / The Fault in Our Stars

by John Green

John Green Fiction Collection 4 Book Set includes The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns An Abundance of Katherines, and Looking For Alaska

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Novels, Young Adult Contemporary, Coming Of Age

Hardcover

Published October 25, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John Green's first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award presented by the American Library Association. His second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Paper Towns, is a New York Times bestseller and won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best YA Mystery. In January 2012, his most recent novel, The Fault in Our Stars, was met with wide critical acclaim, unprecedented in Green's career. The praise included rave reviews in Time Magazine and The New York Times, on NPR, and from award-winning author Markus Zusak. The book also topped the New York Times Children's Paperback Bestseller list for several weeks. Green has also coauthored a book with David Levithan called Will Grayson, Will Grayson, published in 2010. The film rights for all his books, with the exception of Will Grayson Will Grayson, have been optioned to major Hollywood Studios.

In 2007, John and his brother Hank were the hosts of a popular internet blog, "Brotherhood 2.0," where they discussed their lives, books and current events every day for a year except for weekends and holidays. They still keep a video blog, now called "The Vlog Brothers," which can be found on the Nerdfighters website, or a direct link here.

Reviews

[Purva · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m just going to talk about these all at once (Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Paper Towns. The Fault in Our Stars. An Abundance of Katherines.), since I read them all in the span of about a week….

Let me set the scene. I read “Looking for Alaska” a while ago, and after I read and dug it, I bought the rest of his books for my kindle almost immediately. Of these four, I started with TFiOS. I thought to myself, “It’s about 8pm on a Saturday night, Hubby is hunkered down playing videogames, I might as well start a new book.”

This was either the best thing or the worst thing I have ever done.

I read TFiOS in one sitting, from 8pm to after 4am. Hubby kept looking over at me when I had a steady stream of tears and snot coming down my face, sniffling loudly (it sounded like this: *snooooorrrrrkkkkkkkkkk*) and blowing my nose with the Chipotle napkins left from dinner since I didn’t want to step out of the story to go get actual tissues. I was a hot mess. A. Hot. Mess. Getting out of bed for Sunday lunch with my parents was not fun for either of us.

I haven’t cried like that in a long, long time… since March 15, 2009, actually. It was a real catharsis, one that I didn’t know I needed.

I powered through the other three very quickly, and I enjoyed them a lot. I didn’t have as visceral of a reaction to them as I did to TFiOS, but I dug them.

All four are highly recommended, but TFiOS most of all… though not on a work or school night… :)

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out my reviews on the main page of each individual book!

[Jimdrix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this because of Katherines and Paper Towns (+the box which I thought to be a cushioned container instead of a cardboard)

So now I have multiple hardcovers of TFiOS and Alaska, but the cover in each book was different. The Boxed-TFiOS has a "NYTimes Bestseller" mark which I hate because it's already a book to recommend to friends (OR NOT!) so why put that infront, could have been at the back. Then the Boxed-Alaska cover doesn't have a candle, just a smoke; and John Green's name was bigger at the spine both on the dust cover and the actual spine.

Also, the first three books have an engraved colorless signature, unfortunately it's not that he really sign those three. And why the hell did he leave out TFiOS without an engraving? That is so unfair.

And also, each book has a different color on their first and last page. Like the useless page, the it's colored. I liked it actually.

Then lastly, I promise, Katherines and Paper Towns here have a new cover design on a hardcover. The one designed by a nerdfighter and the one with a red pin, consecutively.

Buy it if you haven't read any john green book yet, or you really like the box.

I'm sick while writing this so do not be a grammarian please haha

[Lisa Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Fault in Our Stars" -- Although this book was sad/melancholy (how could a book about teens with cancer not be), it was also a book about life and love (love between parents & child, between friends, new love, and "star-crossed" love). The characters were engaging.

[Liarstillinfinity · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in love with John Green's books. It's not about the stories, it's about what we learn from them. He has all the answers of all the questions that we ask ourselves but can't put into words. Every time I finish one of his books, i spend the entire day thinking about his quotes He's a genius

[safia ☼ · Rating 4 out of 5]

First review, this might be bad x)
All of John Green's books are great, in my opinion. I've always found him to be one of the more constant authors out there, and one of my favorites. But I've also seen constant patterns in his books. Examples: a broken-down car and a "psychopathic" type of driver. An extremely hot, sexy girl (or boy, in the case of TFiOS). Sometimes it gets a bit tiring to read the same type of book over and over again, but with John Green, even though his books have many similarities, each of them is also unique in each of their different ways. It is these factors that make me enjoy his books more than authors who have recurring themes in their books. And that concludes my slight failure of a review, as I am off to do homework!

[Amy Titus · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best authors for young adults out there today, in my humble opinion. Every time I recommend one of his books to my high school readers, they come back amazed and ready for more of his stories. I have read all of the titles in this boxed set. The Fault in Our Stars is my current favorite. It is a story adults would also enjoy!

[Natasha Sevdalakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I have ever loved one particular author so much! John Green is a fantastic author, his writing is amazing! I have read all of these books more than once and the emotions experienced are the same every single time
FIVE STARS!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only just finished Fault of the Stars..cried constantly...wondering if this is the lived experience older teenagers gave when dealing /cancer... it all felt authentic..a well written book...but challenges the emotion.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have a chance to get this box set, it's quite worth it. Shop around a little, read all the seller's descriptions VERY carefully, and write down how they advertised it (so if you don't get what they SAID they'd sell you you can reference their words back to them when you write back and ask why they didn't honor their ad.) Amazon has very good support so, quite worth the effort to find a good offer. :) And these are REALLY well written books.

Parents, if you have children that you want to read books that will inspire them to look beyond the surface-- learn to feel empathy for other people-- think about higher issues, like life after death, what is it like when a teenager gets cancer?

Can a teen who has cancer who falls in love with their true love experience a piece of their 'infinity'--Now-- as a young person? Can they seek fulfillment, and purpose in the short time they have?

Do we always know why we love someone? Is our idea of why we love them always right?

If you think these are GOOD QUESTIONS for your kids to be asking themselves (I sure as heck do)-- buy this set, or get these books from the library.

John Green writes about who Teenagers are. He also has a Vlog series on the web with his brother where they talk to each other, and answer fan questions: www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers
, an educational series, www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse‎
he often hosts Mental Floss, a Youtube show that gives odd, but useful information: www.youtube.com/user/MentalFlossVideo‎

Last I looked, Mr. Green had 5 out of the New York Times, Best Sellers List, Young Adult Hard Cover Books.

Would I want my child exposed to John Green? Well, only if I want them to model themselves after someone who is funny, open minded, extremely intelligent, honestly likes young people and respects them and WANTS them to learn and respect themselves.

So, oh.. yes please! My girls can watch both the Green brother's videos and read John Green's books all they want.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Green is a powerhouse writer and one of the best in YA. He manages to create realistic stories with both humour and heart. The characters are authentic and the humour comes naturally.

My favourite book of his is The Fault in Our Stars. It is a near perfect book and will remain iconic in YA for generations to come.

My second favourite is An Abundance of Katherines. It has a weird blurb but it is a hilarious story. I found myself laughing aloud dozens of times while reading this novel.

Paper Towns is my third favourite story. It is very funny and a mystery.

Looking for Alaska, while my least favourite of his works is still very good. The reason Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns are my least favourites is because I find the main female characters (Alaska and Margo) annoying. Although this is arguably the point of both novels (to break down the illusion of the manic pixie dream girl) it decreased my enjoyment of the novel. Having said that they are both 4 star books and definitely worth reading.

A John Green novel is a must read and guaranteed to be excellent.

[Aseel · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Aly Engaged · Rating 5 out of 5]

( review for Looking for Alaska ) Miles best known as “ Pudge” attends Culver Creek a boarding school his father attended. He was very closed and shy until he meets Colonel, his roommate and the mysterious Alaska. “Pudge” hasn’t been big on taking a risk , that is until he opened up to these amazing people in his life, his life changes for the better and he learns a deal about how truly precious life can be.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the fault in our stars. I didn’t know what to expect from the title, but once I started reading I could understand how the book had that title. The book itself had a great storyline and plot.

[Abby Shiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is for the book Papertowns by John Green. The beginning was amazing, totally hooked me in, loved the intrigue and the idea of the scavenger hunt that Margot was sending Q on. Unfortunately, by the end of the book I was over it. I felt like the story petered out and I just wanted it to be over. When I read The Fault in Our Stars I literally could not put the book down. That story hooked me from beginning to end without letting up on the intensity. This story just fell flat after awhile which was a disappointment. I gave it three stars because the beginning was well done and the idea was interesting.

[annie]

John Green has got to be one of the world's best artist. He creates a character that has a kind of intelligence that readers love to indulge. And of course, the girl of the book, has to be quite mysterious and have a quirky intelligence that intrigues both the reader and the male character. Green himself, is a interesting person. The books all include a different kind of trigger that makes you want to know MORE. It makes you read 'between the lines', and makes you think of the deeper meaning. The four books are truly a wonder that people who love fictional literature should read. Though the endings of some, may cause people to differ from others.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

John green is by far my favorite author. he inspires me tremendously and with everything he writes, it's like I feel like he understands me and just life. the way he writes is so true and real and his books are so good that I'm selfish when it comes to sharing them with other people. it's like I want to be the only one to read them because I want to be the only connected to them, even though so many young adults love them. I really recommend these books

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fault in our Stars is a book that stays with you after you finish it....

[Julieta · Rating 5 out of 5]

September 2013; Looking for Alaska, 5/5★
September 2013; The fault in our stars, 5/5★
September 2014; Paper towns, 5/5★
September 2014; An Abundance of Katherines 2/5★

[Elena Sludnikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read The Fault in Our Stars only. The story is sad, but it has so to think about afterwards. I would recommend reading it with lots of tissue.

[Natalie Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Green, himself, must be made of gold.

[Ceara · Rating 4 out of 5]

EACH. ONE. WORTH. IT.

[Marianne Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the Fault in Our Stars. Great discussion at our book club meeting.

[Sydney Wellman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The critically acclaimed novel Looking for Alaska by John Green tells the compelling story of a group of teenagers navigating their way through the many obstacles of their junior year of high school. The novel is particularly enlightening on the topics of childhood trauma and mental health, touching on many important issues that continue to affect the minds and lives of teenagers. As Green’s first published novel, Looking for Alaska won the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature and claimed the title of New York Times Bestseller. Since Looking for Alaska, Green has put out other bestsellers, including but not limited to Turtles All the Way Down and his most popular novel, The Fault in our Stars. Looking for Alaska brings awareness to the struggles facing today’s youth through an entertaining yet heart wrenching story that I recommend for everyone.
As the new kid at Culver Creek boarding school, Miles Halter (referred to as Pudge by his new friends) does not know the adventure he is about to find himself on when his new roommate, Chip (the Colonel), introduces him to Alaska. Miles is immediately enthralled by her, wondering if she could be part of the “Great Perhaps” he came to Culver Creek seeking. Miles and his friends have fun pulling pranks and going against the rules, and it is evident that they all, more prominently Alaska, have mental health issues. On one occasion, Miles notices that Alaska finishes her cigarette quickly. When asked about it, Alaska responds, “Y’all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die” (Green 44). While this is taken as a joke in the moment, the kids later come to question the sincerity of the statement. After Alaska is killed in a car crash due to her drunk driving halfway, Miles and Chip wonder whether the accident was really an accident or a suicide. The rest of the book recounts how the kids react to Alaska’s death, through blaming themselves, arguing with each other, and replaying the night in their heads to try to figure out what was going through Alaska’s.
Looking for Alaska is a book I would recommend to anyone who is interested in a sad, coming of age story or looking to learn about mental health in teenagers through fictional characters. While the book is enjoyable and enlightening, there were a few things that personally I did not like. Taking into account that the novel was published in 2005, I do not think Green writes some social aspects of teenagers’ lives realistically. For instance, there is one occasion in the book where the kids are freestyle rapping, which is not something that normally happens, and the lyrics were obviously not written by a teen. In addition, in my opinion, the title is misleading and not totally clarified in the novel. While it’s an interesting twist that “Alaska” is the name of a character and not referring to the state, the kids are never really looking for her, so the story is not what I was expecting based on the title. However, these are just two negatives that I noticed in the entirety of the novel, and they are outweighed by the many positives. Green does an exceptional job of making the characters relatable and entertaining and the story profound. This novel is great for anyone, specifically those interested in young adult novels and enjoy other works of Green’s. Looking for Alaska provokes deep thoughts and leaves the reader pensive.

[Ashley Hedden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The John Green Collection was a great read by John Green. The John Green Collection includes; Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and The Fault in Our Stars. Looking for Alaska was a great read by John Green. Miles is tired of his safe life at home. Everything has been one big non-event as well as an obsession with famous last words. He goes to Culver Creek Boarding School and is life gets the complete opposite of safe. Alaska Young lives down the hall. She’s gorgeous, funny, self-destructive, and fascinating.She pulls Miles into her world, steals his heart, and then nothing is the same again. An Abundance of Katherines was a great read by John Green. Colin Singleton has a type and it happens to be girls named Katherine. He always gets dumped by them, and there have been 19 of them to be exact. He is an anagram loving child prodigy who is on a road trip with ten thousand dollars in his pocket. He is on a mission to prove The Theorum of Underlying Katherine Predictability. He hopes that he can use this to predict the future of relationships and finally win the girl. The Fault in Our Stars was an amazing book by John Green. I absolutely loved this book. It was emotional, funny, witty and an amazing book. I fell in love with the characters and hurt with them, as well as smiled with them. This book brought so many emotions out of me.I cried at times and smiled at times, but I came out of reading this a different person. I can not wait to read more by John. Everyone needs to read this especially if you know someone or have lost someone to cancer. Amazing job by an amazing writer. Paper Towns by John Green was a great book. It not only kept you enthralled but it kept you guessing the entire book. Margo and Quentin are two people that you sometimes think would make a great couple. I loved reading about Quentin's quest to find Margo. This was a great book that I think everyone should read.

[Emma Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books didn’t have particularly bad writing styles, definitely something I would have enjoyed more at 13-15 rather than 19 though. That is no fault of anyone, and I understood what type of genre these are.

A big thing I love about John Green is his exploration of vague topics and how not everything has a straightforward answer. He explores concepts of happiness, death, youth, life, love, relationships, etc. All vague topics with no right or wrong answer. The characters are flawed, as like humans in the real world are. We get frustrated and upset at the characters but we also smile when they joke around together. That makes the whole experience feel as if I was a part of someones story or at least a listener of their adventure. It was realistic and that made me connect more.

Not bad, but nothing that made me fall in love. I rate it 3.5 stars but rounded up to 4.

Also with all these books basically having one male and female main character was a bit overused but the side characters were great!

[Beldomisa Mendes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This movie and book were both so well written and acted out. I felt pain, heartache, sadness, and tragicness as well as the love, happiness, excitement, and epicness from both the book and movie, it made me smile, tear up, laugh and then cry over and over again! I couldn’t help but love the actors that were chosen for this movie as they definitely brought these characters and the pain and emotions that Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters feel to life..But one thing that will stay with me is definitely the quote “without pain, we couldn’t know joy” and although one might consider that a metaphor (not as good as Gus’s metaphor but still good) we also get told by Hazel Grace that “Pain demands to be felt.” So we take these quotes and this story and we hold on to them because they can be used in the real world and in our lives to better ourselves as we are on a rollercoaster that only goes up!

[Kori Buchholz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of this collection, I have only read Paper Towns and The fault in Our Stars. Paper Towns is a young adult fiction novel intended for kids 14 and up. Paper Towns debuted at #5 on the New York Times bestseller list and won the 2009 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery. The book was written by John Green and published in 2008. The book is about a boy coming of age and how he is about to start his adult life. It also centers around the adventure he and his friends take to try and find their friend through paper clues. The Fault in Our Stars is also a young adult fiction novel intended for kids 13 and older. The book won Goodreads Choice Awards Best Young Adult Fiction and Audie Award for Teens. The book was written by John Green and published in 2012. This book is about a teen girl who is diagnosed with lung cancer and attends a support group and meets a young boy. I rated both books 3 stars because the plot of both stories were really good and I enjoyed reading them. I would read again.

[Matthew Rich]

This review is just for A Fault in Our Stars:

Two teenagers, both cancer stricken, feel as though their dreams and hopes are too far off from when they expect themselves to die. Together, they try to fulfil at least one of their dreams to meet a hermit of an author in Amsterdam. This book tells a story of love, death, and acceptance, understanding that we may not be able to change the future, but we can still live in the present.

A Fault in Our Starts is not a book I typically would enjoy reading. I've never been one for mostly romance style stories. However, this book really does deserve its popularity. The characters feel real; teenagers trying desperately to face hardship like an adult, pretending they know what they're doing. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this
TW: Death, cancer