Talking with young-adult-novel writer John Green

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If you think young-adult novels are just for teen-agers, you haven't read John Green's books.Since 2005, Green, 31, has published three novels featuring quirky, likable protagonists trying to figure out who they are in the midst of challenging circumstances.While Green's characters are focused on the quintessential teen-age task of self-identity, his books also have much to appeal to adult audiences, including complex, intriguing plots and a writing style that deftly combines humor with drama.Many authors would be thrilled to have adults reading their books because of the widespread belief that books for adults are taken more seriously by critics and readers. Green, meanwhile, believes that writing for teens is much more fulfilling than writing for adults."I feel very grateful to have an adult readership that is so smart and thoughtful," Green said in a recent telephone interview from his home in Indianapolis."But the core audiences for my books are high-school and college students. I like them as an audience tremendously -- they're in the process of forming their values."Still, Green's latest book, "Paper Towns" (Dutton, $17.99), offers further proof of his "crossover" appeal as it details the story of an Orlando, Fla., high-school senior named Quentin intent on discovering what happened to Margo, a reckless girl who seems to have vanished into thin air.Smitten by Margo's beauty and daredevil nature, Quentin believes that she has left a trail of clues for him, and he feels compelled to follow it. His journey takes him and his friends to some unusual, and occasionally dangerous, places; more importantly, however, the expedition teaches Quentin some truths about himself and about Margo and about the nature of love.In the past three years, Green has become one of the leading authors in the young-adult genre. His books aren't mega-best sellers like the "Twilight" series by Stephenie Meyer, but they are steadily popular.In addition, Green's books have won major kudos from critics as well as readers. All three of his books have been optioned as movies."Looking For Alaska," Green's first book, won the 2006 Michael Printz Award, often called the Newbery Medal for young-adult books. In "Looking For Alaska," Green drew on his own background to tell the story of a boy whose life at an Alabama boarding school is upended when he meets a beautiful and wild fellow student named Alaska Young.A year later, Green won a Printz Honor for his second book, "An Abundance of Katherines." In this book, he combined math, anagrams and a road-trip theme as he told the story of Colin, a former child prodigy who has been dumped by 19 girlfriends -- all named Katherine.Green's newest book, "Paper Towns," may be his most ambitious book to date. As Green explains in an author's note at the end of the book, "paper towns" are nonexistent places created by mapmakers to discourage copyright infringement. Green took that idea as his central image in the book, exploring the notion that people aren't always what they seem.Quentin, for example, doesn't really see Margo as she is, Green said. He sees Margo as he'd like her to be."How he and the other characters see Margo says more about them than about Margo," Green said. "She's just a girl. She's an interesting girl, but the world is full of interesting people. ... We are currently supersaturated with characters who are hugely romanticized by the young people who love them -- they are beautiful, empty vessels into which we put all our hope and aspirations."Green also writes an entertaining blog on his Web site, www.sparksflyup.com, and he and his brother, Hank, created a popular video series called "Brotherhood 2.0" (youtube.com/vlogbrothers). The videos have inspired an interactive community of fans who call themselves nerdfighters (www.nerdfighters.com)."I see books as a collaboration between a reader and a writer," Green said. "It's the same kind of thing I like to do on the Internet. I'm always trying to do stuff that is collaborative."Green also is one of three young-adult writers who collaborated on a new book, "Let It Snow" (Speak/Penguin, $9.99). And he's working on another novel, which he says is "vastly different than anything I've ever done before."One thing that won't change, however, is Green's love of writing for teens."A lot of things are happening to them for the first time, and to be able to participate in that, in some tiny way, is hugely fulfilling for me," he said.(Karen MacPherson, the children's/teen librarian at the Takoma Park, Md., Library, can be reached at Kam.Macpherson(at)gmail.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com)