“The John Green Effect” and “GreenLit”

I just finished Andrew Smith’s Winger, which last year had been given the title of GreenLit by New York Times.  “GreenLit” according to New York Times is a thing used to define writers that either write in the style of John Green or writers John Green celebrates (e.g. Rainbow Rowell, A.S. King, e. lockhart).  I’m not going to go into what I think of the whole “GreenLit” definition (some people even call it a “genre”!) too much, but BookRiot pretty much sums up my thoughts on the term.

I know Green really helped bring the realistic genre featuring smart, self-aware teenage narrators with witty dialogue back to life, but he did not invent the genre.  Anyone else remember Blume, Hinton, or even Salinger? (Okay, technically, The Catcher in the Rye (1951) was originally published for adults, but it has since become really popular with youth because of its themes.) …And can we just talk about the reigning queen of contemporary YA? Sarah Dessen, folks. Sarah Dessen.

To me, it is honestly kind of demeaning to the authors’ talents and accomplishments; I’m sure these other authors would appreciate their books being evaluated on their own merits.

I recognize the importance of John Green. In fact, my blog might not have existed without Green, because he really did help usher in the trend in the revival of contemporary, realistic fiction.

https://twitter.com/johngreen/status/467020907169738752

But even Green think it’s ridiculous to claim he is the sole reason for the contemporary YA revival.

I want to make it clear that this blog is not about GreenLit; it’s about emotionally intense contemporary YA of which John Green’s books belong.  As a librarian, I love read-alikes, which are so important in reader’s advisory, and therefore can appreciate the whole, “Oh, you liked John Green? You may like one of these…” But what I can’t get behind is the idea that authors’ books be generalized based on the narrative style of Green or that Green should somehow be placed on a pedestal for all other YA contemporary realism to be compared against. There is so much range and nuance in contemporary realism, and grouping them all into GreenLit (or not GreenLit) really ignores the innovation and brilliance of the other authors.