Shailene's 'TFIOS' Praise Will Make You Cry, Too

The film version of John Green's hugely popular novel The Fault In Our Stars is mere months away from making you sob in the movie theater, and now the star of the new film is speaking out about the man behind the love story. Shailene Woodley wrote a short piece in Time Magazine about John Green for the magazine's "100 Most Influential People" issue, and I couldn't agree more with her statements about the Young Adult author.

For those of you who haven't read the novel (get on it, people) it's about a sick teen named Hazel who falls in love while her body is giving out. It's a beautiful story, sure, but what makes Green's "one sick love story" truly stand out is the way in which he writes the teens within it. He breathes new life into teenagers by allowing them every inch of their emotions, thoughts, hopes and dreams. Shailene Woodley says it best:

Some say that through his books, John gives a voice to teenagers. I humbly disagree. I think John hears the voices of teenagers. He acknowledges the intelligence and vulnerability that stem from those beautiful years when we are, for the first time, discovering the world and ourselves outside of our familial stories.

I couldn't agree more with Woodley's statement, and I'm glad that Green is getting the praise he deserves. As a fan of Green's books myself, I have always been impressed by the way in which he shapes his characters, specifically the way in which he writes his young protagonists. He acknowledges the many emotions and "big questions" that come with being at a very specific time in ones life, and he's one of the few authors that I, personally, feel truly grasps the teenage experience.

His characters are flawed, confused, and constantly growing, but they also feel very much like real people. It's very easy to get wrapped up in a John Green novel, not because of some deeply intriguing plot (though he does that masterfully in novels like Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns, which both have a mystery element to them) but because as you read them, you almost feel like you are becoming friends with these characters. (Which is why, if you read TFIOS, you probably spent some time weeping into your Kindle.)

Green deserves a spot on Time Magazine's list of influential people, and I'm so glad that Woodley shared her thoughts on him for the magazine — it certainly mirrors how I feel about the author, and I hope more people read his novels, or see his movies, to see why.