Maureen Johnson is a friend of John Green's and no, she was not named after the character in Rent. Regarding my last blog post, all of the internet knows I love John Green. Regarding this blog post, now all of the internet will know that I also love Maureen Johnson. Her style, although different than Green's and rightfully so (because they are two different people), is very peppy. Not in the stereotypical cheerleader I'm-always-happy-and-spirited kind of way, but the yes-my-books-have-happy-endings-but-it's-an-adventure-getting-to-the-happy-ending kind of way.
Johnson's protagonists have all been girls so far. All unique to the book's society, and all unique to the reader. Some have short pixie cuts, others live on boats, one sells her soul to the devil. See, all unique! Now, I do love Johnson's work, but there are a few criticisms I have on it. For one, her stories are all a little predictable. No, I am not being a hypocrite if you are thinking that my previous comment says that her books are completely unpredictable. They are predictable, which is why it says that they all have happy endings. By the last third of the book you tend to always know how it will end. Her stories never seem to flow well either. They have wonderful plots, but the transitions aren't always smooth. My biggest question though, is why does there always have to be an attractive guy? In all of her stories, the protagonist has found a handsome man, only to be taken away from him to ANOTHER handsome man. The ugly dudes need a shot too!\
My favorite Maureen Johnson book is 13 Little Blue Envelopes, followed by The Bermudez Triangle, then Girl at Sea. She did a collaborative story with John Green and Lauren Myracle called Let It Snow, and it is truly wonderful.
No comments:
Post a Comment