Introduction

The intellectual freedom of youth is an evergreen issue. And a complicated one. Protecting and educating our youth are universal priorities, no matter your views on how we should go about executing them. Most adults want the best for our kids. Sometimes, protecting and educating seem to be in conflict. Attempts to censor, usually out of a desire to protect, do happen. Sometimes, though, there is a perfect societal storm that births censorial movements. We are in such a time.

This blog will seek to explore the work of John Green, an author whose YA novels have been repeatedly targeted for censorship but lauded far more. It will also seek to better understand what is happening in the United States in 2025, why it’s happening, what we can do about it, Green’s role on the stage,

but most importantly, why we must fight to uphold the principles of intellectual freedom. Especially for our youth.

(Photo: Unsplash)

Before turning to Green’s work as an author, this blog will look at the basics of censorship, discuss the state of intellectual freedom in the United States right now, and show how these issues are impacting our youth. Following this overview will be a brief look at Green’s biography—including his work as a pioneer YouTuber, online community builder, outspoken advocate, and general agent for “decreasing world suck.” After this, I will share why I chose Green as the focus for this project, as well as his views on censorship. Finally, there will be an examination of his five solo YA novels, including three rationales—on Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, and The Fault in Our Stars—for the inclusion of the novels in a collection or curriculum.

“I’ve tried to make stuff for people that won’t be mere distraction but will instead be encouragements—not the kind that fall apart when you take them way down deep into the darkness which is you, but the kind that can be useful even then. And this is a plainly and old-fashioned-ly moralistic way of imagining the making of things, but I do believe in it. I believe that fiction can help.” —John Green (2014)