I should mention that I've been a fan of John Green's work since his first book, Looking For Alaska, and having something of a dormant mature-aged nerdfighter as well. His books, whilst certainly not without their share of flaws, portray teenage characters as intelligent and aspiring, yet sufficiently insecure and in need of encouragement from their peers to overcome the trials of life. In short, they are real human beings.
I really can't say anything more about this film without spoiling it, other than to say that it is incredibly faithful to the book - mostly to its credit (though a little to its detriment). TFiOS is not my favourite of JG's books - that accolade belongs to Paper Towns, which I believe is slated to hit the big screens in the distant future.
Looking around the audience, it was curious to note that I was surrounded by teenage girls - and one elderly couple. And my librarian senses were tingling - these weren't the cool kids that were off to see the latest blockbuster. These were the readers. These were my peeps from the library. It was also curious to note that, of the three trailers to precede the film, the first was Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, but this second - to my delight - was one that I had not yet seen:
Yes, another adaptation - presumably targeting many of the bookish types in the audience who had possible already read the book (well, I had). The third trailer was for "Gone Girl" - yet another film based on a bestselling novel, if a strange choice for the mostly-teenage crowd in the audience.
I always remind myself how lucky I am to live in a city like Melbourne - a City of Literature - where books are still very much a part of popular culture. And despite hearing, from time to time, that "people don't read anymore", it still feels like our literary traditions are still alive and well - especially if the film industry is keen to cash in on the success of books.
And if nothing else, there'll always be another book club to join.
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