Blog Post Part Two: Everything is Tuberculosis and All American Girl

Hello! Books this week are "Everything is Tuberculosis" by John green and "All American Girl" by Megan Cabot. Both of them were good picks.

The book, “Everything is Tuberculosis” by John Green is a nonfictional novel on the historical timeline of tuberculosis, the medical trials for the cure of tuberculosis, and why in underdeveloped countries tuberculosis is still a primary cause of death. The book discusses different ideologies of tuberculosis and the social norms throughout the decades, along with explaining the ignorance with some of these ideologies.

 Although the book covers a medical topic and how social cultural standards influence how the disease was seen and was treated, Green does a great job writing about the topic, making it interesting and easy for a reader to understand. Green also explains in everyday terms why there needs to be affirmative action taken to cure tuberculosis in the world, and how tuberculosis keeps changing and evolving. The book is a good description and explanation of the topic of tuberculosis, and there is some memoir and opinions in the book, making the book personable to the reader.

Green’s writing style is more academic in "Everything is Tuberculosis" compared to his other work. His writing has academic vocabulary throughout the book without being overwhelming- both relating to medical terms and college level vocabulary . In his postscript, he writes about having a fan base and why he believes it is important to shed light on topics that are sometimes not spoken about enough. Green's discovery of the injustices because of tuberculosis caused him to write the book, and to take action with other advocates to see TB end in the world.

 One of the most significant quotes from the book is on page 158, “It’s an illness that worsens with poverty,"... “And it’s an illness of the stigmatized that worsens with stigmatization. In the face of all this, it’s easy to despair. TB doesn’t just flow through the meandering river of injustice; TB broadens and deepens that river.” The problem with tuberculosis since the 1800’s was not just finding the cure. It had many other faceted issues such as the upper white class romanticizing the disease, smaller countries not having the financial means to receive the medication, and tuberculosis becoming drug resistant. Although the cure was found in the 1940's, TB still kills over one million people annually. 

On the copyright page, there is a stamp imprint for Crash Course Books as a subdivision of Penguin Random House publishing company. I’m excited to see what other nonfiction books will be published in the future. 

I’ve honestly never read Meg Cabot’s books before, but they were popular with the older girls in high school. Meg Cabot wrote the Princess Diaries, and she also has other series that were popular back in 2005. I guess there’s a part of me that’s surprised that "All American Girl" hasn’t been made into a movie. While “All American Girl” is a simple read, it is a little lengthy for those who do not appreciate following along a young narrator as she finds her voice and speaks her opinions.

The plot is simple with a teenage girl who lives with her parents and two sisters (one older, one younger) in Washington DC. The main character, Sam, saves the president of the US by jumping on the back of a suspicious person, who was at the same vinyl music store where she was shopping. The man had a gun when he was outside the store, and she impulsively jumped. The rest of the story follows the aftermath of Sam's life. She stays in the hospital, followed by a press interview, then dinner at the white house, and becomes the teenage ambassador of United Nations.

Throughout the story, there is a love relationship that develops between Sam and David, who is the president’s son. Sam and David met in art class, before the assassination attempt happened. Sam was skipping because she believes her art teacher is too strict and doesn’t allow Sam enough creative freedom in her drawings. Sam and David's relationship takes spotlight in the story as Sam tries to figure out her plans for the United Nation's art contest and tries to pacify her new found popularity at the school. There are other characters in the book, such as Lucy, Sam’s older sister, Lucy’s boyfriend Jack, Sam’s best friend Catherine, and Sam's younger sister, Rebecca.

Although the story is set in Washington DC, many of the scenes are normal coming of age events such as Sam going to one of the popular parties, Sam’s crush on Jack, Sam not getting along with her older sister, and Sam trying to figure out her feelings towards David, etc. There are some quotes from Sam’s art teacher, Susan Boone that are both important to the story and also inspirational.

Meg Cabot’s writing style is witty and appropriate for high school students. The book doesn’t contain any flowery language or excessively detailed romantic scenes. Most of her pages lead to the next page, without overwhelming the reader.

There are lists in the book that Sam creates- some of them are funny, most of them explain her thoughts on the situation within the plot or explain Sam’s love for Gwen Stefani. They are a good tool for readers to have a break and to summarize what happened in the plot before moving into the next scenes and events. The lists also help the reader understand Sam more as a character and adds a level of complexity to the writing where the reader feels less close to Sam and sees her as a regular teenage girl. The book is 400 pages long, and I think at times some of lists and smaller details and events could have been deleted from the story to create an easier read. 

Overall, the story slightly reminded me of my younger sister because the main character is brave, smart, and doesn’t always follow what the “in crowd” thinks. Sam is an important character because throughout the book her feelings are explained to the reader, and Sam is honest to herself and the other characters in the novel. The book explains how she navigates social situations, makes up her own mind, explains her thoughts and opinions on artwork, and how she ends up in a relationship by being honest and brave. "All American Girl" is a good read for high school students and anyone looking to see how an adolescent makes smart well thought-out decisions.

Thanks for reading. Hope to have more book reviews published soon! ☺︎