You heard it hear first - John Green used to read "The Babysitters Club" books, and it wasn't until high school that he began reading seriously and thinking critically about literature.
To watch more John Green clips visit: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLr-pRmuKcD37ZEHyT0PHGcM5lPKGKoPgZ
For more information about teaching reading and writing to adolescents visit https://www.AdLit.org.
Additional sites about teaching reading are https://www.ReadingRockets.org, https://www.ColorinColorado.org, and https://www.LDOnLine.org.