Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Celebrated YA novelist Green's second nonfiction title for adults, following The Anthropocene Reviewed (2021), is a passionate book about tuberculosis, which is “listed in Guinness World Records as the oldest contagious disease.” In the last 200 years, over a billion people have died from it; between one-fourth and one-third of all living humans have been infected with it. These staggering statistics and more haunt Green's excellent book, which began with a trip to Sierra Leone in 2019 and a visit to Lakka, a tuberculosis hospital where Green met Henry Reider, a 17-year-old infected with TB. Henry becomes for readers the face of TB as Green periodically charts his condition in these pages. When Green returned home from Sierra Leone, he became obsessed with TB: “I simply could not shut up about the disease.” This important book is evidence of that. Green writes expertly of the illness’s history, causes (malnutrition, poverty, bad sanitation, etc.), and cure—and of Henry’s miraculous recovery. Insightful and extremely well and clearly written, Everything Is Tuberculosis makes what might be inaccessible accessible. In the end, Green says that his book exists only because he met Henry, and readers will be so grateful he did.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Every book from John Green is a big deal, and the important topic and global implications of this one ensure it will make major waves.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A bestselling author uses his platform to tell the story of a curable disease that kills over a million people a year. In a postscript that is essentially a sweet apologia, Green explains, “If you’d told me whenThe Fault in Our Stars was published that a decade later, I’d be writing and thinking almost exclusively about tuberculosis, I would have responded, ‘Is that still a thing?’” Many readers likely remain under the same illusion. But after Green met a very sick boy named Henry Reider on a trip to Sierra Leone in 2019, he decided to apply himself to the task of learning and sharing every single thing there is to know about tuberculosis, ultimately understanding that the disease still exists due to racism, greed, and the brutal economics of public health, concluding in part that “TB is both a form and expression of injustice.” He parcels out the frightening story of what happened to Henry bit by bit through chapters that also recount the long, strange history of the disease. Once known as consumption and romanticized through association with artists and writers who died of it, for centuries TB was treated with a variety of utterly ineffective approaches in sanatoriums and elsewhere. A young American woman who had been confined in one such institution since the age of 3 was treated with some of the first doses of streptomycin when it became available in the 1940s—and emerged back into the world of the living at 16. Along with interesting accounts of historical figures and current patients, Green explores the financial aspects of treatment and the practices of the pharmaceutical industry, bringing home the shameful truth of the situation. In all, his “curious megaphone”—his phrase for the access he has to a wide audience due to his literary stardom—has been put to good use. This highly readable call to action could not be more timely. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

School Library Journal
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An enlightening exploration of the history and present-day reality of tuberculosis around the world. This narrative nonfiction title follows the journey of one TB patient, Henry, and his life and treatment in Sierra Leone while simultaneously shedding light on the battle against tuberculosis in impoverished countries. While tuberculosis is considered history to many, Green shares the alarming fact that due to many factors beyond the control of sufferers, over a million people die each year because they don't have access to the best possible treatments and diagnostic testing. Green skillfully sparks readers' curiosity within the first pages by discussing the number of deaths TB has caused in recent years and explains, "We know how to live in a world without tuberculosis. But we choose not to live in that world." Readers will be shocked to hear the impact TB still has around the world when in places like the U.S., most people think tuberculosis is a part of the past. Henry's story is hopeful and heartbreaking; readers will be rooting for him and his family the whole way through. The author includes much about his relationship with Henry, but also of his own life experiences with medications, OCD, and his treatment of orbital cellulitis which contributes helpful comparisons to the narrative. While medical nonfiction titles can be difficult for the average reader, Green explains ideas and terminology simply to ensure comprehension for readers. VERDICT This is a thought-provoking work and highly recommended for high school collections.—Lisa Buffi