Author, vlogger, and “nerdfighter” John Green has written books for young adults on a number of difficult topics, and he’s back with a remarkable book, The Fault in Our Stars, (out Jan. 10) about Hazel and Augustus (who goes by “Gus”), two teens battling cancer. It might sound like a dreary topic, but the novel is quite the opposite. It’s bursting with humor and exuberance, even if there are some extremely sad moments. Green took the time to talk to EW, and he also shared with us the exclusive trailer for this must-read novel. See below, nerdfighters!

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why did you choose to tackle cancer as your next topic?
JOHN GREEN: When I first graduated from college, I worked as a chaplain at a children’s hospital for about five months. While I was there, I saw a lot of young people with cancer and other serious diseases, and I was struck by how different they were from my expectations. The culture surrounding sick kids tends to tell us they are either going to be these fountains of wisdom or they are going to be these sad-eyed, terrible tragedies — the truth is a lot more complex than that. Sick kids are a lot like other people. I learned that during my time at the hospital and also the next 10 or 11 years trying to reflect it in fiction. Then in 2008 I met a young woman who had cancer who was a reader of my books, and through knowing her it became possible to write the story. READ FULL STORY »