The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Series: stand alone

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Contemporary

Publisher: Dutton Books

Released: 10 January 2012

Summary: courtesy of goodreads.com Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumors in her lungs... for now. Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumors tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

For Fans Of: A Walk to Remember, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, and Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

My Review: The Fault in Our Stars was my first experience with John Green, I know I know I’m coming to him late, where have I been? Why was I not required to read Looking for Alaska?  I’m old okay, and because they drop the f-bomb so much in Looking for Alaska they have it shelved in the adult section at the library, a section that I seldomly stray into.  Anyways, I digress.  The Fault in Our Stars, was one of those books that kind of blindsides you without really meaning to (or maybe it did mean to?) Gus is so straightforward and Hazel is so – great.  She is just incredible really.  She is how I wished girls with cancer in other books acted.  She doesn’t put on airs, and she is so honest when it comes to Gus.  I loved the way that Green writes, his sentences are packed with perfect descriptions of things, and so quick and to the point.  John Green is obviously one smart dude.

As for the actual plot of this book, I don’t want to give anything away so I’m just going to say this: I read a lot of books, and I mean a lot, and rarely do they stay with me the way that this one did.  This book ripped my heart out, and not in a gasping way, but in a quiet, slow, cut one artery and vein out at a time way.  I read it in an afternoon (I hate when I do that, I feel like its kind of a disservice to the author’s hard work) and then proceeded to think about it for the next two weeks almost constantly. Yes, it was slightly angsty at times, but guess what?  High school is angsty.  Being a teenager is angsty.  And having cancer gives characters every single right to be a little angsty.  Maybe the vocabulary was more intellectual then most teens, but again.  It is consistent.  These characters are well developed from the beginning, I know it may be hard to believe but there are smart kids in high school out there, and they do talk the way that Gus and Hazel talk.  The point is, this book didn’t get bogged down by angsty-ness.  It had its moments, but it was really about love, and about learning to deal with things that are hard, like grief.  John Green captures teens and their lives in his books the same way that John Hughes does in his films.  This is legendary.  This book has potential to change the way you think. Let it.