Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John
Green
Publisher: Dutton
Books (Penguin)
Length: 313 pages
Rating: 5/5
Hazel Grace Lancaster is a 16 year old terminal cancer
patient. She spends a lot of time reading her favorite novel, An Imperial Affliction, and thinking
about death. Her mom, worried that she’s depressed, sends her to a cancer
support group. There, Hazel meets Augustus Waters who is in remission from the
cancer that took his leg. And while Hazel and Augustus know better than anyone
that their lives will end in oblivion, they decide to live while they can.
This novel began with an authorial insistence that a story
in and of itself can make an impact. And then it proceeds to prove that
statement to be completely true. I laughed, I cried (several times), I loved, I
felt closer to life, and I just kept reading. As you know, I’m obsessed with
books that make me feel something beyond myself. And this book performed
wonderfully.
I’ll admit I was hesitant to read this book at first because
it practically screams depressing. And sure, Hazel and Augustus could be
terribly depressing and boring. While they do tend to wax a bit existential,
when faced with death, instead of being a drag, they’re quirky, deep, and
wonderful. They’ll make you reconsider your own perspective on life and death
and want to go hug everyone you love.
The love story between Hazel and Augustus can’t be described
as anything but epic. Life is a little more precious when death is your third
wheel on every date.
While John Green is quintessential YA, I loved that this
book didn’t fit the YA mold in one major way: Parents tend to be non-existent
or ineffective in most YA. In The Fault
in Our Stars, Hazel’s two best friends are her parents, and she worries
more about what will happen to them after she dies, than she fears actually
dying. Augustus’s parents are also very present in the novel.
This is a book you won’t want to miss. If you’re still on the fence, listen to John Green read the first chapter here: