About Me

Friday, April 4, 2014

Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green


Title: The Fault in Our Stars 
Author: John Green 
Published: January 10th, 2012
Genre: Romance, Contemporary

  Goodreads Synopsis: 

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.


My Review: 

I read The Fault in Our Stars almost a year after its release. I wasn't planning on it, but a few too many of my friends were fangirling to me about how "Great, sad, heartbreaking, and romantic it was." At first, I was reluctant. I disliked the idea of books about sickness. They never end well, but I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about and thankfully it's not about cancer fighting teenagers for their lives. It was about teenager's lives and their battle with cancer. It was so beautifully written forcing you to hold on to every word before moving on to the next. 

Hazel Grace Lancaster is a 16-year-old, who's been struggling with Stage 4 Thyroid Cancer for the past 3 years. After her mom decides that Hazel's showing symptoms of depression. She sends her to a support group for cancer kids. There she meets the very handsome, generous, funny, and witty Augustus Waters, with whom she forms a close relationship. They fall in love and though they might be sick, hurting and angry, it is the close bond they have that makes everything OK. 

 Even though I'm not a huge fan of insta-love, the characters felt real, including their emotions and feelings. The book did feel a bit cheesy in the aspect of Hazel Grace and Augustus' romance, but it confirmed that what they had really was true love, for the 17-year-old gives up his 'wish' to see the one girl he loves happy and complete. That doesn't happen often. I loved this book even more for its realistic ending. Life is not a movie. It doesn't feel bad for you and it also doesn't feel bad and try to compensate for sadness it throws your way. It screws you over and then moves on.

The reason I think John Green's book has gained popularity among teenagers is because of his realistic portrayal of adolescence. You might not like this book, you might have a hard time connecting with it, but IT WILL MAKE YOU CRY. I promise. Tears of joy and sadness. For me, it was so good that I couldn't help but read it once more. I never read books twice, but for TFiOS I made an exception. I will read it again sometime before the movie's release (June 6).

My Rating: 5/5 stars. 

Some of my favorite quotes:

“I'm a grenade and at some point I'm going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?”
“My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.” 
“Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you.”
“That’s part of what I like about the book in some ways. It portrays death truthfully. You die in the middle of your life, in the middle of a sentence.” 

No comments:

Post a Comment