The book cover
Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Pages: 336
That’s the thing about pain. It demands to be felt.
Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads.com) Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours 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 tumours 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.
Review:
Well, hello Mr. Green. It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve been reading since I was 4, so where have you been all my reading life?
I really don’t know what caused me to pick up The Fault in Our Stars, as any book dealing with kids and cancer, well — no! Please, God, don’t make torture me in tears! I don’t wanna cry today! But, I picked it up anyway because the reviews were just that good.
So, I prepared myself emotionally and I started to read. (Had the tissues handy, just in case.) I am introduced to Hazel, Hazel Grace which she is often called, and she has cancer. What started out as thyroid cancer, from what I understand, ended up spreading to her lungs. At a very young age, she faced death — laughed in its metaphorical face, and kept on keeping on.
It was a miracle.
This miracle came in the form of an experimental drug. This drug stopped the tumor growth and while her cancer was not shrinking, it was not growing either. Her prognosis for living life was good. After all, she was living and living with out an immediate expiration date.
For the most part, Hazel could go about her life. She could drive. She could dress herself. If it wasn’t for the oxygen tank she had to wheel around with her wherever she went, you probably wouldn’t know she was sick. Even so, the battle with cancer has withdrawn her from normal teenager life. All she wants to do is lounge in her room with a good book. Not just any book, though, but The Imperial Affliction. Now, what’s wrong with that?
The thing is, as Hazel is alive, her parents are really insistant that she start living; start being a typical, normal, 16 year old and socialize. Hazel is anything but normal, though, and in fact, she is incredibly brilliant. Much to her dismay, they recommend that she start back up in attending the local cancer survivors meeting/support group.
It is there that she meets Augustus Waters. He is beautiful, intelligent, and becomes instantly captivated with Hazel. Oh, and he is in remission so that’s a wonderful thing.
Hazel and Augustus find themselves immediately drawn together and they bring sides out of each other that they don’t often share. If there are two people in this world that truly get each other, it is Augustus and Hazel. You’ll see.. but you’ll have to pick up The Fault in Our Stars and start reading.
I found The Fault in Our Stars to be absolutely, without a doubt, an amazing read. It forces you to face your fears on life and death and it will raise questions such as, “Is there life after death?” and “What is our life’s purpose?”
While, yes, it’ll make you cry — it’s worth every single tear.
On a final note, it’s a book worth purchasing. Not just borrowing from the library or a friend, but purchasing. I borrowed the book from a friend, but I genuinely want my own copy. While searching for an image to use, I saw that many books are autographed and I am so jealous.
I highly recommend it for a book clubs, as it is impossible to read The Fault in Our Stars, without wanting to talk about it — with everyone.
“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book. And then there are book which you can’t tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
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