[BOOK REVIEW] The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Year Published: 2012

Number of Pages: 313 pages

Date Read: 5/13/2013

Publisher:  Dutton Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Strong Language and Mature Subject Matter)

REAL, EMOTIONAL, HEARTBREAKING, FUNNY AND INSIGHTFUL

These are the words that perfectly describe one of the most emotional and insightful books I had ever read, “The Fault in Our Stars.”  “The Fault in Our Stars” is a beautiful book that is written by John Green, who also wrote “Looking for Alaska” and I have the pleasure to experience the raw emotion being put into this novel and enjoying every single minute of it!

Hazel Grace Lancaster was a young sixteen year old teenage girl who had suffered thyroid cancer at the age of fourteen and when she thought that she was going to die, the doctors managed to give her a medical miracle that would help shrink her tumor.  Even though Hazel managed to survive, she was forced to be hooked up to an oxygen tank to enable her breathing.  Since that day, Hazel thought that she will never live life the same way again, but then Hazel ends up meeting a gorgeous teenage boy named Augustus Waters, who also happens to suffer cancer, which caused him to lose one of his legs.  Hazel and Augustus (Gus) immediately start connecting with each other and the two friends soon realize the importance of following their dreams and understanding life and death.

After I heard so much praise for this book and my reading friends urged me to give this book a shot, I just had to pick this book up and man, was I blown away by the emotional intensity that this book brought out in the open!  Even though John Green had written several books before this novel, one of the most notable novels being “Looking for Alaska,” “The Fault in Our Stars” was actually the first book I had read from John Green and I enjoyed it immensely!  John Green had done a brilliant job at writing a story about how a cancer patient views life after she went through a life threatening situation at a young age.  It was fantastic hearing the story from Hazel’s point of view as I loved the way that she details her struggles with coping with her cancer while trying to live her life the best way she can.  But, what I really loved about Hazel is that she never let her cancer take control of her life as she is shown to be a sarcastic and easygoing person who tries to understand about life while pursuing her dreams at the same time.  Augustus Waters is easily my most favorite character in this novel as he is just as sarcastic as Hazel, but he shows so much intellect about life that I really enjoyed his personal thoughts.  I also loved the fact that Augustus truly cares for Hazel and was willing to help her accomplish her dreams while having his own inspirations in life. The banter between Hazel and Augustus is so hilarious and heartwarming at the same time as they discuss the importance of life while joking about their illnesses (although I can see the idea about characters joking about their illnesses being a little uncomfortable for anyone who is actually going through cancer).

Since this book deals with a sensitive subject matter, some readers might literally CRY when reading this book (I know that I definitely started crying at the end of this book).  Anyone who does not like reading books about characters dealing with cancer might want to handle this book with care.  Also, this book has some strong language, so anyone who does not like reading strong language might want to skim over the language.

Overall, “The Fault in Our Stars” is easily one of the most thought-provoking and emotional books I had ever read.  This was basically the first book I had read about characters experiencing cancer first hand and I was so emotionally invested in both the story and the characters, that I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to anyone who is a huge fan of John Green’s works.

BE FOREWARNED, THIS BOOK WILL MAKE YOU CRY HUGE BUCKETS OF TEARS!