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.
My thoughts: Great books or any form of a great story for that matter can make you cry and laugh. One that surpasses this level of greatness can make you laugh while you’re crying or vice versa. The Fault In Our Stars is that kind of book.
There was never a doubt in my mind about whether I’d like this book. I mean, this is John freaking Green. Plus, Paper Towns is my favorite book (ever). So when my copy arrived yesterday, I dropped my everything by the door, forgetting the review book I was so close to finishing, or the homework assignments I had, because I needed to know just HOW good The Fault In Our Stars was.
Let me tell you. It. Is. Brilliant. Paper Towns is still my favorite book from John Green (and my favorite in general), but this is his best book yet. He has these characters that you have to love, whether it’s because of their clever observations of life, or the way they handle their day-to-day living with having to be declared or seen as: THAT cancer girl or guy. As though that is all they will ever be remembered for (if at all). And this type of life or story would be terribly depressing if it weren’t for the quirky sarcastic wit that almost every character in some form or fashion seemed to have. This is why I could start laughing in the middle of my tear fest, or randomly start crying in the middle of a laughing fit.
And the thing is, there are obvious signs that show when I know a book is excellent. When I’m reading this kind of book, all the situations and problems I have momentarily fall away. And for that day or two, there’s a type of peace.There’s a lot more to be said about this book, or how it makes me feel. Like how these characters are the most perfect imperfect characters I’ve ever met, or that I might also have fallen for Augustus. But that’s not the point, because I’ve already read it and it has made a huge mark (not a scar) in my life. The point is that YOU need to read it. No book is for everyone, but I have no doubt that this one will be enjoyed by a multitude.
Additional note: I loved the book, but here are three distinctive things (other than the characters) that I really loved
- The parts that were clearly inspired by The Great Gatsby
- The poetry
- An Imperial Affliction (which needs to be made into a real book… I’m just sayin)
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