Will it or Won't it: The Fault in Our Stars

I’m not sure if it’s my love for books and movies or my years at film school (or both), but when I hear certain book adapted movies are coming out, I’m either immediately thrilled about it or dreading it. This often has nothing to do with whether or not I liked the book, and more to do with whether it makes a successful film. For instance, when I heard about the Beautiful Creatures movie, it was a no for me. When I saw the trailer it was an even bigger no. When I heard about the Hunger Games movie, I was ecstatic because it felt like a successful movie series.  One that was an in between was Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I thought it could be successful, and I still stand by that. It could have. But for whatever reason, it got turned into something less incredible.

Will it or Won’t it will be about YA (mostly) book-adapted movies that I think will or won’t be successful. Which is relative. One of these movies could still do well, but not well enough that I think it should have been made. Also, there are tons of excellent films that not many people go to see. I’d still deem that kind of film successful if it had all the right elements. And I will always support YA, which is why I still saw Beautiful Creatures. And why I’ll probably still see any other Percy Jackson movie (please let them continue to improve). Up first: The Fault in Our Stars.


I was so excited when I saw that the script had made it on Hollywood’s Blacklist in 2012. This is a film that I wanted to get made before I even finished the book. I read it when it first came out, so details are a bit muddled. I do remember that it’s the perfect mix of sad and happy. You want a movie that makes you laugh and cry. It’s also “movie funny,” as in, the things I read are things I want to actually see happen. It’s romantic in a way that makes me wish I had a relationship like that (sort of). And the whole book isn’t in the main character’s head. That’s what I think makes it really difficult to turn a book into a movie. When all the important parts are in someone’s head and you can’t see it through dialogue and action. How do you know what you need to know without the screenwriter and producers changing aspects about the story (which I hate and often doesn’t work)? The Fault in Our Stars isn’t a three book series that will turn into four movies. It's not the next Harry Potter or Twilight. It’s tragic. It’s about normal lives. And I don’t know how well it’ll do money-wise. But in my own version of success: It Will.

The Fault In Our Stars review

Description: Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumors 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 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)