For the first time, I'm reviewing a book and a movie together! (Because I just finished the book in time for the movie.) I had heard about John Green but hadn't gotten around to reading him, so I needed to fix that. With all I've heard about The Fault in Our Stars, I figured it was a good place to start.
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.
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.
Fiction for Readers
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. Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.
Who is it for?
If you're like most people, you can probably guess what's going to happen in the novel and how it's going to end just by glancing at the synopsis. You probably expect someone to die before the last page. You know what kind of story this is, that wicked tear-jerker kind of tale that makes you feel emotionally full and empty at the same time, that gem of realistic fiction that leaves you yearning to live better and love deeper. And yes, yes, it's another cancer story, so what's the big deal?
I'll tell you.
Book Review
So we've seen this story before, right? Right? But we've never seen this story told this way before. It's not sappy. It's not cheesey. One thing I love about this book is how John Green addresses, shreds, and pokes fun of the cliche cancers stories--all while he's actually telling a cancer story. We get to laugh about the cliche that cancer patients "fight valiantly," and "are so strong." John Green breaths such a realistic breath into this story, that it isn't like any cancer story I've read, seen, or heard about. As the main character Hazel states, in a completely different context, "You have a choice in this world, I believe, about how to tell sad stories, and we made the funny choice." John Green makes the funny choice too, here and there. But in a way, it's like that humor is what makes the sadness of this story so poignant.
