Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Publisher's Description:
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, 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
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I really shouldn't write a review right after I've finished the book. But I really want to. A book hasn't made me cry since the end of Harry Potter. I don't even know where to start with this one. When I first picked it up I had heard so many good things about it that I thought it couldn't live up to the hype. I didn't want to like the book, I was fairly sure I would hate it. Surprise: I'm not a fan of Perks, and I really expected this to be Perks 2.0... but it wasn't.

The characters are wonderful. They're developed and strange and real and flawed. The plot is so strange, parts of it are so surreal and parts of are it so trivially "cancer plot points" that it makes you stop and think, maybe this is what it's like. Maybe this is what Hazel and Augustus are dealing with. Some things stay so unapologetically normal and predictable, while some things are wild and out of control and the strangest part is how they all come together without your permission.

John Green does an excellent job of keeping the teenagers teenagers, and the parents parents, the doctors doctors and the strage recluse the strange recluse. His language is powerful but accessible, sometimes quirky. I was often uncomfortable with his vocabulary (or maybe, Augustus's vocabulary) but that was part of what gave the book life. The Fault in Our Stars is not what you want it to be. It's not perfect, it is it's own story. But it is wonderful.

Find The Fault in Our Stars on Goodreads.

12 comments:

  1. Grumble, grumble - Blogger ate my comment. Let's try this again...

    I loved this book! Anytime a book can make me cry I consider it the greatest thing ever. Not because I love crying or anything, but I love that a book can make me feel. Glad you liked it! :)

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    1. I hate when Blogger gets hungry... at least it was just a comment and not a post! Once a book gets me over the emotional threshold, it has a place in my heart forever!

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  2. This is one of my favorite books. I very rarely reread books, but this is one that I have reread and know I'll read again in the future. So many feelings! Such a great book. :)

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    1. I know! I think I'll have to revisit it after a sabbatical though, I don't think I could handle all the feels again so soon.

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  3. I really need to get reading John Greene. This book sounds gutwrenching in all the best ways.

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    1. YES! That's the perfect way to describe it... there's bad gutwrenching and good gutwrenching, and this is probably the best of the best gutwrenching :)

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  4. I love, love, LOVE this book! I'm so glad you ended up loving it. I get that way about books that are way hyped. I just don't even want to like them. But often when I read them I totally fall in love. This is one book I'll reread many times!

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    1. I definitely thought it was going to be too young/cheesy for my taste, but Green is such a realistic writer that I completely lost myself... successful hyping, book bloggers!

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  5. I want to read it but I'm so scared of how sad it will be. Everyone seems to love it though.
    Great review :-)
    http://betweenthelinesisanendlessstory.blogspot.ie

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    1. Don't be scared! I usually hate, hate, hate sad books, they just don't do it for me... but this one isn't really sad per se... it's just, emotional and beautiful and in a very tasteful way.

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  6. I know I should read this, but I will probably not be able to function for a day. I've heard amazing things about John Green's writing talent. All I know of how awesome he is, is by his Youtube channels. I'm not a Perks fan either, which my friends were surprised about, because I'm the bookworm of the bunch.

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  7. I'm really starting to think I am the only person left who hasn't read this one! I'm hoping it lives up to the hype for me too. A book that can make me cry is a very good book indeed!

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