‘The Fault in Our Stars’ by John Green

 Reviewed by : Jesi





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.

(Amazon product description)

Ever since Will Grayson Will Grayson, I have been on a huge John Green kick.  Not only is he a humorous writer with a knack for creating great characters, but he is also a brilliant vlogger.  (Check him out on YouTube.)  Anyway, The Fault in Our Stars sounded like it was going to be a real tear-jerker...and there are some sad parts, but these characters do not want your pity.  This is no after school special, and these kids are not perfect.  They don’t want to be inducted into sainthood on their death just because they had cancer.  This made them feel real and sympathetic in a way that characters in the Lifetime Movies never quite achieve.

The relationship between Hazel and Augustus is so much more than their illness.  There is a deep understanding between them that their non-cancer peers can never fully feel.  The few strained conversations Hazel has with her best-friend-who-really-isn’t-anymore illustrate this so realistically. I imagine this is exactly how it really would be. 

One of my favorite parts of the book is that Hazel and Augustus bond over a novel about a teen with cancer that cuts off without an ending.  I know this book The Imperial Affliction does not exist, but I would love to read it!  John Green, if you are reading this, think you can write it?

The only thing that bothered me (and I mean slightly) was the characters were these brilliant philosophical genius kids with vocabularies bigger than thesauruses.  I’m not saying that smart teenagers are unrealistic, but the constant intellectual banter became a bit much in a few places.  Not enough to distract me from the story, but enough that I noticed a few times. 

Overall, I give The Fault in Our Stars...

Plot - 5 bookmarks

Character Development - 5 bookmarks

Love Story - 5 bookmarks

Dialog - 4 3/4 bookmarks (I only deduct a quarter of a point for the banter.)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Lily Collins (Hazel), Ed Speleers (Augustus), Rory Culkin (Isaac)