Book Review: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

The Fault In Our Stars
by John Green
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Published: January 23rd 2013 by Dutton Books
Acquired Format: Paperback
Source: Fully Booked

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 an 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.

MY REVIEW

Before anything else, I would like to share my brief history when I first tried to buy a copy of this book. As a broke college student who depends on her allowance, I sacrificed my daily food expenses to buy this book. I heard so many positive feedbacks and I just know I shouldn't miss this one. So when my money was enough and I was so stoked into buying it, it turned out to be a bad day for me -- the bookstore ran out of copies. Depressed, I bought another book instead. And being such a bad day, exactly after paying for the 'other' book, I saw the saleslady putting up new stocks on the shelves. I thought the book wasn't really for me, so I never tried or planned on buying a copy again.

Four months later... 

THIS. BOOK. IS. AH-MAZING.

“Oh, I wouldn't mind, Hazel Grace. It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.”

Hazel Grace Lancaster. I love how she was able to fully accept her death, how she was prepared for it, but I hate it when I realized how weak she was. Her parents tried to make her live like any normal and healthy teenager but she refused it. Good thing she met Augustus Waters. Gus, for short, is a cancer survivor. He's been strong throughout his cancer life. He lived and fell inlove like any other teenager. I love his metaphorical sense over a lot of things. He gave meaning to Hazel's meaningless life; he gave them colors. He remained strong until the end. He remained strong for Hazel.

“It's a metaphor, see: You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing.”

I loved every single word. It's been a long time since a book was able to touch my heart like this. Yeah, I read some books weeks ago that made me cry, but the tears from this heartbreaking novel was different. I cried for an hour inside the bathroom, while taking a shower. I was crying the whole time, staring at my reflection at the mirror. And I know I will still cry right now just by the thoughts of it.

“That's the thing about pain," Augustus said, and then glanced back at me. "It demands to be felt”

The ending, though...

I'm not really satisfied with it. I have some questions left unanswered like was Gus able to write a sequel to An Imperial Affliction meets The Price of Dawn for Hazel? Hmmm. Looks like I have to e-mail and ask the author himself. I wonder if he'll reply.

And if he does, I won't share it because I'm a terrible selfish person.

MY RATING

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Green

John Green's first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award presented by the American Library Association. His second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Paper Towns, is a New York Times bestseller and won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best YA Mystery. In January 2012, his most recent novel, The Fault in Our Stars, was met with wide critical acclaim, unprecedented in Green's career. The praise included rave reviews in Time Magazine and The New York Times, on NPR, and from award-winning author Markus Zusak. The book also topped the New York Times Children's Paperback Bestseller list for several weeks. Green has also coauthored a book with David Levithan called Will Grayson, Will Grayson, published in 2010. The film rights for all his books, with the exception of Will Grayson Will Grayson, have been optioned to major Hollywood Studios.

In 2007, John and his brother Hank were the hosts of a popular internet blog, "Brotherhood 2.0," where they discussed their lives, books and current events every day for a year except for weekends and holidays. They still keep a video blog, now called "The Vlog Brothers," which can be found on the Nerdfighters website, or a direct link here.

Author Links:

Website | Twitter

“Some people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them," I said.
"Right, of course. But you keep the promise anyway. That's what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway.”