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TITLE: The Fault in Our Stars
AUTHOR: John Green
PUBLISHER: Dutton Books
PUB DATE: Jan 12 2012 |
Summary from Goodreads:
"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."
Rating:
Oh yes, leave it to me to be one of those left behind who haven’t read The Fault in Our Stars. I’m sorry. In my defense, I am not keen over reading realistic fiction. I feel like I’ve already had my fair share of reality that books should be otherwise more ethereal. But there are also times that I need a break from the fantasy world and so, here came the opportunity to read something different...
I’m going to keep this short since I’m sure a lot of you have gone through the tons of reviews that this book has received.
I was surprised about the normalcy I found in Hazel. For someone who was diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer, she comes out as just any typical teenager (except for the oxygen tank and all, of course). She’s witty and spunky. Cleary, not what I expected. Some would imagine that people with cancer or any form of life-threatening diseases are likely to be sad and depressed, but Augustus and Hazel show otherwise. And I’m glad about that.
It was a big mistake to read this book in public. You see, my fiancé’s younger sister had a fashion show, which we promised to watch, the day I was halfway through with the reading The Fault in Our Stars. Being so engrossed in the story, I couldn’t put it down. So while waiting for the show to start, I decided to read through. When I reached the heart wrenching scenes of Augustus, boy was I in an embarrassing state. I kept stopping and tearing my eyes off the book every few paragraphs just so I could keep the tears at bay. My fiancé just kept smirking and shaking his head every time he looked at me (the dude got so used to me crying over a book that he finds it normal... wow! Thanks a lot.)
The Fault in Our Stars is the very first John Green book that I have ever read. And I’m happy to say that I am definitely reading his other books after this one! It’s no question why The Fault in Our Stars has captured the hearts of so many readers. The story may be simple but a very thoughtful one at that. [SPOILER AHEAD!] How ironic is it that the John Green ended the book the way Van Houten, the author of AIA (can’t say what that is since it’s a key element in the story), ended his own book in the story?
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