Review: the Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I find writing book reviews one of the most difficult tasks ever, just because so many other people have already explained their feelings and thoughts about a book extremely well. Since this is such a popular and much raved about book, so many people have discussed this book so much better than I ever can, but I still wanted to share my own thoughts and feelings about this book.

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is John Green’s fifth book. Like ‘Looking for Alaska’, this is another super-hyped book which is really popular on tumblr and amongst a lot of young adults, but now that I’ve read it I can totally see why. Reading ‘Looking for Alaska’ about three years ago made me really eager to read more of John Green’s work; I think he’s a literary genius.

John is part of thevlogbrothers on YouTube, and if you haven’t checked them out, make sure you do. I’ve been following them for quite a while and I really, really enjoy their videos. Their subjects are just really appealing to me and the humour is just plain fantastic. If you’re looking for more channels that aren’t beauty related, definitely check them out. There’s also a video on there in which Johnreads the first chapter of The Fault in Our Stars, and I definitely recommend checking that out. If you’ve known and been following the vlogbrothers for a while you can even hear John’s voice whilst reading all of his books, which might be a little bit weird considering this book tells the story of a 16-year old girl but amusing nonetheless.

The book tells the story of Hazel. Hazel has terminal cancer for so long that she doesn’t even remember not being terminal. Upon going to a Cancer Kid Support Group, she meets the gorgeous and smart Augustus Waters, who will change her life- for the better, but alsof or the worse. The book ‘An Imperial Affliction’ plays a huge role in the book, bot hmetaphorical and literal. The book is the foundation of all of Hazel’s and Augustus’ opiions, even though they don’t always agree with each other. Eventually, the book carves out the path they’re going. I’m not going to tell you every detail about what happens in the book; I think that line was enough, since it’s not about how it ends but about what happens. It’s that what’s the most important in this book.

First off, it’s a cancer book. Not a cliché one. A quirky, philosophical and unbelievably well written but still heartbreaking cancer book. Because yes, it’s a modern tragedy, but a really funny one.

What strikes me the most about this book is that it has some really deep thoughts, but they aren’t too difficult to understand. This is quite hard to explain so I think you’ll need to see for yourself, but I think that’s what makes it so appealing to young adults. It’s so touching, but not cliché and it doesn’t romanticize cancer at all. In fact, there are quite a lot of funny bits.

This book is about understanding life, but most of all about understanding death. Hazel has accepted that she’s going to die eventually, but that doesn’t mean she’s not scared.

What I really, really like about this book is that John isn’t afraid to clash some stereotupes. He’s not afraid to laugh with cancer and terminal diseases (ofcourse he doesn’t do it in a tasteless way, but more in a refreshing, quirky kind of way). For example, Hazel, the antagonist, doesn’t like tob e called a hero. She’s also not one of those cliché teenage girls; she loves her parents, doesn’t try to be though or a hero. This is the first time John has ever used a female antagonist and he’s done such a great job, considering he’s a thirty-something male.

The book is all about the characters and he has really thought them out so well. Hazel and Augustus are really smart fort heir age. I’m going to end this review with a quote written on the back of this book: ‘A novel of life and death and the people caught in between’.

I think the fact that I’ve read this in less than 24 hours says it all, I think. If you can’t make sense of this severe case of word vomit (which I can totally understand), I suggest you read this review on theGuardian. Have you read this book? What did you think of it?