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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
I love John Green. Such a well written, heartbreaking book. And yet so beautiful!
Great book better than looking for Alaska but I felt like it sped through heaps?
★★★★★ Brilliant, Heartbreaking, and Spellbinding, The Fault in Our Stars Reaffirms Green’s Mastery of the Complexities of the Human Mind
There’s one thing that makes John Green one of the best teen authors of the modern age- he understands teens. Between his Vlogbrother videos and starting a cult following behind indie rock bands and ‘Nerdfighters,’ one quick look at him on Google would make you think that he’s just another uber geek who could really benefit from an introduction to a hairbrush. Really, though, he’s a brilliant author. He’s won a Michael L. Printz Award for Looking for Alaska and a Printz Honor for An Abundance of Katherines, also winning an Edgar Award for Paper Towns. He’s one of those rare individuals who manage to please the general public of teen readers as well as professional literary critics- and rightly so. His understanding of what makes humans humans is why his books are so special- all mostly concerning that one finding-yourself stage of adolescence, managing to skillfully maneuver the passages of that confusing time of growing up. He’s never at a loss for a fresh narrative voice, however, and The Fault in Our Stars just may be his freshest yet. Months before release, The Fault in Our Stars had been generating a mass of pre-release hype, Green himself having signed 150,000 copies and guaranteeing all pre-ordered copies his own signature before the title page. As excitement built on Green’s reputation alone, one must wonder: how is he supposed to handle such a delicate topic of cancer? It wasn’t the toughest question to be pressed upon, as we’ve seen 50/50 handled similarly well. But still: there are so many ways this could’ve gone wrong. It could have been sappy, or cloying, or fallen into all of the trappings of cancer stories that are found too often. Green admits he created a lot of his own elements when scribing the book, but that poses the question: would it make the book more offensive than creative?
The Fault in Our Stars is about Hazel Grace, a sixteen year old girl who has been suffering from thyroid cancer for three years. She stays at home and mainly sleeps and reads the same book over and over again, The Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten. She doesn’t make an effort to connect with her parents before her inevitable death, at the most sitting down to watching America’s Next Top Model together. Hazel occasionally attends a support group to talk about her feelings with others suffering from cancer, but mainly just exchanges dark looks with other kids who’d rather be anywhere but there. She’s mainly floating through the rest of her short life, that is, until at one meeting, when she meets the handsome, one-legged Augustus Walters. Through video-games and a mutual love of The Imperial Affliction, the two fall in love. Hazel tries to stop herself, and it’s revealed why she doesn’t want to make a connection with anyone- she wants to “minimize the number of casualties” after she dies, not wanting anyone to be permanently affected by her death. She feels guilty that her parents have halted their lives just to take care of her and wonders what’ll happen to them after she’s gone- she doesn’t want to start a relationship with Augustus in fear of breaking his heart. Through an encounter with a genius who turns out to be as broken as she is, a trip to Amsterdam, and a story that can only be told in the intimacy of personal experience, Hazel learns that loving others is worth it- even with the casualties.
John Green skillfully dodges the hurdles that plague this genre. He does a great job with the characters- he doesn’t underestimate his teen audience’s intelligence, the characters’ dialogue mature and even wise beyond their years- this makes this book enjoyable for teens as well as adults. It’s not unrealistic, though- as the kids are suffering from cancer, it makes sense that their growth would be sped up. That makes it even more readable- in the span of 300 or so pages, you feel as if you’re living a whole life, as opposed to a tiny piece of one. It’s definitely Green’s most retrospective book yet. His prose is philosophical without being sentimental- the voices of Hazel, Augustus, and the supporting characters including Peter Van Houten blend together to make a wholly profound experience. “Fault in Our Stars” is a reference to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar ('The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.'"). This is a novel that refuses to be boxed into any one genre- it’s humorous, heartbreaking, romantic, and memorable. It’s an insightful look human nature- what green does best- one that provides hope and sadness in one startling package about reality.
Hazel provides for a fresh central character- she’s witty without being snarky and sarcastic without being depressing; she’s also different, while also being surprisingly relatable. Her voice is of the most compelling I’ve ever read- it’s very similar to Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, where the main character seems so figured-out and self-assured that it’s astonishing to finally find out the truth about their vulnerability at the end. John Green seems to be made of memorable quotes- he opens with describing depression not as a side effect of cancer, but of dying, while all the while dying is the side effect of cancer. It seems ironic that there are so many Shakespearean references in the book, because Green all the while is as electric and pitch-perfect in his own writing. The book’s sense of humor is unique, describing realistically the effect of support groups and “cancer perks.” He doesn’t step much outside the scope of the characters’ lives, but that’s what makes it more intimate and investable.
Possibly the only annoying thing about this book is that it was released only two weeks after the start of 2012. Had it been released in 2011, it would’ve been a shoe-in for this year’s Printz Award- even before the year’s barely started, Green has created what I’m sure will stand as one of the- if not the-best books of the year. In this novel, Green has created a touching, compulsively readable, and masterfully handled story that is strongly recommended to any and every person looking for an impactful outlook on life.
P.S. There will be some of this:
There’s one thing that makes John Green one of the best teen authors of the modern age- he understands teens. Between his Vlogbrother videos and starting a cult following behind indie rock bands and ‘Nerdfighters,’ one quick look at him on Google would make you think that he’s just another uber geek who could really benefit from an introduction to a hairbrush. Really, though, he’s a brilliant author. He’s won a Michael L. Printz Award for Looking for Alaska and a Printz Honor for An Abundance of Katherines, also winning an Edgar Award for Paper Towns. He’s one of those rare individuals who manage to please the general public of teen readers as well as professional literary critics- and rightly so. His understanding of what makes humans humans is why his books are so special- all mostly concerning that one finding-yourself stage of adolescence, managing to skillfully maneuver the passages of that confusing time of growing up. He’s never at a loss for a fresh narrative voice, however, and The Fault in Our Stars just may be his freshest yet. Months before release, The Fault in Our Stars had been generating a mass of pre-release hype, Green himself having signed 150,000 copies and guaranteeing all pre-ordered copies his own signature before the title page. As excitement built on Green’s reputation alone, one must wonder: how is he supposed to handle such a delicate topic of cancer? It wasn’t the toughest question to be pressed upon, as we’ve seen 50/50 handled similarly well. But still: there are so many ways this could’ve gone wrong. It could have been sappy, or cloying, or fallen into all of the trappings of cancer stories that are found too often. Green admits he created a lot of his own elements when scribing the book, but that poses the question: would it make the book more offensive than creative?
The Fault in Our Stars is about Hazel Grace, a sixteen year old girl who has been suffering from thyroid cancer for three years. She stays at home and mainly sleeps and reads the same book over and over again, The Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten. She doesn’t make an effort to connect with her parents before her inevitable death, at the most sitting down to watching America’s Next Top Model together. Hazel occasionally attends a support group to talk about her feelings with others suffering from cancer, but mainly just exchanges dark looks with other kids who’d rather be anywhere but there. She’s mainly floating through the rest of her short life, that is, until at one meeting, when she meets the handsome, one-legged Augustus Walters. Through video-games and a mutual love of The Imperial Affliction, the two fall in love. Hazel tries to stop herself, and it’s revealed why she doesn’t want to make a connection with anyone- she wants to “minimize the number of casualties” after she dies, not wanting anyone to be permanently affected by her death. She feels guilty that her parents have halted their lives just to take care of her and wonders what’ll happen to them after she’s gone- she doesn’t want to start a relationship with Augustus in fear of breaking his heart. Through an encounter with a genius who turns out to be as broken as she is, a trip to Amsterdam, and a story that can only be told in the intimacy of personal experience, Hazel learns that loving others is worth it- even with the casualties.
John Green skillfully dodges the hurdles that plague this genre. He does a great job with the characters- he doesn’t underestimate his teen audience’s intelligence, the characters’ dialogue mature and even wise beyond their years- this makes this book enjoyable for teens as well as adults. It’s not unrealistic, though- as the kids are suffering from cancer, it makes sense that their growth would be sped up. That makes it even more readable- in the span of 300 or so pages, you feel as if you’re living a whole life, as opposed to a tiny piece of one. It’s definitely Green’s most retrospective book yet. His prose is philosophical without being sentimental- the voices of Hazel, Augustus, and the supporting characters including Peter Van Houten blend together to make a wholly profound experience. “Fault in Our Stars” is a reference to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar ('The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.'"). This is a novel that refuses to be boxed into any one genre- it’s humorous, heartbreaking, romantic, and memorable. It’s an insightful look human nature- what green does best- one that provides hope and sadness in one startling package about reality.
Hazel provides for a fresh central character- she’s witty without being snarky and sarcastic without being depressing; she’s also different, while also being surprisingly relatable. Her voice is of the most compelling I’ve ever read- it’s very similar to Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, where the main character seems so figured-out and self-assured that it’s astonishing to finally find out the truth about their vulnerability at the end. John Green seems to be made of memorable quotes- he opens with describing depression not as a side effect of cancer, but of dying, while all the while dying is the side effect of cancer. It seems ironic that there are so many Shakespearean references in the book, because Green all the while is as electric and pitch-perfect in his own writing. The book’s sense of humor is unique, describing realistically the effect of support groups and “cancer perks.” He doesn’t step much outside the scope of the characters’ lives, but that’s what makes it more intimate and investable.
Possibly the only annoying thing about this book is that it was released only two weeks after the start of 2012. Had it been released in 2011, it would’ve been a shoe-in for this year’s Printz Award- even before the year’s barely started, Green has created what I’m sure will stand as one of the- if not the-best books of the year. In this novel, Green has created a touching, compulsively readable, and masterfully handled story that is strongly recommended to any and every person looking for an impactful outlook on life.
P.S. There will be some of this:
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I can’t believe it took me this long to read this book, and everyone has already said everything that can be said about it. It’s a sweet love story with a sad ending.
Initially rated 5, brought it down to 2 because: I believe a great story leaves an imprint, and if I can't remember even a fragment of this story, then I shouldn't rate it 5 stars.
