REVIEW: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Publisher: Dutton Books
Published: January 10, 2012
Format: First Edition, Hardcover, 318 pages

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, 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.

My Review:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is a epic tale about a girl named Hazel who is diagnosed with Thyroid cancer at the young age of twelve; set to die. However, at fourteen, Hazel gets a medical miracle. The tumors in her lungs shrink and stay that way, but Hazel is forever sick. She lives on with a oxygen tank always at her side. She becomes a little detached from outside world, more comfortable holed up in her room reading a book. One day, everything changes when she goes to her support group and meets Augustus Waters for the very first time. 



I have always admired John Green’s work. His writing has always seemed to capture me with little effort and I’ve always ended up loving his books in its entirety. However, John Green has done more than make me fall in the love with The Fault in Our Stars. He changed me and opened me up to such a beautiful and so completely heart-breaking, heart-shattering and soul-touching story that is about life, healing, discovery, falling in love, true pain, death, and letting go.



If there is a book that is made of perfection, it’s this one. I thought I knew what I was up against when I started reading The Fault in Our Stars. I was expecting to cry, but I was not expecting to feel this raw pain that ran deeper than my soul. I was not expecting to get so attached to the characters, to the story, to everything where I literally had the hardest time reading on from the hurt and the feeling of drowning in my own pain and suffering. I was not expecting to laugh like I have never laughed before. I was not expecting to be so captivated by such a uniquely incredible story. 



John Green really threads and weaves in intelligence, humor and pain into The Fault In Our Stars. His writing is stunning, mesmerizing and so irresistible. He writes with purity and passion that really shows in this book. I must say that John Green continues to blow me away and he never fails to impress me with his work.



Both Hazel and Augustus are smart and optimistic despite their situation and the circumstances in which brought them together. I completely fell head over heels for both of them. Their continuous banter had me clutching my stomach from all the laughing and many times I found myself grinning like a completely and utter fool. Hazel was a wonderful main character. I enjoyed her strong voice and the way she delivered herself. I really connected to Hazel and was completely taken with her strength and the fight she had, not for herself, but for her parents. She was really mature for her age and I loved the way she related to books. I loved how she saw things differently, how she expresses herself and how real and human she felt to me.



I can say many many things about Augustus Waters. He’s so exceptional and if The Fault in Our Stars is the perfect book, Augustus is the perfect boy, perfect character, perfect everything. I have attached myself to him so much that there was just no way you could make me part from him. He was funny, very very smart like Hazel, eccentric, cute, charming, handsome, different, kind, sweet, thoughtful, loving, true, honest, and I could go on and on. His attraction and connection to Hazel is truly remarkable. The way they understand each other so completely really took my breath away and left my heart skipping beats.

 

Hazel and Augustus’s journey together in The Fault in Our Stars is an eye-opening experience and a truly outstanding one at that. Watching these two fall hopelessly in love was so amazing. I cannot describe in which the beauty their love evokes. I cannot describe the intensity in which they their love was and the inevitable, looming consequence their sickness bears for the both of them. However, their love is true, honest and it’s so completely real. These two moved me and I cannot put into words how much their story affected me, changed me, and broke me all at once. 



Overall, The Fault in Our Stars, is beautifully written. It’s filled with tons of humor and sophistication. It’s creative, smart, and so alluring. It brings out floods of emotions and will definitely have you crying for hours on end. It’s tragically addicting and so absorbing. The end will leave you speechless and the story will stay with you forever.



If there is one book in this world that you must must must read, The Fault in Our Stars is that one book. 


My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.