The Fault in Our Stars

John Green

Summary:

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.

Plot:

First of all, let me just say that this is probably one of the hardest books to review I’ve ever come across. I can’t decide if I love it or like it or hate it. The story is quite simple and straightforward, but with a few interesting twist and turns thrown in here and there. John’s style is quite interesting, mixing typical everyday English with words I’ve never even seen (and it takes quite a lot to find a word I haven’t read at least once!). The only word I could think of, while reading, to describe this book is ‘real’. This story is realistic, and simple and tells it like it is. All in all, I would say I liked this story in general, but it kind of disappointed me at the end, but maybe I was expecting too much.

Characters:

The main characters in this book are wonderfully normal teenagers, with a terrible illness, raising questions most teens wouldn’t ask themselves about death, and what comes after it. I liked most of the characters, except the writer guy, I can’t remember his name, although I get why he was made to be a disappointment, showing us we can’t always get everything we want and adding to the authenticity that made this book different. The characters don’t get a fairytale ending, but they learn about the importance of love, family and friends.

Who should read this?

13+ as there are some language and other mature content. I think someone who likes sad books, but wants something different. I might even compare this to ‘the perks of being a wallflower’, the style of writing, and the type of characters reminded me a little of Chbosky’s style. This is not a light book, and while it’s easy to read it can get a bit depressing, so if you like fun, upbeat books don’t read this one.

My rating:

This is seriously the first time in my life that it’s happened that I don’t know if I like a book or not. And that’s saying a lot, considering the wide range of ones I have read. So based on that I’m going to give this a 3/5, simply because I do not know what to think of this book, not because it was bad in any way. (I will tell you if I read it again and my opinions have changed).

Quote:
“As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.”