The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
This book is so incredible that I am left befuddled as to how to convey how amazing it is. I've tried to start this review in a multitude of various ways, but I keep hitting a wall when I realize that my words are plain compared to what The Fault in Our Stars has to offer. So to put it as plainly as I can, READ THIS BOOK. IT IS GREAT.
Oh this book. It hits below the belt! I was prepared for tears, but I was not prepared for the knife that sliced my chest open and left my heart exposed and vulnerable. This story got to me in a really, really great way. It is more than a tearjerker. It is a sobfest. And there is nothing better than a completely unselfish cry brought about by the mere use of words and the incredible writing of a love story.
Hazel had given up on making relationships. She was content watching America's Next Top Model and rereading her favorite book on repeat. But when Augustus Waters, beautiful and charismatic, stared at her during support group, Hazel was unable to hide from his sparkling eyes. A witty exchange about the correct use of literally begins a relationship that expands throughout the 318 pages, painting a beautiful, breathtaking and heart wrenching story.
Side note. Two words for you: AUGUSTUS WATERS. Enough said. New favorite book character, hands down.
My favorite characters in books are the ones with clever lines and witty comebacks, which is no wonder that Hazel and Augustus became instant favorites. They are SO witty. Sure people in real life are not quite that clever, but man do I wish they were. My next favorite trait in characters is vulnerability. So enter Hazel and Augustus, witty beyond belief and cancer patients. I fell for them, hard. I feel like I know them, and that I will always think of them as these two people I was lucky to meet along my life road. They might be fictitious but the impact they have had on my life is very real.
This book transformed me. Since reading it, I have found a way to sneak it into almost all of my conversations, culminating in this line, "Oh my goodness, you have to read this book." But beyond a fantastic book to review and recommend, it is also an incredible message to life. It is eye-opening and life changing. And I don't know, but any book that leaves me still teary-eyed a week after reading is a book that I will have on my shelves forever. It is a book that I will always say, "Damn, that book is good."
Hardcover, First Edition, 318 pages
Published January 10th 2012 by Dutton Books
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. (Goodreads summary)“But it is the nature of stars to cross, and never was Shakespeare more wrong than when he has Cassius note, ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves.” ― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
This book is so incredible that I am left befuddled as to how to convey how amazing it is. I've tried to start this review in a multitude of various ways, but I keep hitting a wall when I realize that my words are plain compared to what The Fault in Our Stars has to offer. So to put it as plainly as I can, READ THIS BOOK. IT IS GREAT.
Oh this book. It hits below the belt! I was prepared for tears, but I was not prepared for the knife that sliced my chest open and left my heart exposed and vulnerable. This story got to me in a really, really great way. It is more than a tearjerker. It is a sobfest. And there is nothing better than a completely unselfish cry brought about by the mere use of words and the incredible writing of a love story.
Hazel had given up on making relationships. She was content watching America's Next Top Model and rereading her favorite book on repeat. But when Augustus Waters, beautiful and charismatic, stared at her during support group, Hazel was unable to hide from his sparkling eyes. A witty exchange about the correct use of literally begins a relationship that expands throughout the 318 pages, painting a beautiful, breathtaking and heart wrenching story.
Side note. Two words for you: AUGUSTUS WATERS. Enough said. New favorite book character, hands down.
My favorite characters in books are the ones with clever lines and witty comebacks, which is no wonder that Hazel and Augustus became instant favorites. They are SO witty. Sure people in real life are not quite that clever, but man do I wish they were. My next favorite trait in characters is vulnerability. So enter Hazel and Augustus, witty beyond belief and cancer patients. I fell for them, hard. I feel like I know them, and that I will always think of them as these two people I was lucky to meet along my life road. They might be fictitious but the impact they have had on my life is very real.
This book transformed me. Since reading it, I have found a way to sneak it into almost all of my conversations, culminating in this line, "Oh my goodness, you have to read this book." But beyond a fantastic book to review and recommend, it is also an incredible message to life. It is eye-opening and life changing. And I don't know, but any book that leaves me still teary-eyed a week after reading is a book that I will have on my shelves forever. It is a book that I will always say, "Damn, that book is good."
