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Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars Book Cover The Fault in Our Stars
John Green
Young Adult
Penguin
January 2012
Kindle
337
Amazon

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumors 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 tumors 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 (from Goodreads/publisher).

“I believe the universe wants to be noticed.”

One-sentence review: This book was sad yet thoroughly enjoyable; had great, believable characters; and left me satisfied.

The good: Hazel and Augustus (and Isaac) were top-notch characters, even though they were oddly intelligent for teenagers. I wasn’t put off by their intelligence, though. Great books have smart characters. Green also does a great job setting the scene in this book, whether it’s Amsterdam or Augustus’s parents’ house.

The bad: The dialogue was a little much in places, but it was well executed nonetheless. Peter van Houten was a pain/could’ve been toned down a bit.

Bottom line: This was the first book I’ve read by John Green, and I’m happy to say that I’ll be reading more. The book shed some light on what it’s really like living with cancer and having friends–and boyfriends–who have cancer. A solid read.

Hi, guys!

Yeah, so I’d hate to be one of those blogs that dies shortly after it’s started . . . I’m alive! And I’ve been reading, which has been really good for me as I’ve been navigating through changes at my work, juggling a million things, and going on a pre-Christmas vacation. (Remember Christmas Vacation? Hilarious movie right there–and I watched it last night. It’s amazing the things in a movie you catch when you get older. Anyway . . .) Also, I went a little crazy and bought a ton of books for Black Friday, etc. I’ll be posting my haul soon. AND I got my Secret Santa gift today for the exchange The Broke and the Bookish is hosting. Great stuff! I’ll post on that soon too. I have a lot to catch up on, so bear with me.

I hope you all are having a great December!

Stacking the Shelves #2

Stacking the Shelves!

Stacking the shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

So, there was a library sale this week. . . . 🙂 i got 7 books for $1 each.

Stacking the Shelves 2Pride and Prejudice (Adams and Oliver), Forest Born (Shannon Hale), The Constant Princess (Philippa Gregory), Dragonhaven (Robin McKinley), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (Helen Fielding), Two Truths and a Lie (Sara Shepard), The Hypnotist’s Love Story (Liane Moriarty)

STS2.1

From the library: Eleanor & Park, The Schwa Was Here, and Cinder

The one I’m really thrilled about is Pride and Prejudice. I’m planning on starting my kids on Austen as early as possible. 🙂 I really want the whole set, and though this copy isn’t in the best shape, it’s a good start. I’m also excited to break into The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty.

And I’m late to the Cinder party, but I’m excited to get started. Anyway, there ya go, my haul for the week. What have you been reading?

First Line Friday #2

First line friday

Hi, friends! So this week I’ve got three books for ya for First Line Friday, a weekly feature by me. I’ll be introducing books that I’ve started this week or will start by Saturday (and I might tweak it a bit, but that’s how it is for now). 🙂

Wuthering Heights1801.—I have just returned from a visit to my landlord—the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with. —Wuthering Heights

 

 

 

 

 

Eleanor & ParkHe’d stopped trying to bring her back. —Eleanor & Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zusak_book thiefa mountain range of rubble in which our narrator introduces: himself—the colors—and the book thief.  —From the prologue of The Book Thief

 

 

 

 

 

I’m starting the first for my book club and the second for fun. And I started the third because I’ve heard great things about it. Any thoughts on any of these books? I’m feeling my classics-reading severely lacking, so I’m going to try and read more of them. Any suggestions?

Happy Friday!

 

Thursday Quotables #1

I grabbed this idea for Thursday Quotables from Bookshelf Fantasies. Here’s how it works: “This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week.” If you participate, make sure to head back over to Bookshelf Fantasies and link up! I love quotes, so I was really excited when I came across this idea. 🙂

Here is my quote this week:

Insane or not, Rudy was always destined to be Liesel’s best friend. A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship. (The Book Thief)

it’s funny how we make friends sometimes. And can I tell you how much I like the way this book is written? It’s a lot.

What are some good quotes you’ve come across during your week of reading?

 

First Line Friday #1

First line friday

So, I’m adapting this a little from Katie’s Book Blog. She normally posts the first lines from books in her TBR pile and has readers vote on a book according to the choices. What I’m going to be doing instead is post the first lines of books in my upcoming reading lineup as a sort of preview. I know you’re on the edge of your seats. We’ll see how this goes.

Book of a Thousand Days “My lady and I are being shut up in a tower for seven years.” (Book of a Thousand Days)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake“It happened for the first time on a Tuesday afternoon, a warm spring day in the flatlands near Hollywood, a light breeze moving east from the ocean and stirring the black-eyed pansy petals newly planted in our flower boxes.” (The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake)

 

 

 

 

The first is for fun and the second is from my new book club, which I’m really excited about. One of my really good (actually, great) friends is in charge of it. It’ll be grand.

There you have it, my new books for the week. 😀

 

Welcome!

Hi, there!

Yeah, I’m starting a blog about books. It might be just like all the other book blogs OR it may turn out to be something awesome. I think it will be the latter because who wants to be like everyone else? Sure, I’m planning on doing some “normal book blog” things, but I hope that you’ll join me as I navigate my way through the stacks of books on my shelf that are begging to be opened after my months-long hiatus from reading. I know, it’s a tragedy because what’s better than cracking open a new-to-you book and enjoying a peppermint hot chocolate? Well, I know of a few things in life that are better: a hug from my husband, finding a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk (woo! now I can buy more books–no, this has never happened to me) . . . just go with it, friends.

Where am I going with this? No idea. But I’m glad you’re here. Thanks for reading!

p.s. I love french fries . . . just in case you were wondering.