The Fault in Our Stars
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.