The Fault in Our Stars

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The Fault in Our Stars
John Green
2012


The Summary
Written from the perspective of Hazel, The Fault in Our Stars tells of a very short period in her life as she recuperates and lives with thyroid cancer, along with satellite tumors in her lungs.  After meeting Augustus Waters in Support Group, she grows to understand his unusual love for metaphors - such as the pack of cigarettes he leaves perpetually unsmoked - and his desire to make an impact on the world.  They also share a love of literature, especially for a book called An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten, which will play a crucial role in their growing relationship as they face facts about life, about love, and about mortality.

More than that, it is a story about living and trying to live and wanting to live, even when it seems impossible.

It's lovely.  It's tragic.  It will make you want to read it again.

The Good
Green gives his characters an extraordinary depth of emotion and range of characteristics, which make them as lovable and dear to your heart as the misfit best friend, who can always make you laugh and always make you feel a little better on a bad day.

As cliche as it might sound, you will become attached each character you meet.  Hazel, the main protagonist, who has always has a witty reply and offers an unique insight into the world on which cancer has wreaked havoc; Isaac, her Support Group wing-man, who struggles with the surgery which will make him blind and becomes one of Hazel's closest friends; Augustus, the philosophical youth, who deals with osteosarcoma and has a thing for metaphors.

You'll love 'em.

As for the rest of the novel, I can really find no fault.  John Green propels his story forward gracefully, giving Hazel the opportunity to tell her narrative and live her life.  And, more importantly, he tells a story.

As he writes in the author's note on the first page:  "This book is a work of fiction.  I made it up."  This novel is all about the story, because "made-up stories can matter" without all the hidden meanings and metaphors lurking behind every word.

It's the story that matters in this novel - and it is a story, which Green tells exceptionally well.

The Bad
You will cry - and then you may just cry some more.

The Ugly
Cancer is simply an ugly thing.