Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green
313 pages
Publisher:
Publication Date:
Source: Purchased
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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.

Every once in awhile you read a book that changes you. Really changes you. It changes the way you think, changes the way you live, changes the way you love, and all you know is that now that you've read this book, your life will never be the same. Before reading The Fault in Our Stars I had only read about 4 of those books in my life. Now I've read 5. I finished The Fault in Our Stars this morning but it is still haunting me. It's invaded my mind and gripped my soul and that is why I'm sitting here in front of my computer typing up this review at 1 o'clock in the morning when I really should be sleeping. Sometimes reason just can't hold a candle to ones thoughts on literary genius.

The Fault in Our Stars is a beautiful tragedy. There's no other way to describe it. This book may be about cancer but it isn't just a cancer story. It's a story about love, life, death, and the legacy we all leave behind. It's brutal and honest but also absolutely hilarious. One minute you'll be laughing at the perfect humor and the next you'll be sobbing because the story is so incredibly heartbreaking. You've probably heard this before but I'm saying it again: The Fault in Our Stars will make you cry. There is no escaping it. Though I'm not sure "cry" is the right word for the all encompassing full body weeping that I experienced while reading this book. Just make sure that when you read The Fault in Our Stars (and you better read it!) that you're prepared with a box of Kleenex.

Before The Fault in Our Stars even begins John Green reminds the reader in an authors note that the book is a work of fiction. He knows all too well that the story and characters he has created are so honest and achingly real that people will want to believe that they existed. That Hazel and Augustus' story is real. I know I did. But instead I was like a girl peering into a glass aquarium: A bystander who could look into that beautiful world but could never become apart of it. Even so John Green's story of Hazel and Augustus and their life and struggles and love and adventure was so amazing that I didn't care. I felt privileged just to have been able to partake of it, fictional or not. There's a lot we can learn from fiction, and sometimes we forget that.

My absolute favorite quote from The Fault in Our Stars is this:

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Augustus half smiled. "Because you're beautiful. I enjoy looking at beautiful people, and I decided a while ago not to deny myself the simpler pleasures of existence."

This is one of those moments when I am just in awe of John Green. He is able to capture in words what people feel but are not always able to fully express, and that's a beautiful thing.

The Fault in Our Stars is not just a book. It is a masterpiece. It is life changing. It will remind you that life is not always about being remembered, but about loving, getting loved in return, and making a difference no matter how small. Leaving a scar. And that's what The Fault in Our Stars has done for me; It's left an interminable scar on my heart and soul and I am happy to never be able to forget this beautifully tragic and melancholy masterpiece.

The Fault in Our Stars gets 5 out of 5 ice cream cones!

This is one of those cases when a "rating" does not do the book justice. Quite frankly, The Fault in Our Stars is one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure of reading in my entire life. Please read this book, and if you do I hope it affects you the same way it affected me.

Julia :)