The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green
Genre: YA Fiction

Sixteen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster is intelligent, cynical, and terminal.  Diagnosed with thyroid cancer at the age of thirteen, she was given a grim prognoses and experimental medication.  Despite endless doctors appointments and numerous radical treatments, the Lancasters have never been given false hope- Hazel's cancer can be treated, but not cured.  All science can do is delay the inevitable.  Then one day at support group Hazel meets Augustus Waters.  He is witty, straightforward, and a little pretentious.  Augustus pulls Hazel out of her monotony of support group meetings and America's Next Top Model marathons and reminds her that she is a person, not just a cancer patient.

First of all, let me start off by saying that this book is not a typical "love story" or "cancer book".  While it does incorporate both of those elements, it views them from a bigger picture perspective.  John Green portrays the illnesses mentioned in his novel very realistically, where many authors prefer to sugar coat it, or at the very least omit the unpleasant details.  The Fault in Our Stars strikes a very rare balance of portraying the terrible aspects of disease, without becoming overdramatic and focusing exclusively on the negatives.  Hazel and Augustus' relationship is very sweet and John Green doesn't try to make his story about how "true love conquers all" but rather the fact that being in love is worth the pain of knowing it won't be able to last.  This theme applies to many different relationships; romantic love, parental love, and friendship.

5/5