And the "Favourite Books" list gets longer...

The Fault in Our Stars

By John Green

The Fault in Our Stars is about sixteen year-old Hazel, who has thyroid cancer. Now I’m going to stop right there to say that this isn’t a cancer book. Yes, it’s about a girl with cancer, in fact a bunch of people have cancer, but her having cancer doesn’t define the book. Hazel lives her life in a generally dull manner, going to Cancer Kid Support Group, attending a couple of college courses, reading the same book, over and over, and always being defined as the girl with cancer. Then she meets Augustus Waters, a charming, seventeen year-old cancer survivor, who changes Hazel’s perception of herself, helping her not to make her cancer story her story.

I came to this, ready to be depressed. John Green is an amazing writer and I really enjoyed his book An Abundance of Katherines, but seriously, it’s about a girl with cancer. Saying that there’s no chance a book about cancer will be depressing is like saying “Hey, if I stick my face right next to this lion there is noooooo way I’m gonna get mauled.” But I digress. Basically, I was reluctant, but John Green is awesome and I can’t say no to buying books.

As it turned out my worrying was for naught. The Fault in Our Stars manages to keep the tone light without completely trivialising the basic premise. I had no qualms, however, about what the actual writing would be like. An Abundance of Katherines was extremely well written and this one is no different.  It uses very accessible language, and the teenagers actually sound like teenagers. It really felt like the characters were real, and made me wish that they actually were.

Hazel is a very interesting character. She’s strong willed, but also a bit depressed, however over the course of the story she really opens up and evolves as a character. (I would say ‘blossoms’, but I’m not really into flower similes.) She also deals with having cancer in a very light but not flippant manner. This is probably what keeps the book from being depressing. This is pretty much embodied in this line:

“I looked down my blouse at my chest. ‘Keep your s**t together” I whispered to my lungs.”

What’s really interesting is how Hazel’s and Augustus’s roles switch completely halfway through. No spoilers, though, I promise!

Now this is going to sound weird, but it’s one of those books that you finish reading and feel smarter. John Green doesn’t dumb down the language for his “young readers” The dialogue flows well and words like “Hamartia” fit in really naturally. There’s even a grumpy, old Dutch man who uses phrases like “our triumphantly digitized contemporaneity” for goodness sakes.

The Fault in Our Stars is definitely one of my favourite books, and I would have re-read it right after I finished it (yes I have done that before) but I have 200 books, at least 50 of which haven’t been read and I must read! If you need me, I’ll be the one with the books.

Feisty chick-o-meter: 9/10
Age rating:16+
Rating: 10/10
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Book or audiobook: Book
Last word: Do