The Fault In Our StarsBy John Green
Published January 10th 2012 by Dutton Books
Borrowed from Library
313 pages
"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." ~ Goodreads
The Fault In Our Stars has acquired quite a reputation for itself as an intelligent, eloquent, and refined masterpiece. It does not fail to live up to that promise, I assure you.
Fact one: This is not your typical cancer book. Please, do not even go there. It is not depressing or preachy. It is full of life, love, death and laughter; it is realistic. If you can picture the essence of John Green transferred to a book, (I have had the great honor of getting to know him via YouTube), you can easily understand how profound that book would be... so, meet TFIOS everyone. He has a gift, plain and simple. Thank you John Green for sharing that gift with us mere mortals.
Fact two: TFIOS brings its characters to life in way that evokes emotion in the reader - real, powerful emotions. You will laugh out loud at their witty remarks, cry at the unfairness of it all, but more important you will wonder at their brilliancy. Hazel and Augustus are two exceptional people whose personalities charm their way into our hearts.
Fact three: It will morph your thoughts, actions, and outlook on life. Maybe not that day or the next, but TFIOS is a literary work that will stick with you for the rest of your existence. You may see an out of breath child at the park and think, "Hazel wouldn't be able to do that." Or perhaps you are drinking champagne and a comment slips out about "tasting the stars". No, maybe you are having a really bad day and, well, you convince yourself that you just need to suck it up because "the world is not a wish-granting factory". TFIOS packs a punch to the gut, but before it does, it feeds our mind with words worthy of meditation.
I highly recommend... no, I insist that if you have not allowed yourself the favor, honor, and "simple pleasure" of reading The Fault In Our Stars, please do. You will not regret it. My review just barely scratches the surface of it all; it is a once in a lifetime read that cannot be described by my sorry excuse of a review.
Excerpt
"I'm in love with you," he said quietly.
"Augustus," I said.
"I am," he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you."
