Book Review--The Fault in Our Stars

I consider The Fault in Our Stars a modern-day classic, and even if it's not your favorite story, there are a lot of themes, lessons, and writing tips we can take away from this book.

John Green is an amazing writer. The way he weaves plot and theme together in this heart-wrenching, dramatic, romance proves just that. Below are my thoughts on the story, my likes and dislikes, and what I took away from this beautiful piece of art work.

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!

This review basically spoils the entire book, so if you haven't read it, don't continue.

This was the first book I ever read by John Green, but it has been on my TBR (To Be Read) list for a while.

This story follows sixteen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster, who has cancer that has spread to her lungs, and Augustus Waters, a seventeen year old, who had osteosarcoma cancer and lost his right leg to it.

Cancer is a huge and serious topic, but I love how Green tackles and portrays it. He doesn't sugarcoat it, and deals with all the truths and issues real patients face. Hazel is a great narrator for this story, and I really like seeing her thoughts and emotions, and experiencing the story through her eyes.

The two meet at a support group Hazel's mom forces her to go to. It's definitely not a fairy-tale meeting, which I appreciated and applauded, and the two argue quite a bit before becoming friends.

There is also a side character named Issac who has eye cancer and goes blind part way through the story. We don’t get to see much of him, but he is good friends with Augustus, or Gus as he is also referred to.

Another huge part of the story, and perhaps the thing I loved the most, was a book that Hazel, and later Augustus, were obsessed with called An Imperial Affliction. This subplot offered a lot of conflict that later came up in the story.

An Imperial Affliction is also about a girl with cancer, but what drew Hazel to the story was the ending, or the lack-there-of.

The book ends in mid-sentence, and one of the greatest questions Hazel ponders is, "How does it end?"

She assumes the main character, Anna, either got too sick to continue writing or died.

After she meets Gus, both characters are now hooked on the book, and are eager to find an answer about the ending. They communicate back and forth with the author of the book, but he says he won't tell them the ending unless they travel to meet him in Amsterdam, which is across the Atlantic Ocean.

Hazel is worry and knows her parents can't afford the trip, but she just has to know how the book ends. Luckily, Gus saved his Wish--The kind of wishes the Make A Wish Foundation give to sick kids--and the two of them leave for Amsterdam.

Right before the trip, Hazel is rushed to the hospital because her lungs are filling with liquid. After about a week in the hospital, she's sent home, and when she recovers. Her, her mother, and Gus are off to The Netherlands.

They get on the plane and my favorite scene in the entire book takes place when Gus says this:

"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.”

This is the only part of the book I cried for. These lines are so raw and beautiful, and you'd think some sad part would make me cry, but it didn't. These words did because they are so real and true and touching.

This story is original and romantic, and yet not cliche, which from writing and reading I've learned is very hard to accomplish.

After they arrive, there's a very romantic dinner scene, and then they go to visit the author, Peter Van Houten, who turns out to be the biggest jerk on the planet. Hazel and Gus leave without anymore knowledge of the ending then they had in the beginning. They visit a museum and have their first kiss.

After that they return home, things go down hill. Gus informs Hazel that his cancer is back and has spread everywhere. Things don't look good for either of them. As the cancer progresses, Gus becomes more and more disabled, and is in a wheelchair.

Gus wants to attend his own funeral, so Hazel, Issac, and him have one in the church where they have support group. The two friends each give an eulogy, and sadly Gus passes a couple days later.

After Gus is gone, the story becomes a whole new level of sad. Hazel is depressed, as is the reader, and I just wanted a single grain of hope to hold onto.

I always applaud writers who aren't scared to kill off their characters, especially their main characters. Not many do it, but it gives such a sense of realism to the story--The characters are no longer fearless or unbeatable, they're people just like us, and have the fate we will eventually have. They fear oblivion just like Augustus says.

Stories where we feel pain, and are emotionally connected to are the ones we remember, and this is one of those stories.

At the end of the book, Hazel learns that Gus may have written her an epilogue for An Imperial Affliction, and she tries to find it, but fails.

There's a funeral for Gus. This is a part of the story I was not very pleased with because I expected so much more, and felt the scene fell short.

Hazel gives speech at his funeral, and I was so ready to cry my eyes out, but we only hear the first line or two of her speech and then it's just skipped over.

This made me kind of mad. Augustus was always talking about Hazel and being really romantic, and I thought this was our big chance to hear how she really felt about him.

Peter shows up at the funeral, and we learn a little more about him. He lost his daughter to cancer which is why he had trouble talking to Hazel because she reminded him of her.

The final scene is Hazel in her bedroom, and she receives an email from Peter's assistant which has the epilogue Augustus wrote. She reads it and we read it along with her.

This is another point of the story I felt lacked. The ending was not as satisfying as I would have liked. It needed to tie into the title more, and kind of summarize what the story was really trying to say.

I gave the book an overall rating of 4/5 stars. I learned a lot about writing through this book. I picked up on some of John Green's techniques, and had a great read, so it was a win win! This story has so many lessons in it, and I think we each pick up on our own as we read.

“I think two different people can read one of my books and come away with completely different opinions on the subject. I hope they just read from the beginning to the end and be made to think about the subject. Then they can come to their own conclusions.”

— Eric Schlosser

This quote really was true when I read The Fault in Our Stars, and this book just made me more eager and inspired to write. Those books are the best kind.

What are your thoughts on this book? Leave a comment down below!

It's been a pleasure writing for you, and until next time--stay weird and stay writing. - Lexi