31 March, 2012

'The Fault In Our Stars' by John Green (2012)


This book is about death. It doesn’t pretend to be anything else and even from the first chapter, we are aware that the book will end sadly. On the other hand, there are little bits of humour scattered throughout the novel that make it a ‘cry one line, laugh the next’ kind of experience.

Let me sum it up for you: Hazel is a young cancer patient trying to come to terms with her illness and her life. Her and her friends, Augustus and Isaac, make a brilliant group of intellectual and fun-loving teenagers. In this way, Green portrays Hazel in such a unique way. She is not depressing. She is average, and that’s what makes her extraordinary. The novel isn’t saccharine by any means, neither is it terribly depressing. It contains an element of authenticity that John Green is renowned for.



The plot twist becomes predictable about three quarters of the way through though it doesn’t take anything away from the characters. The ending is obvious though Green fulfils it in such a beautiful way- his writing style is impeccable and remains so until the last word.

I’m not sure as to what else I can say; this book deserves to be read and deserves to be understood. While a novel about death may seem morbid or macabre, the overall message of ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ is that life goes on and that the human spirit never really dies.

-Steph

Read this if you enjoyed: Looking For Alaska (Green); The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (Chbosky).

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