Wednesday 30 April 2014

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green

Title: The Fault In Our Stars
Author: John Green
Publisher: Dutton Books
Publication Date: January 10, 2012
Available Editions: Hardback, Paperback, EBook.

Book Synopsis:

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.
Review:

This Novel; A now largely popular motion picture, has to be one of the most moving books I have ever set my eyes upon, I'm sure all of you can agree to some degree right? The humour with the harsh reality of cancer victims provides us, an in no way blunt image of a teen love, and the battle with cancer.
 

Through out the novel there are references to things being side effects of dying, I don't know why I like those references so much, I mean Hazel says that her depression is a side effect of dying and that her cancer is also a side effect of dying, Everything in fact is a side effect of dying. Also what I like about this novel is that its relatable, and I don't mean in the aspect of us all knowing what it feels like to be them but the aspect of the things she does like how she loves reading one book over and over again because she loves it so much, how at first she denies the love between her and Augustus I mean which teenage girl/ boy hasn't denied the obvious love between themselves and another but end up admitting to it later on? And lastly I love the humour in the book, how it's sarcastically funny even though its in a book about one of the most serious things we know of.

The characters are quite beautiful in their own right, Hazel loves An Imperial Affliction and in not being in a normal school, she has very few friends and where's best to make new ones? in a support group where she meets Augustus Waters who falls for her the moment he looks at her across the room. He's full of metaphors and huge cute smiles and together they cant help but make a perfect match friendship and relationship wise. Isaac much like Augustus and Hazel, has cancer and they both support him when he has to lose his eyes and ultimately his girlfriend. They become kind of a close knitted 3 person family full of beautiful raw emotion where they feel kind of dependant on each other, therefore adding a moving and powerful aspect to the novel.
 
I see this novel in many ways but the way I see it more than just being a novel about a terminally ill teenager who finds love, I see it as a way of learning to accept who you are, that bad things may happen to us but we must learn from them and that some of those things are unchangeable, we must find the good in the bad. It's hard to find long lasting happiness.

I give the novel a 5/5 no doubt about it, well written gut wrenching novel about love and dealing with illness. I recommend it to anyone who loves John Green or has seen the film and not read the book because they are different.