Review: The Fault in Our Stars

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Pages:336
Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary Realism
Audience: YA
Five Stars: I would build a world-wonder for this book and then propose in front of it.


Goodreads Summary:
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

My Thoughts:

After finishing this book I felt like I'd tried to swallow a glass ornament and it ripped up my insides.  It was so beautiful and fragile that I had to have it, despite knowing it would be painful.  Now there are shards of it stuck inside me that I will never get rid of.  

Sorry for that vivid imagery but it needed to be said.  I can't imagine John Green having a novel that tops this, but I'm willing to read all his works just to make sure.  So many people have told me how good this book is that I've actually kind of avoided it, for fear it wouldn't live up to my expectations.  It far exceeded them.

What makes it so great?  The characters.  Hazel is the type of character that is both wonderfully developed and normal enough to serve as a vessel for the reader.  you can easily imagine yourself as her and feel everything this story throws at you.  I spent most of the story suppressing sobs, which is incredibly rare for me.  Augustus is charming and witty, but not perfect.  I think these two qualify as one of my top ten favorite couples, though I'll have to digest the story more before I decide exactly where they fall.

The pacing is compelling, though unhurried. I knew how it was going to end within the first chapter, but I was so hooked by then it did not matter.   Not much happens in the way of "action" in this book, but I could hardly put it down.

The tone was immediately foreboding and bittersweet.  In a cast of cancer-filled characters, of course someone was going to die.  Sorry for the spoiler, but if you didn't know this...you should have.  I would go so far as to call the plot heartbreaking, and possibly the greatest love story I've read.

John Green's writing style is unusual.  It is poetic, with precise attention to wording and flow.  His vocabulary is often elevated above your typical YA novel.  While I do love that about his works, it struck me as hard to swallow for 16-year olds.  I, personally, have never met any that spoke so eloquently, with such wit.  

If you don't read this book...you are missing out.