The Fault in Our Stars- Review

Hazel has cancer, so her mother, in a misguided attempt to keep Hazel from keeping herself house bound. At these support group meetings, also known as the literal heart of Jesus, Hazel has connected with another cancer patient Isaac through sighs of disdain. One day however another boy shows up, named Augusts who shares her witty quick tempted sense of humor. He asks her to his house to watch a movie and it’s the beginnings of what eventually becomes a loving relationship. Hazel and Augustus bond over a book called An Imperial Affliction, about a girl who has cancer and doesn’t try to romanticize it, much like Hazel and Augusts. However the book, told from the female characters point of view, ends mid-sentence, alluding to the fact that she has died. Hazel and Augustus then decide to hunt down the illustrious author of the book and ask him what happens after it’s over. Hazel in particular wants to know what happens to the girl’s mom. After getting no answers from the Author of the book after they visit him in Amsterdam, Hazel then learns that although the type of cancer that Augustus has a 80% survival rate, it looks like Augustus is going to be in the 20%, after at CAT scan the doctors see that “his body id made of cancer”. Hazel stands but Augustus and his family as Augustus’s body begins to fail him. Eventually he dies, and Hazel is forced to continue life without him. Before he died Augusts told Hazel that he would write her a sequel to An Imperial Affliction since that Author wouldn’t give them any more information about the characters. Instead he writes a eulogy for her, and sends it to the Author of An Imperial Affliction where he ask for assistance with his piece. Augustus’s words eventually make it back to Hazel, he writes about how many people in the world do all that they can to be remembered by a large number of people, because the idea of being forgotten frightens them almost as much as the idea of death, but Hazel does the opposite, she doesn’t want anyone to hurt over her death, so he makes a little contact as possible. Augusts praises her strength and says that although Hazel tries her hardest to walk to world unknown, he knows her, and loves her, and would miss her terribly is she died before him.

            This book gets mixed reviews, there are some that love it, others that don’t care, and others who may like it, but it will eventually fade in their mind. I was a lover of the book; I liked it because it was real. I had no problems feeling that Hazel, Augustus, and the other characters of the book were real. I agree with the characters in the book that there are a lot of movies, and books the make light of what it’s truly like the literally fight your own body for the right to live. There is sadness, doubt, tears, anger, and a vast array of other emotions that aren’t pretty or admirable, so people forget about those emotions once the people who displayed them are gone. I thought that Isaac’s tantrum in the book when he did nothing but scream and cry and break trophies at the loss of his eyes and the girlfriend who couldn’t handle his medical issues, was very real. I also liked how Green made the book An Imperial Affliction a focal point for Hazel and that the book assisted in creating a stronger bond between Hazel and Augusts. I constantly re-read and quote favorite books, even when I know those around me may not understand, the similarities between Hazel’s feelings for An Imperial Affliction and her constant re-reading and quoting of the book was similar to my own re reading and quoting of favorite books made her that much more of a real character. I think Green did a fantastic job bringing these characters to life.