Book Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Date Started: March 24th 2013
Date Completed: March 25th 2013
Genres: Romance, Coming-of-Age
Rating: Five stars
Review:
Okay. First thing's first. I didn't like Looking for Alaska. But my god has John Green redeemed himself. When my friends said it would rip my heart out I thought it would be like some of the other sad books I'd read. Oh, how wrong I was.
I read this book in just over a day. I started it late last night. And I finished it at around quarter to seven this evening. It's that good. There have been very few books I actually haven't been able to stop reading. That's one achievement to add to the long list for this book.
Where I was frustrated about the ignorance of Looking for Alaska's characters, Augustus and Hazel are painfully honest with each other and their predicament. And I loved the fact that they were real to me, and real things happened. And they acted like someone would if it had really happened to them. I've always loved believable books.
I love the way John Green created Van Houten. Completely unlike how you would expect. And completely unlike the typical Young Adult fiction you get these days. I'm glad there are authors out there that are willing to take risks and step away from the passionate, fleeting, dangerous romances. And yet, looking back on that sentence, it is everything Gus and Hazel's relationship is. But so much more. And so much better.
It helped that I recently visited Amsterdam. I could picture everything they were talking about. And that made it all the more magical. Not that it needed to be more magical. It's perfect on it's own.
I didn't cry, exactly. I cried fairly early on, when they're in the car and Gus is sick. That made me cry because I felt so sorry for them and what was happening. Because I've been in similar situations and it's horrible and no one should go through it.
But later, when it happened, I didn't cry. But, my god, was my heart breaking.
I said this with my last review (Article 5): I related to the characters so much that it hurt ten times more when they hurt. And the same here. I have my own Augustus Waters and bloody hell, did this book make me appreciate him.
Anyway, moving on from the sappiness. I couldn't help myself. Sorry.
I have a friend who says she doesn't want to read this because of what it's about. I understand that. But, as Hazel as rightly argues, cancer books are usually about making people feel sorry for the victims. But this book isn't. This book is wonderful. It has cancer in it, but it is not a cancer book. It is a beautiful book about two wonderful people, caught up in the wrong kind of starcrossed situation.
Laugh. Cry. And think.
(Note: I can't really do justice to the book in a review if I'm honest. I can't describe the perfection of every word; the millions of quotes I just wanted to jot down and gaze at for hours; the subtly of emotions running through the entire story; my desperation for everyone to read and treasure this beautiful story - but the selfish reluctance to share it. I'm already starting to sound like Hazel.)
Image Source: http://grandmalin.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/fault-in-our-stars.jpg
Okay. First thing's first. I didn't like Looking for Alaska. But my god has John Green redeemed himself. When my friends said it would rip my heart out I thought it would be like some of the other sad books I'd read. Oh, how wrong I was.
I read this book in just over a day. I started it late last night. And I finished it at around quarter to seven this evening. It's that good. There have been very few books I actually haven't been able to stop reading. That's one achievement to add to the long list for this book.
Where I was frustrated about the ignorance of Looking for Alaska's characters, Augustus and Hazel are painfully honest with each other and their predicament. And I loved the fact that they were real to me, and real things happened. And they acted like someone would if it had really happened to them. I've always loved believable books.
I love the way John Green created Van Houten. Completely unlike how you would expect. And completely unlike the typical Young Adult fiction you get these days. I'm glad there are authors out there that are willing to take risks and step away from the passionate, fleeting, dangerous romances. And yet, looking back on that sentence, it is everything Gus and Hazel's relationship is. But so much more. And so much better.
It helped that I recently visited Amsterdam. I could picture everything they were talking about. And that made it all the more magical. Not that it needed to be more magical. It's perfect on it's own.
I didn't cry, exactly. I cried fairly early on, when they're in the car and Gus is sick. That made me cry because I felt so sorry for them and what was happening. Because I've been in similar situations and it's horrible and no one should go through it.
But later, when it happened, I didn't cry. But, my god, was my heart breaking.
I said this with my last review (Article 5): I related to the characters so much that it hurt ten times more when they hurt. And the same here. I have my own Augustus Waters and bloody hell, did this book make me appreciate him.
Anyway, moving on from the sappiness. I couldn't help myself. Sorry.
I have a friend who says she doesn't want to read this because of what it's about. I understand that. But, as Hazel as rightly argues, cancer books are usually about making people feel sorry for the victims. But this book isn't. This book is wonderful. It has cancer in it, but it is not a cancer book. It is a beautiful book about two wonderful people, caught up in the wrong kind of starcrossed situation.
Laugh. Cry. And think.
(Note: I can't really do justice to the book in a review if I'm honest. I can't describe the perfection of every word; the millions of quotes I just wanted to jot down and gaze at for hours; the subtly of emotions running through the entire story; my desperation for everyone to read and treasure this beautiful story - but the selfish reluctance to share it. I'm already starting to sound like Hazel.)
Image Source: http://grandmalin.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/fault-in-our-stars.jpg
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