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The Fault in Our Stars Kindle Edition book review Best Books of the Month, January 2012: In The Fault in Our Stars, John Green hascreated a soulful novel that tackles big subjects--life, death, love--with the perfect blend of levityand heart-swelling emotion. Hazel is sixteen, with terminal cancer, when she meets Augustus ather kids-with-cancer support group. The two are kindred spirits, sharing an irreverent sense ofhumor and immense charm, and watching them fall in love even as they face universal questionsof the human condition--How will I be remembered? Does my life, and will my death, havemeaning?--has a raw honesty that is deeply moving. --Seira WilsonReviewAn electric portrait of young people who learn to live life with one foot in the grave. Filled withstaccato bursts of humor and tragedy, The Fault in Our Stars takes a spin on universal themes--Will I be loved? Will I be remembered? Will I leave a mark on this world?--by dramatically raisingthe stakes for the characters who are asking.--Jodi Picoult, author of My Sisters Keeper and Sing You Home"A novel of life and death and the people caught in between, The Fault in Our Stars is John Greenat his best. You laugh, you cry, and then you come back for more." -- Markus Zusak, bestsellingand Printz Honor winning author of The Book Thief "John Green writes incredible, honest truths about the secret, weird hearts of human beings. Hemakes me laugh and gasp at the beauty of a sentence or the twist of a tale. He is one of the bestwriters alive and I am seething with envy of his talent." --E. Lockhart, National Book Award Finalistand Printz Honorwinning author of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks and TheBoyfriend List This review is from: The Fault in Our Stars (Hardcover)Spoiler free! Although his brother Hank might argue that the real "fault in our stars" is that our sun containslimited amounts of hydrogen, which will cause it to eventually run out of the only fuel sourcecapable of supporting its mass against gravity, thereby expanding until its outer shell envelops

ourtiny planet and consumes it in a fiery death, I think it is more likely that John Green's title refers toa line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: "The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings." Caesar (I, ii,140-141) What does this quote mean and how does it relate to a novel about two kids dying of cancer? I'llexplore that below.

The Fault in Our Stars is the story of two 16-year-olds who meet at a cancer support group. HazelLancaster, the narrator, is afflicted with terminal thyroid cancer which has ravaged her lungsenough to necessitate the use of an oxygen tank wherever she goes. It is during a supportmeeting that she is introduced to Augustus Waters, whose leg was claimed by a malignant bonetumor and who soon becomes the object of her affection. When I learned of the plot of this novel, I was initially a bit turned off. I'm reminded of a comment afriend made when I asked her if she wanted to go see the movie 50/50, upon which she exclaimed"who wants to go see a movie about people dying of cancer?" I couldn't come up with asatisfactory response, and we settled for a two-hour movie about the competitive world of robotfighting (which still caused me to shed a tear). So why would anyone, especially young adults,want to read about "cancer kids?" As Hazel herself states in the novel, "cancer books suck." But"The Fault in Our Stars" isn't about cancer, and it's not about death. Cancer is an importantsubject in the book, but it's not nearly as important as the characters. The disease is mainly usedas a vehicle for moving along the development of Hazel and Augustus. In the absence of teenwizards, dystopian death races, and swooning vampire/werewolf feuds, it allows us to view theprotagonists in a more complex setting than the traditional high school drama. It also forces thecharacters to grow up much faster than they should, which I think is important for Green'saudience as well as his needs as a writer. The "young adult" label should not be cause fordismissal to older audiences. As equally evident in his previous novels, Green's writing is notdumbed-down in an attempt to cater to a misguided adult notion of the intelligence of teenagers.While Hazel and Augustus certainly share in the same adolescent interests as many of their peers,their dialogue is written at a level that betrays a deeper level of maturity. Amidst trips to the malland countless video game sessions, the characters expound on subjects in life that everyonefaces. While it might seem strange to hear a 16year-old use words like "cloying" and "sobriquet,"this is par for the course in a John Green novel. And strangely, it works very well (provided youkeep a dictionary handy). Even though I initially balked at reading a "young adult" title (I'm well intoadulthood), I realized that just because a book is marketed toward adolescents, doesn't mean itcan't be enjoyed by those outside that niche. I'm hesitant to make the comparison, but "The Faultin our Stars" bridges the age gap in the same vein as Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Itcontains content and themes thoroughly relatable to a young audience, while being presented in away that adults will appreciate. Green's characters always come off a bit stiff to me and start off sounding like pretentious jerkswho are trying too hard to grow up, but I always warm up to them and end up relating to them bythe middle of the novel. Gus was no exception. However my opinion of him changed as early aschapter 2, and I knew as soon as I heard him have a conversation with Hazel about theircounselor's incorrect usage of the word "literally" (a fact that had literally been bothering me sinceit was mentioned in the first chapter) that I knew we could be friends. The likeability

factor of thesecharacters is one of the reasons the rest of the story can be so heartbreaking to follow at times.Even though I was fully aware from the beginning that Hazel's condition is terminal, she doesn'tbehave in a way that constantly reminds me of that fact. Instead, her sarcastic wit and outlook onlife draw me to her as someone I could easily be friends with (if only there wasn't that problem ofher being a fictional character). From very early on, I'm sucked into an emotional attachment to thecharacters in the story that made it very difficult to actually put the book down (and one of thereasons I will probably read it several more times). Returning to the titular quote above, although itis fully explained in the novel, I think the line from Julius Caesar is also appropriate as a titlebecause Hazel does not let her ultimate fate determine the course of her life.

I thought Green's last two solo books, Katherines and Paper Towns, were pretty good, but theydidn't capture that sense of awe I felt after finishing his first novel. And again, I think that's becauseI've seen such a huge change over the years in Green's ability to connect his characters to thereader. The Fault in our Stars returns me to that era and I'm reminded of just how good of a writerhe is. I do not know if it will win the same Young Adult Fiction awards Alaska received, but I doknow it will be regarded by myself and many more as one of, if not his best work to date.Regardless of their literary interests, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan ofgreat writing and character-driven stories. It should also be mentioned that Green personally signed all 150,000 copies of the first printing ofthis novel. So if you are buying it soon after release, your copy will almost certainly beautographed. ==== ====Learn More About this Book Herehttp://s.hotplugin.com/The-Fault-in-Our-Stars