Book Review #2 - The Fault in our Stars by John Green

Read this!!

The Fault in our stars was the third cancer related book that I have ever read, the first being 'Before I die' by Jenny Downham and the second being 'My Sister's Keeper' by Jodi Picoult. When I read Before I die, I didn't think that I would ever read another book with this subject. Then I saw the movie of 'My Sister's Keeper', and after a year of stopping myself, I bought the book and loved every page. But 'The Fault in our stars' was different. I had heard people mentioning it and seen people talking about it on twitter for absolutely ages before I even thought about buying the book. When I picked it up in a Waterstones one day, I didn't even know what it was about, I just knew that I had to read it.

I opened the first page and was immediately catapulted into the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster, the main character. The story was set up so that the audience would feel sorry for her, but the best thing about Hazel was that she didn't feel sorry for herself. She got on with her life as best as she could, thinking that she didn't have too long a time left on earth. Then she met Augustus Waters and her life literally changed forever.

What struck me about the story was that, when reading it, it didn't feel like you were reading the story about Hazel Lancaster, the sick girl who happens to meet a boy. It felt like you were reading the story of Hazel Grace, a normal girl who happens to meet a normal guy. But this book is anything but normal. It is filled with things to make you literally laugh out loud, it has parts that makes you realise how lucky you are to have what you have, it has parts that make you think about doing the things that you love. There are stories within stories that help you to get involved with each of the characters in the book, all through the eyes of Hazel Grace. It makes you wish that you had a friend like Augustus, and if you do, it made you hold on to him.

Before writing this review, I spoke with many people about the book and what they thought about it. Each person that I spoke to informed me that they cried. A friend of mine claimed to have not stopped crying for a week, another friend shared stories of boys crying too. Yes, the book is sad, but don't prepare yourself for that. The biggest mistake I made while reading this book was anticipating that I would cry. I didn't. The book was very sad and there are times when you feel so sorry for the characters, but the way that Green deals with the emotions of the different characters allowed me to emphasise with them. I didn't cry because throughout the book, I had seen just what the characters were capable of, and I knew that they would be able to deal with whatever came their way in the best way possible.

What was good?
The way that the book was written allowed me to see that characters as real people. Hazel Grace could be the girl that you walk past every day, the one that you never pay attention to. Augustus Waters could be the boy that you never acknowledge, because you're too busy staring at his hot best friend. It reminds us that we have to take a step back from our lives and look at a bigger picture. We are a miniscule part of what makes up our planet, we can't be so closed minded as to think that we are the sole purpose of existence. We have to understand the struggles that most people have to go through. We can't judge someone until we've walked a mile in their shoes, and Hazel Grace reminds us that those shoes might knock us harder than we think.

What was bad?
It was hard to not think of the book as a 'cancer book'. Many people may choose not to read it because they have read 'cancer books' before and believe them to be cliché and tear-inducing. The book does little to hide the fact that life can be shit, it doesn't sugar coat anything, which can be a good thing as sugar-coating things just hides the creases that will come out eventually, if we look hard enough. However, if you're looking for a light-hearted book to read before you go to bed at night, this is not it. This book will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

Overall
In 10-15 years time, this book could well be a classic, sitting in library shelves with the likes of Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. I believe this is a book that everyone should read. It will cause you to re-examine your life, for the better. I will read it as many times as I can, until I know all of the words on most of the pages. I am soon going to be reading 'Paper Towns' by the same author, John Green. As soon as I have read it, I will blog my review of it, but after TFIOS, I have high hopes!