THIS REVIEW DOES NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS TO THE FAULT IN OUR STARS! Well, I tell you the basic plotline of the book, but if you don’t want to know anything at all — DO NOT READ THE REST OF THE POST!
It is not a secret that I am a huge fan of the vlogbrothers and I am one of the many nerdfighters that pre-ordered John Green’s latest novel, The Fault in Our Stars. In complete honesty, even though I did enjoy his last book he wrote with David Levithan, Will Grayson, Will Grayson I am not a particularly huge fan of his previous books [hides from the heavy blunt objects that will be thrown at her]. It’s not to say they were bad or anything, I was just not as into them compared to his more recent works.
But I think I’ll be giving Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and Paper Towns another try. It’s hard to deny the fact that there were many moments in all of his books that had me in stitches. He understands my type of humor. And part of the incentive to pre-order the book was that he was signing the ENTIRE first printing. Yes, he signed 150,000 books. And he had to go to occupational therapy for it.
I feel like I won the lottery to get a Hanklerfish. IS THIS REAL LIFE?
It’s a very surreal thing to see something that was in video form to actually being able to hold it in my hands.
Onto the actual review of the book. I got my copy January 10th (the official release date), when I came back from seeing ze boyfriend. It was probably a good thing I was not here to see UPS drop it off, because I’m sure I would have acted like Gollum did when he was reunited with the ring. My precious…
I should also mention that ze boyfriend’s Christmas present to himself was getting the extended blu-ray editions of Lord of the Rings and we did nothing for four days except watch the movies. And this warped my brain into relating everything possible to LoTR. I am still feeling it’s side effects of making nerdy references, so bare with me!
I would usually want to give myself some time to let whatever I read sink in before making a final opinion on it. However, it is a rare occasion for a book to make me feel the entire emotional spectrum in a matter of hours. It is also rare for me to finish an entire book in one sitting, which lead to me reading until it was 4:30 AM. I only took one break to pee and get a cookie. I just couldn’t stop reading it, even though I knew I was going to be exhausted when I woke up. The book really is that engrossing and good. Anytime I choose a book over sleep means it’s just that good of a book. When I finished the book, I hugged it. I didn’t want it to be over. I felt like I had to say good-bye to the characters I became friends with and I’m just not ready for it to end.
The book is about two teenagers, Hazel and Augustus, dealing with normal things all adolescents (and people in general) go through: love, making a mark in the world, leaving one’s legacy, pain, and normal teenager-y things. Only thing is that they also deal with a life where they live in a world in which they are not healthy. They have cancer and met at a really crappy Support Group for teens with cancer.
And thankfully, this book is not one of those sappy cancer books that are full of melancholy a lá Nicholas Sparks. It actually features characters that are likable and imperfect. The focus isn’t entirely on Hazel or Augustus saying, “Oh my God, I have cancer so I might as well do something with it to help others like me.” Nor is it, “woe is me, I am dying.” It just feels realistic how the characters in the book react to normal teenager-y things, like being dumped or feeling alienated by one’s peers. Only difference is that they have cancer, but John made a point that their illness is not their entire identity. Hazel is a bookworm, Augustus and Isaac are gamers, and this is their life.
The basic plot of the book is girl meets boy in Support Group. Nerdy bookworm of a girl introduces her favorite book evar to boy. Boy soon becomes as obsessed with the book as girl. They go to Amsterdam to meet the author to discuss the book.
I laughed a lot through the first half of the book, and then was a sobbing mess in the other half with momentary breaks of humor that John has weaved in. Although, I guess the title of the book kind of gives away that the stars are not in Hazel or Augustus’ favor.
It truly is a wonderful book, and I’m not just saying that because I am a nerdfighter because it truly is a great book that should be shared with people outside of Nerdfighteria.
