The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green was a phenomenal read. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute spent with this novel. I literally couldn't put the book down. It grabbed your heart and took it for a spin in the mind of a teenage cancer patient, Hazel. Green did a fantastic job of grabbing your attention without doing anything too dramatic. It was an easy read, but not your typical teen fiction novel. It contained the "star-crossed lovers" Hazel and Augustus. Don't roll your eyes at the cliche love story for there is so much more to this story. It shows the courage of a cancer patient. It shows how even someone as young as Hazel could face death without fear, but with understanding. 

Going into this novel, I already knew what it was generally about and heard many good reviews on it. Even though I knew the basis of the story, I was still drawn in to the magic of their lives. There were times in this story where I actually laughed out loud, and poured tears. 

This story shows how every cancer patient wants to be treated like everyone else. They want to be normal. Unfortunately that is the last thing they are ever given. They are constantly getting special treatment, being tip-toed around on, and given looks that are a few seconds too long. Hazel, our narrator, is a strong willed teenager girl. She just wants to be normal, but her abnormal lungs will never give her that. Her only getaway are in stories. One story in particular, An Imperial Affliction, really hypnotized Hazel. The author of that story really captured exactly how Hazel felt all her life. She idolized him, she really did. This book really made the reader want to read. Not only this story, but after I finished this book I really wanted to go out and read all the classics and just live in a library. And I am not the most avid reader.  I really appreciated that from this novel.

Augustus Waters is a character you will never forget. He was instantly drawn by Hazel in a support group for cancer patients. Augustus had a prosthetic leg, but he never let that hold him back. He truly just wanted to live his life with no regrets. He was happy. He made Hazel happy. They had an instant spark, and remained together. They had their ups and downs just like any other couple, but they were magic. They both understood each other, even for their differences. They just wanted to be together. But they both knew with cancer, they could never live a perfectly normal happy life together.

I truly recommend this book to anyone. It does contain some mature content, but other than that it is a wonderful novel. If you know someone who isn't very fond of reading, give this to them. That is what my friend did for my birthday, and I can't thank her enough. This book allowed me to read with pleasure. I always thought I hated reading, which appalled many people. But really, I was just reading the wrong books. I tended to go for the typical teenage crap with a cliche girl who doesn't know what to do with her life, whether to choose the shoes or the lipstick. It wasn't enough for me to grab onto. I never cared for these things. But this story really got to me, and I really do recommend it. It is the perfect gift to give a friend or loved one. Give it a go, and let me know what you thought of it! 

-Aida