Taking place in Indianapolis, Indiana, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is about a cancer-stricken girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster who feels that the end of her world is here. In this realistic fiction piece, she feels that the only person that understands her is a fictional character from her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten. Her mom, after realizing her daughter's depression, has her attend a support group filled with other adolescents that have terminal illnesses. Hating it, she feels the group is useless, until one day another teen named Augustus Waters comes to the group in support of his friend, Issac. Hazel wants to think nothing of it, until Augustus invites her over, where their relationship starts to blossom. Hazel continuously plays hard-to-get, without knowing what would become of the two. They both find out their harsh pasts with cancer, and they turn the term “friends” into star-crossed lovers. Because Augustus feels that Hazel wasted her wish from the Make-a-Wish foundation, he takes her on the trip of a lifetime using his wish, taking her to places which she thought that she would never go. They both understand to live life to the fullest, a main theme throughout the novel. The unforgettable adventure turns into something more, making their story end with the recognition of their true love and heartache.
Overall, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green was one of the best novels I have ever read. Since I finished the book quicker than I thought it would, I decided to watch the movie, which is a great retelling of what happened in the book. I do not like romance novels, but this novel is not just a romance novel, it is an adventure. This realistic-fiction piece offered me insight as to what teenangers my age with terminal illnesses have to go through on a daily basis, which makes the book an inspirational story. John Green reveals a theme that even through the hardest of times you can still make a positive impact on your life. I agree with this because, most often, in the hardest of times, we get the most inspiration to do what is right, and that is exactly what happened throughout The Fault in Our Stars. Many different authors such as Kimberly Bradley agree with the theme of living life to the fullest because she also talks about how one moment can change your life for the better throughout her novels. One critique that I would have would be that Green did not convey the emotions of Augustus Waters as much as he did Hazel’s. Augustus is arguably as much of an important character as Hazel is, and Hazel’s emotions are predominant as the romance goes on. If Gus’s feeling could have been shown more throughout the book, the story would have been even more enthralling than it already is.
I feel that the type of reader who would like to pick up this book would be the kind who likes adventurous romances, and if you are not that type of reader, you might want to shy away from this one. I enjoyed this read because John Green told a tragic story in a positive light, which made the book a delight to read. Since this book is a Golden Potato, I will definitely read this again when I need some more one-liners from Hazel Grace Lancaster.
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