Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars

"Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten."

Author: John Green
Year of Release: 2012
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Sequel(s): None, it's a standalone 

What motivated you to read this book?:Very long description...read the review for it!
Book Version: Hardback
Where did you get the book?: Library
Favorite Character: Augustus Waters
Least Favorite Character: There is no specific person that is bad. It's more or less a fight against human nature. With that said, I don't have a least favorite character.
Thoughts on Cover: Cute. I don't know how else this cover could have been done.
Recommended to: Pretty much everyone. However I wouldn't recommend it if you are depressed or going through a loss of someone close to you.
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Review: It all started sometime last year. I saw my sister reading this book, and I knew I had seen it before. I believe I saw it on other book blogs. But at the time I had no clue what the book was even about. I remember looking it up on Goodreads shortly after & not even adding it to my "to-read" list because the description didn't really get my attention. I mean, the summary was too vague. Later, I heard that my cousin had read it & loved it & that she really liked John Green's books. However, it wasn't until the website, Page to Premiere started posting many things about the soon-to-be-made movie, that I knew I was missing out. Obviously the book was popular & many people (including several of my Goodreads friends) had read it so I decided to give it a try.  

Boy, this book was not what I expected. Not at all. Actually, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I suppose I assumed that Augustus would be the type of guy in many of the other books I have read. The ones that are so sweet & romantic & have made my expectations so much higher than they already were. Augustus was not like that at all. Augustus was a very realistic character. He wasn't afraid to be goofy, sarcastic, and witty. He also had a sensitive side as well. Both him and Hazel seemed to view the world in an entirely different way that I never even thought of before. His character was very hard not to like. 

I also, of course, liked Hazel as well. She really opened my eyes to what it's like to view cancer patients in an entirely new way. They don't want to be treated any differently just because they're sick. They don't want you to say things like "You are such a strong fighter." They also don't want you to pity them. Of course, it varies from person to person, but I'm sure many cancer patients are like her in that respect. Also, Hazel seemed so much more mature than a regular 16 year old girl. Her thought process and the way she analyzed things is very sophisticated and philosophical. I mean, what average 16 year old girl uses the term "hamartia"? Not only that but both she and Augustus were so honest with everything, even about simplistic things such as scrambled eggs. I loved it. 

This book seemed very authentic. All the feelings & descriptions & everything seemed to be so real. It kind of makes me wonder though how John Green was able to write a book  from a cancer patient's perspective. How did he know so much about so many different types of cancer? I found myself looking up a few things on Google myself. He probably did research and everything but how was he able to accurately describe the emotions of Hazel, Augustus, and Isaac? Is he a cancer survivor himself? Or did he have a child or a close friend who had/currently has cancer? I will have to do more research on this matter.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It is so different from the type of books that I'm accustomed to reading. I need to be more open to reading things outside of the science fiction, dystopia, fantasy, and paranormal genres. I definitely plan on reading more of John Green's books and more realistic fiction novels. Anyways, as I was saying, this book is so different from what I'm used to reading. I'm not used to crying my eyes out on more than one occasion while reading a book. Actually I'm not used to crying while reading books. Period. I know I said that I have cried while reading before, but that's not necessarily true. My definition of crying while reading a book consisted of getting teary eyed and nothing more. I always thought that I would never actually sob while reading a book. Well, The Fault in Our Stars proved me wrong. However, I have no regrets whatsoever of reading this book. I really look forward to seeing the movie next year (or whenever it comes out). I truly believe Shailene Woodley will make a great Hazel Lancaster. And I have no doubt that I will cry again when I see the movie.