The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books

Published Date: January 2012

Hardcover; 336 pages

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

ISBN# 9780525478812

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: borrowed from my local library

Summary

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Review

Though YA is not my usual genre choice, I was very curious about The Fault in Our Stars after reading the summary above. It was a fascinating read for me and provided a glimpse into a world I know absolutely nothing about. The story of Gus, Isaac, Hazel, her parents, and a bitter, alcoholic author named Peter Von Houten pulled me in and kept me reading.

I knew about the emotional aspect ahead of time so I kept the tissues nearby. I used them more than once. The first time was during one of Hazel’s flashbacks with her parents when she was really sick at first and they were getting ready to say goodbye. As a mother, I couldn’t help it.

I wondered why I kept reading when I knew this couldn’t end well (meaning happily ever after, right?) and yet I kept turning pages. Is it worth the read? In the end, it just depends on how the reader feels about what is lost vs. what is gained. Is love worth the agony? Would the reader rather have “painless” ignorance or experience once-in-a-lifetime love that can only end in heartache?

While this is a YA novel, if my 14 year old were to express a desire to read it I would ask her to wait a year or two and then we would discuss the content issues below and decide from there. Some of the LDSWBR adult readers may hesitate if they prefer to keep their reads very clean. The story was strong enough to carry me past the content issues because I really wanted to see how things would end.

I haven’t read any other novels by John Green so I don’t know how this book compares. I will not make any recommendations about who might enjoy this book because it is such an individual choice with stories like these. I don’t know if it is a book I will read again or not at this point, but I do know that it will stick with me for a long time.

Content Warning

Language: Some swearing, there may have been one F-bomb near the end (I’ve read a few books since this one so I can’t say for sure)

Sexual: One instance of premarital sex, no description; one vague, brief mention afterward of a condom problem

Other: The tone of the book is more mature than might be expected considering the age of the main characters; some blunt references to body parts and functions but nothing explicitly coarse.