The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

This book contains humor, tragedy, and teen love and angst all with the backdrop of a terminal illness, cancer. Green realistically captures all of these emotions and portrays them as seen through the eyes of teens. He describes the frustration and fear and anger that living with cancer attracts and melds it with the struggle of beings a teen.
It is definitely a novel worth your time. The book begins with sixteen year old Hazel Grace Lancaster who has been fighting thyroid cancer for the past few years. The result is the oxygen tank which accompanies her everywhere. When Hazel succumbs to her mother’s nagging, she ends up at a cancer support group where she meets Augustus Waters, otherwise known as Gus. Gus is a bit older with a dry sense of humor that draws Hazel to him. Their love story is filled with a mixture of happiness, hope, humor and sadness. Despite Hazel’s reticence to have the cancer make any more emotional casualties, Hazel and Gus fall in love. This book captures all of the feelings that come with the cancer war. The book is readable and honest and filled with a balance of sadness, humor, sarcasm and teen melodrama.

When all is said is done, what makes this book so amazing and readable is its honesty. For better or worse, John Green tells the truth. For every single sad part, there are soaring moments of humor and sarcastic, hilarious, teen angst. Once one becomes involved with the characters, it becomes a page turner and hard to put down.

Ratings: 9 out of 10
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