Friday, January 20, 2012

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green



Release Date: Jan. 10, 2012
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Pages: 336
Description: Goodreads
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, 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.
WARNING: Inside jokes ahead.

Good morning John and fellow readers, it’s Friday, January 20. This review of your latest novel The Fault in Our Stars comes to you in four parts...


Part 1: A Statement of Amazement
John, I should point out that, no matter what I write in this review, the words will never be able to do justice to the way I feel about The Fault in Our Stars. I finished days ago, and I still haven’t been able to fully understand just how I feel about it. Believe me, you were not kidding when you said we would feel ALL OF THE THINGS after reading this, because I did, and I still do. I feel incredibly grateful that I am in the YA & Nerdfighter communities so I know that this book exists. I feel beyond inspired to put good things into the world. I feel the sweet sting of tears, the bubble of uncontrollable laughter, and the overwhelming sense of fulfillment with every passing thought about Hazel and Augustus. John, your talent at putting words together in a way that creates these all of these emotions simultaneously amazes me, and I state that now. I didn’t know words could do that.

Part 2: A Love Letter to Hazel and Augustus
Dear Hazel Grace and Gus, I love you. I love you for being yourselves, even when it’s tough. I love you for not allowing your disease to define you, despite the fact that it easily could. I love you for being completely normal and totally real. I love you for your capital r Romance and your capital h Heroism, even if you feel that my sentimentality is essentially my hamartia. I love your senses of humor and your senses of adventure. Your love is so sweet and true and honest and made of awesome. It’s the kind of love that everyone should experience in their lives, if they’re lucky.

Part 3: An Exclamation
French the llama, it’s hard to write spoiler-free reviews!!

Part 4: A Proclamation to Go Forth and Read.
If you haven’t already, go out and get your hands on a copy of The Fault in Our Stars. You will not be disappointed. You will snort with laughter and unapologetically lie in a pool of your own tears. I cannot tell you how much I loved it, because I don’t think the words have yet been created to describe my true feelings.

Best wishes, DFTBA, and John? I’ll see you on Vlogbrothers.

3 comments:

  1. *applause* Excellent review. Love, a nerdfighter.

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  2. I love this review so much. It was so hard for me to put my feelings about TFiOS into coherent sentences, but you did an amazing job :)

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  3. DFTBA, that was the best (non-spoiler) review I've read!

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