Audiobook Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Release Date: Jan. 10, 2012
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Age Group: Young Adult
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Length: 7 hrs, 14 mins
Buy: Amazon /
Barnes & Noble / IndieBound
Description: Goodreads
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.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

A beautifully heartbreaking story of living in spite of the sometimes ugly truths of life, The Fault in Our Stars is an emotional reminder that pain and pleasure often walk hand in hand, but that doesn't make living any less worthwhile.

This novel strikes countless chords that will resonate deeply with a wide range of people. It runs the gamut of emotion, veering so hard at times that you will have barely stopped laughing when you find yourself deteriorating into a sobbing heap of a person.

For the record, I should say I am not a crier. An author friend once called me a "soulless harpy" due to my stoicism. But congratulations John Green! You reduced me to a tearful mess while driving the New Jersey Turnpike.

(PSA: The Fault in Our Stars audiobook is a potential hazard
to motorists everywhere. Please use caution when listening.)

As Hazel notes about her favorite novel, "it's not a cancer book because cancer books suck." Not to be obvious, that's also true about The Fault in Our Stars. Illness is a factor, but it's not the focus of Hazel and Gus's story. Their's is a tale of savoring time, moment by moment, because right now may be all anyone has.

Delivery absolutely made this book for me. The insightful intellectual banter and wit along with the

Both Hazel and Gus are realists when it comes to living with cancer, but they cope with their realities by refusing to give cancer a starring role in their lives. For Hazel, it's a darker side of self or a an evolutionary process gone awry, treated without blame. Gus handles it with an almost self-deprecating humor. Isaac is unabashedly direct and darkly comical about his condition.

It's rare that I feel a single narrator does multiple characters justice, but Kate Rudd does an outstanding job. She has a subtle way of lending personality to each character. Thanks to her masterful interpretation of this cast, I will forever hear the words of The Fault in Our Stars in her voice.

Telling you, dear readers, to immediately go devour this moving novel would be unnecessary since I know so many of you have already read it. Though I will urge those who haven't and those of you itching for a reread to plug into the audiobook. Without a doubt, it's one of my favorite listens of all time.