The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, Book Review

By: John Green

Published by: Dutton Books (Penguin)

Released on: January 10, 2012

Source: Purchased

Rating: 5 Stars - I LOVED IT so much I'd give it 10 stars

Purchase it from: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

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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.

One of the most beautifully written, and moving books I've read. 

You know you've read a truly amazing book when while reading it, you highlight passages (gasp I marked in a book), and think about and ponder the things you're reading. Though this book is fictional, what transpires and the story that is told is someone's own non-fictionaly story. That's the part of the story that got to me the most. This book made me really think about life, death, what I take for granted and the journey that life is. Green made me re-examine my outlook on life, and realize that no matter what life throws at me, I would hope that my outlook would be similar to the characters I fell in love with in this book.

John Green created characters I laughed with, cried with and above all he introduced me to characters I longed to be friends with. I think it's remarkable when an author can touch a reader in such a way that they walk away from reading the book not only admiring the characters, but really looking up to them. Hazel and Gus's story is epic. It's epic, because of the epic fight for life, love, and happiness. The writing in this book is epic!

Powerfully written, Green takes readers head first into the challenges, heartbreak, and miracles that happen among the courageous teens who battle cancer. Please don't let that scare you away from reading the book. I bought this book the day it was released, two years and 3 months later I finally read it. I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. I had many friends who read it tell me that they loved it, and sobbed through the whole book. Once crying was mentioned, I was turned off. I hate getting emotional. I didn't want to read a book that would make that emotional. However, I did read a couple pages when I bought it, but put it on my bookshelf to read at a later date.

Yesterday I finally read it! After reading this book in one sitting, yes, it's that good, I realized I robbed myself of something amazing. It's not often I can walk away from reading a YA book being so moved by what I read, while at the same time feel like I have gained a better appreciation for my own life. The way Green tells Hazel and Gus's story is poetic, it's moving, heartbreaking, beautiful, and though I only cried twice, I was completely emotionally invested in their story. I laughed, cried, and felt a sense of acceptance for them. Accepting life for what it is. I loved that Green included the amazing support group that Hazel and Gus had with their families, close friends, and each other.

Hazel and Gus aren't just two characters on the pages of a book. They are characters in a book who portray something that's very real. They made me connect to them on a level I didn't think was possible. Green's writing struck a chord with me, and moved me in away no author has done before. Yeah, this book was one I'm sorry I waited so long to read, and I'm sure glad I finally read it. This is one story that has left an epic mark on me. 

I highly recommend reading this book. I will caution is this extremely mild language (I am very little) and one incredibly well written scene.

Some of my favorite passages:

• "Without pain, we couldn't know joy." - page 272
• "You realize that trying to keep your distance from me will not lessen my affection for you." - page 122
• "I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swollen the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with." - page 153
• ......"I could not run or dance or eat foods rich in nitrogen, but in the city of freedom, I was among the most liberated of its residents." - page 159
• ..... "You have a choice in this world, I believe, about how to tell sad stories, and we made the funny choice." - page 209
• "The real heroes anyway aren't the people doing things; the real heroes are the people NOTICING things, paying attention......." - page 312

* Don't miss it! On Monday I'll be sharing my phone interview I had with John. I was apart of a group of a few bloggers who got to chat with John about the book to movie adaptation. I'm even more excited to see this movie!! Crying or not, I'll be in that theater watching Hazel & Gus's story come to life on the big screen.