Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

 

 

Following my complete and utter infatuation with The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, I was on the look out for another emotional teenage book that would make me cry (no joke, I'm a masochist). Upon this description into Google, I came across The Fault In Our Stars: a novel based around two cancer survivors who fall in love. That's to put it simply.

 

Now this isn't going to be a negative review, of such, but I can't say that I'm completely in love with this book. Maybe I had bigger expectations or maybe my love of Perks makes it impossible to really love anything else, but I was left wanting a little more. I'm sorry if that makes people angry because I know how widely adored it is, but it just wasn't for me.

 

The story is narrated by a sixteen-year-old cancer patient named Hazel, who is forced by her parents to attend a support group, where she meets and falls in love with seventeen-year-old Augustus Waters, an ex-basketball player and amputee. The characters are very easily to like due to their witty humour and sarcasm, although I do believe that Augustus's play on Hazel was a little too forward for my tastes. I'm the sort of girl who enjoys delayed romance and although it takes a while for Hazel to fall completely for his attempts to win her over, I found him a little too insistent.

 

That aside, I really do like the romantic and dramatic story line that centres around these two. After a couple of chapters I really began to root for them. Hazel's frank and honest observations of live and death and illness are refreshing and leave you thinking a long time after you stop reading. This is the sort of real-life drama that pulls you in, whether you've had an encounter of any kind with Cancer or not. The descriptions are beautifully written and the plot easy to follow and yes, just like TPOBAW the ending is horrifically sad.

I just wasn't completely blown away by it. There were moments in the book that I'm sure were supposed to matter to me but I just didn't feel that way. Even at the ending, although I was very sad by it and did tear up a little, it was nothing compared to the way I felt after Perks. Once again, maybe I'm just comparing the two too much but I just don't feel it was as in depth as it could be, drama-wise. The side storyline, whilst cute, just wasn't powerful enough for me.

 

The film version of this book is due to be released into cinemas some point in the summer time (Youtube Trailer) which I will most definitely be going to watch and looks really adorable. I got my copy of this book from Play.com for £6 but I'm sure nearer to the film's release you'll be able to find it in most supermarkets.

 

xx