The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Goodreads
Publisher: Dutton
Release Date: January 10, 2012
Source: Bought (Barnes & Noble)
Edition: Hardcover
Pages: 316
Rating: A+

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, 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.

Tears. The Fault in Our Stars produces many, many tears. I'm sure you've already heard this before, though. I know that almost every other book blog in existence has already reviewed The Fault in Our Stars, but I figured I'd give my two cents as well, anyway! Even though I haven't read any "cancer books", I know that The Fault in Our Stars is so much more than that. I was actually a smidge bit anxious going into The Fault in Our Stars because John Green is supposed to be this YA legend. He has such a huge fan base and so many readers adore him. In the past, I've read Looking for Alaska and while I thought it was good, it wasn't as amazing as I hoped it would be. With that said, The Fault in Our Stars turned me into another adoring reader of Green's. I don't think any other author has ever made me sob in the way that Mr. Green did, and for that, I applaud him.

Going into this book, I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen. Bloggers were saying things along the lines of "The Fault in Our Stars is one of the most heartbreaking books I've ever read!" That can obviously only mean one thing, right? Wrong. Because I was so confident about my predictions, I didn't expect the unexpected. With that said, don't try and figure out what's going to happen. Why? Because The Fault in Our Stars isn't the type of book to keep guessing through. Just read it, indulge, and (silently, or in my case, deafeningly) weep.

What I liked the most about The Fault in Our Stars is that it felt so genuine. I didn't feel like I was reading a YA novel that was written by a 30 year old male (no offense, Mr. Green!) I felt like I was reading the true story of the exquisite Hazel Grace Lancaster and how she met her soul mate, Augustus Waters. Speaking of Augustus... can more people like him exist? Pretty please? Augustus is so unforgettable and will definitely stay in my heart forever as one of my favorite characters. You would think because I'm so obsessed with the main characters of The Fault in Our Stars, that I might not have enough room in my heart for any minor characters. WRONG, again! I pretty much fell in love with every character from The Fault in Our Stars besides Monica, even the characters I'm probably meant to dislike. They were just perfect, but flawed, but oh so perfect. I want to meet all of them.

I can't tell you how many pages of this book that I bookmarked (I could... but that would take a while.) I'm not the type of reader to mark my favorite pages or passages because nothing usually captures my attention enough to make me stop reading and do it. I made sure to do this with The Fault in Our Stars though. There's something about the way this book made me feel, that I know when I return to certain passages, the same feelings will return and it'll be amazing. This book just understood me. This was definitely a huge, gushy, choppy review, but I hope you've taken everything I just said into consideration.

If you haven't read The Fault in Our Stars yet, I highly, highly encourage you to do so, and please let me know what you think! If you've already read The Fault in Our Stars, let me know what you thought in the comments or leave me a link to your review!