The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Book Details
Author: John Green
Ages: 13+
Rating: 7/10
Number of Pages: 313
Plot: Hazel, a sixteen year old teenager with terminal thyroid cancer, lives a life full of hospital appointments, reading the same book over again and watching America’s Next Top Model with her mother. Until she meets Augustus Waters, a seventeen year old who lost his leg after a battle with osteosarcoma, at a cancer support group for teens. The fault in our stars is full of humour and tragedy with points that will make you laugh or cry.

I wanted to read this book after seeing how popular it had become in the summer. I first read the book before the film adaptation, with Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, came out in the cinema and I felt that it did not live up to the high expectations that my friends had built it up to be. I thought that the overall structure of the plot was very similar to Jodi Piccoult books that I have read in the past, I also found the book predictable and didn’t feel any strong connections with the main character. Despite this, after reading it again and watching the film I began to enjoy and like the book.
I liked the ongoing idea of the book that Hazel and, later, Augustus obsess over as it made the characters seem more believable and relatable for readers who maybe haven’t gone through the same traumas as Hazel and Augustus. I like the use of the character of Peter Van Houten, the fictitious writer of their favourite book, An Imperial Affliction; the character not only made you hate him every time he spoke but also personified the idea that not all dreams come true the way you want it to. The obsession of the book also made the book more unqiue and took the attention away from the fact that the characters have cancer.
However, as much as I love Hazel and Augustus’ relationship, I felt that the friendship between Augustus and Isaac, a teenager who lost his sight because of cancer, was not addressed enough throughout the book. My favourite passage in the whole book, and the film, is not linked to the main love story in the book but the love Isaac has for his friend Augustus;

“But I will say this: when the scientists of the future show up at my house with robot eyes and they tell me to try them on, I will tell the scientists to screw off, because I do not want to see a world without him.” - Isaac

I loved the character of Isaac and really liked his humour despite having lost his sight. I think the humour of the book really took away from the idea that the book is about teenagers with cancer, but more like the life of a small group of friends.
Overall, I at first didn’t think much of the book but after reading it again I can understand why the book is so popular amongst the teenage age group. I would really love to see maybe a sequel/prologue centred on  Augustus and Isaac’s relationship and to see An Imperial Affliction made into a real book.