The Fault in Our Stars

While I generally liked the pencil-sketched characters of Gus and Hazel in "The Fault in Our Stars," some character and plot details really didn't work for me. For example, I know it's plot-critical that Hazel and Gus don't know one another until they meet in the support group, but since Gus has a fairly common form of pediatric cancer (osteogenic sarcoma) and Hazel has a relatively rare and serious form (pediatric thyroid cancer with pulmonary metastases), why is Gus the one being treated at Memorial, "the big research powerhouse," and Hazel at the local children's general hospital? Hospital assignments may be the way they are instead of reversed because Gus was in high school when he was diagnosed, while Hazel was in middle school. . .or else Hazel's pre-cancer parents, now overprotective, once felt adversity-averse enough to enroll in an HMO. Similarly, Hazel's oft-referenced middle name is Grace, a name that I've read is almost exclusively given by more-Christian-than-average parents, yet this description seems to fit Gus's family, not Hazel's (not that I expect Gus's parents to name their son Grace, but perhaps something more gospel and conventional than Augustus). Also, we learn that Hazel wasted her Make-a-Wish trip on Disney World. . .at age 13? Despite rumors of relatively skanky clothes, X-rated song lyrics, and "sexting," maybe some teens today are actually "younger" than GenXers were: no self-respecting GenX 13-year-old's Last Big Wish would have been something as unoriginal and uncool as a trip to Disney World. Finally, I intensely disliked the subplot about the misanthropic Peter van Houten: it would have been more ironic if Gus and Hazel had traveled halfway around the world only to find that Peter was a recluse like J.D. Salinger who ultimately refused to meet them. Still, Hazel and Gus salvage their trip by enjoying their time together in Amsterdam before one of them admits to being terminal. . .I don't expect a book like "The Fault in Our Stars" to avoid the topic of death, but just once, I'd like an actual death to be reflected upon by a survivor in an epilogue. Good dying scenes are perhaps just as difficult to write as good sex scenes; this book contains both, and both could have been better.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green is about two teenagers struggling with Cancer. The story is told through Hazel a 16 year old with thyroid cancer that has rendered her lungs nearly useless to the point that she must drag an oxygen tank with her wherever she goes. She has two very loving parents who hover over her. Her dad cries a lot (understandable given the circumstances) and her mother constantly insists that she get out more and experience more things insisting that she go to support group. Hazel doesn’t see how going to Cancer Support Group constitutes as a positive experience of life, but she goes to please her mother. While there, she meets Augustus, a 17-year old survivor of bone cancer and an amputee. Augustus is funny, charismatic and so full of life you can’t help but like him. Throughout a good portion of the book Augustus quickly falls in love with Hazel while she tries to keep him at a distance. She doesn’t want to be a “grenade” for him meaning that when she dies she doesn’t want to destroy him emotionally. She does fall in love with him though as do I. What is great about their relationship is how they don’t coddle each other. They are realistic about their health and who they are as people. I will stop there with the plot as I don’t want to give away the whole book.

It’s difficult to rate this book because I both loved and hated it. It’s a book where the two main characters and many others have cancer so it’s about loss and dying…but it’s also about love and living. This book inspired me to write my bucket list at the age of 32. It made me realize the beauty in the small things. It gave me nightmares of losing my own children. I read this book in about half a day which is an indication that my love/hate relationship with it was strong. I finished it last night while laughing and crying. My husband thought I was crazy. “Are you laughing or crying?” he kept asking. I said. “Yes.” I will recommend this book specifically to those who have little experience with cancer. This book reminds us that although people with illnesses might be more fragile than others, they are not broken. They want to experience life as normally as they can. This book gives you a unique look at how the rest of the world looks through a cancer patient’s eyes. How silly people seem when they try to ignore the oxygen tank or prosthetic leg rather than just asking the questions they have about them. And how beautiful the simplest things can be when you know your time is precious.

An absolutely fantastic read! The author's commentary and book club guide explored various aspects of the novel which the reader might question. It will be interesting to see how the movie depicts parts of the book. A bonus ... talking with my granddaughter she was also reading this selection so it appeals to many ages.

The Fault in Our Stars is the fifth novel by American author, John Green. Hazel Grace Lancaster is a quirky sixteen-year-old with terminal lung cancer. In a Support Group she deems of doubtful value, she meets one-legged seventeen-year-old Augustus Waters, survivor of osteosarcoma. Gus and Hazel click almost immediately, sharing music and books, movies and jokes. Hazel’s need for closure about the characters of her favourite book leads them both down an unexpected path. The characters are appealing and most of the banter is funny, if occasionally having the saccharine sweetness of My Sister’s Keeper (the terrible movie, not the brilliant book), but ultimately, there is plenty of humour (some of it quite black), lots of wisdom and moments that will have tears welling in the eye of the most cynical reader. The plot has a twist that will hit hard. The best quote is by Peter van Houten (and as a cloggie I have a perfect right to laugh out loud at this one!): “Dutch is not so much a language as an ailment of the throat.” This book is a look into the truly unique world of the cancer patient, dipping into the cancer patient’s lexicon, touching on subjects as diverse as cancer perks, relationships with terminal patients and fear of being a grenade: a ticking time bomb that wounds everyone close to you when it explodes. Whether this is a realistic portrayal can only be judged by someone with a terminal diagnosis, but Green certainly presents an interesting perspective. Funny and moving.