The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Penguin Australia

Pages: 313pgs

The Story

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, 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 livie for a long time (what that means), Hazels 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 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.

The Review

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS is one of the most heartbreaking YA books I've ever read. At least in this short while. You see I'm not a big crier when it comes to books nor movies, and it's sure a very, very rare thing to get me to weep over something so . . . fictional. But when it comes to this book and after taking everything in that I've just read as I write this book review, I have to honest with you and say some very salty tears coming from the depths of my inner soul were shed as I finished the last few pages of this book. It was just so SAD. I don't understand how John Green can do this to ME of all people!

I don't know where to begin with this review. I mean, everything from the splendid writing to the darn right hilarious humour shared between these two ever-so-wonderful main characters had straightaway gotten my full attention and John Green completely nails it not to mention owns this book of his! As he should. For sure, there's nothing fun in witnessing and reading about two teenagers dying and falling in love at the same time, but there's just something magical in Green's writing and you're suddenly escaping from the cancer spreading in their bodies, and you're soon on this wonderful journey of self-discovery and learning about how to truly embrace life for what it is. Because that's exactly what these two kids, Hazel and Augustus, do. They take the time they have left and just LIVE.

Without going into too much detail with the storyline because some ugly tears will be involved, I have to say the main characters - hell even the supporting ones - were so bloody fantastic and so realistic too! At first when I started to read this book, I kind of expected these group of teenagers to go through their several stages of depression as they dealt with their own illnesses, but it went completely the opposite way for me which came as a nice surprise. The thing is . . . they weren't your typical sick kid. They didn't act like it at all. In fact, they acted just like you and me. Like people from your old local school. Like people you waved to down the street. Like people you give a friendly nod to. Like people you smile at as you pass them by. It was a nice feeling that. But the two shining stars were, of course, our two main leading characters, Hazel and Augustus. Now they are a category all of their own. Unique. Original. Awesome. Real. For Hazel's character, I absolutely adored her like so many other readers did. She was a realist like me. She took what she could get and lived with the consequences. Finally a realist heroine! Because of her personality and her cute attitude towards life, there was no time to feel sorry for her and her illness, because all I wanted to do was read more and more about her relationship and bond with our boy Augustus Waters. Now that girl and that boy deserve each other! Full stop. Oh Augustus Waters . . . how you make us fangirls swoon. Sure, Augustus had his flaws but he was true perfection. He was like Hazel's other half and I guess that's why I loved most about him. Like Hazel, he too was going through so many rough patches and yet all he wanted to do was be with Hazel and live through her dreams and that made him the happiest boy on earth just to watch her face smile again. Yeah . . . that boy and the mention of his name will always leave a smile on my face. How you author's ruin me! Really how could you!

Overall, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS must be read by everyone and anyone no matter your age differences. This contemporary YA book has left a huge and lasting impression on me. It's a book with its perfections. It's a book with a certain edge to it. It's a book with its flaws of humanity. But when it comes down to it . . . it's a book about two teenagers lives, Hazel and Augustus's, who are just your average kids looking for some hope in the most unexpected places and while they may be fictional on paper, but they are the kind of characters that teach you something in your own life and are the kind who will forever stay in your hearts.

The Rating

4 1/2 / 5 stars