The Fault in Our Stars
John Green
Summary
Hazel Grace Lancaster is a 17 year old girl who has had cancer since she was 13. She almost died the first year she had it but is on some special experimental drug that is helping her manage it. She goes to a support group every week because her mom makes her and describes the whole scene with sarcastic humor. One week she meets a boy named Augustus Waters who used to have cancer, but only lost his leg and is now cancer free. They become friends and he later admits she reminded him of his ex girlfriend who passed away from cancer. Their mutual friend Issac has eye cancer and is getting his second eye removed. His girlfriend breaks up with him before the surgery which makes it worse.
Hazel's favorite author, Peter Van Houten, invites her out to his home in Amsterdam to visit him. He wrote the book 'Imperial Affliction' which is a book about a girl who has cancer and has no ending. Hazel and Augustus go to Amsterdam with Hazel's mom after much convincing. When they meet Van Houten he turns out to be a jerk. This experience seems to bring them closer and they fall in love and start dating.
If the book was well written, what made it that way?
It was very well written because it made you want to never put it down. The narrator expresses Hazel's sarcastic humor very well and the sadness is balanced out with humor.
Genre?
Fiction
What was the author's purpose in writing this book?
To show the lives of teenagers with cancer. The book shows the obstacles they face and overcome daily and how they cope with the idea of dying. It kind of gives you a new way to view the world.
Would you recommend this book to anybody else? Why or why not?
Yes, it makes you grateful for being healthy and appreciate life more.