Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars

This is my first attempt at a book review since I was in high school, so please forgive me if this sounds rusty.

I'm sure you've all heard of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. It's one of those books that is so famous, lines of it exist independently. You know what I mean - "the world is not a wish-granting factory" and "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once." To be honest, it is not my usual type of book. In fact, I probably would never have read it had it not become such a big thing on tumblr and had several of my friends not recommended it. I approached it with a bit of trepidation, unsure, exactly, what to expect, but as it turns out I actually really enjoyed the book.

A book that deals with teenagers suffering from cancer has the potential to be unbearably sad, but John Green has managed to interweave tragedy and humour into a punchy, heart-rending and yet heart-warming narrative. I defy you not to like Hazel, the protagonist and narrator. She was witty and fiesty and made me think about what it must be like to be in her situation. Her anger at the way people respond to kids with cancer was interesting and made me contemplate what my own reaction would be. I think it's true that we can drown cancer sufferers in pity and we do talk about their bravery and how hard they seem to fight. We do it, perhaps, because we can't imagine what they arre going through and we admire them. But until reading TFIOS I never considered how this might seem to someone with cancer. Hazel doesn't see herself as brave and she doesn't want to be; she just wants to be 'normal' and treated like her old high school friends.

The Fault In Our Stars cover 

It is Hazel's relationship with Augustus Waters that forms the main heart of the story, and I found it a refreshing love story. Augustus is charming and humorous and I think the reader ends up falling a little in love with him along with Hazel. I loved their trip to Amsterdam to visit Peter Van Houten, author of Hazel's favourite book. It was such a romantic gesture for Augustus to spend his wish on the trip and I found the descriptions of Amsterdam enchanting. I think it makes the (spoiler alert; although, to be honest if you don't know this, where have you been?) return of Augustus' cancer all the more of an emotional punch.

Green does not shy away from describing the brutality of the disease. We see how it eats away at Augustus and experience through Hazel and those around her the pain that it causes to the patient and their loved ones. I had a lump in my throat at several points, but Green never gets bogged down in the sorrow. Hazel maintains her wit and her bursts of anger at the universe and the people in it struck me as realistic. I came away from this book with a different perspective on what it must be like to suffer from cancer. This book will make you laugh and cry. Don't let the subject matter put you off. I can promise you that you won't regret picking up this wonderful book.

Annette xx