RATING GUIDE:
5 – A keeper!
4 – Very good
3 – Passable
2 – I’d rather read
a telephone book
1 – An absolute bomb.
Read at your own risk!
I’m in what you would call a Positive Thinking phase right
now. I’ve been reading a lot of books
and watching a lot of videos that talk about how you pull things, people and
situations in your life based on what you think or want.
I have yet to see an end to the
vampire trend in literature (will someone put an end to it already?), but at
least, my second wish came true. I got
to read something with heft and substance over the weekend, and yes, it did
leave me breathless. In fact, I’ll go
so far as to say I found a book that’s pure magic … and no, you won’t find
Harry Potter here.
"The Fault In Our Stars" is the story of
Hazel, a sixteen-year old girl with cancer.
Her illness has made her unable to participate in many of the activities
her peers enjoy; she is fairly isolated, and only interacts with her parents
and her girl friend. Cancer has
practically turned her into a recluse who prefers books to actual people, until
she meets Augustus, a hunky teenager who is also a cancer survivor. Hazel and Augustus strike up a friendship
which blossoms into something much, much more … until cancer threatens to cut
it short.
It is hard to list down everything I love about this book,
because there’s just A LOT to love.
I really appreciate John Green’s
portrayal of cancer victims as people who are the same as people who don’t have
that sickness. Cancer victims come in
all shapes and sizes (hey, he can even be a hunk like Augustus!), they can be
as nice or as mean as anyone, and most importantly, they fall in love, too.
At times, Hazel and Augustus sound a little too smart and
witty that you wonder if John Green is on the verge of sounding pretentious,
but I’d like to believe they are just “built” that way (after all, they start
bonding over books … so nerdy but very sweet, I think!).
There’s something in every character for you to identify
with and love … and that includes Peter Van Houten, the reclusive author who
unwittingly binds Hazel and Augustus together.
He’s as mean as hell, but John Green manages to write his character in
such a way that one actually feels sorry for him. Personally, it is Augustus I love the most. Who wouldn’t fall for a hunky amputee with
atrocious bad driving skills and a heart as big as the ocean? I almost wept for him towards the end of the
story.
This is the first John Green I
ever read, and it really surprised me that this was a book for young adults,
because this is as much a book for grown-ups as it is for young ones. It is a book about being a teenager in the
21st century, but it is also a book that deals with the “heavy”
stuff: illness, death, moving on, the
meaning of life, among others.
I don’t think I’ve ever come
across a book that portrays the complexities of life in such an original and
interesting way. To capture the good in
the worst of moments, or strength and dignity in one’s weakest and most
humiliating moments, or joy in the middle of grief … the way John Green
accomplished all of those things is simply inspired and brilliant. It’s as grim as death itself, but it is also
as warm as the sun and as joyful as a child’s laugh.
There are many, many profound, valuable lessons about life
in this book, and young adults as well as grown-ups will benefit so much from
reading this rare, literary gem that I’m sure will be a classic in no time at
all.
RATING: 5
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