The Fault in Our Stars

by John Green

I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once.

Despite the tumour-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis.

But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars brilliantly explores the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Praise for The Fault in Our Stars:

Sunday Times (Culture)
'A touching, often fiercely funny novel'

The Sun on Sunday (Fabulous Magazine)
'So good I think it should be compulsory reading for everyone!'

Daily Express
'John Green brilliantly captures the voices of a young generation while instilling it with the wisdom of a life that has lived too much yet will never live enough'

The Metro - 2013 Best Fiction
'The love affair of two terminally ill teenagers could be mawkish. In fact, it's funny, clever, irreverent and life-affirming.'

Grazia
'So good!'

Good Housekeeping
'As funny as it is heartbreaking... we defy you not to fall in love with its main characters, Hazel and Augustus.'

The Tablet
'A humourous and poignant love story... It's terrifically funny... as well as a moving exploration of loss and grief. And no, it's so much not just for teenage cancer sufferers... it's for everyone.'

Bliss
'If you need inspiration when it comes to making the most of a moment, this one is for you'

Mizz
'Insightful, bold, irreverent and raw, if this doesn't make you cry, it'll definitely make you think, laugh and maybe even fall in love yourself!'

• ISBN10: 0141345659
• ISBN13: 9780141345659
• Publish Date: 3 January 2013 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

“My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.”

Are the characters a little too pretentious and philosophical? Yes.
Was I manipulated to feel sad? Yes.
Is there an epic love story? No.
Did I end up feeling really sad after reading a book about pretentious and philosophical teenagers who have an epic love story? Yes!

When I first read The Fault in Our Stars about 7-8 years ago, I loved it and recommended it to my sister and all my school friends. However, there was something about it that bothered me. As a teenager, I couldn't believe that my fellow fictional teens cared so much about metaphors, symbolism and trying to find a meaning behind everything. I didn't think like the characters nor did I act like them.

In hindsight, I'd rather read about pretentious, philosophical and intelligent teenagers instead of teenage characters who lack common-sense for the sake of the plot. Also, I was a teenager who cared about metaphors, symbolism and rebelling against the system in my own unique way. I didn't go so far as putting unlit cigarettes in my mouth, but looking back, I was a little cringy and unbearable. However, I still believe the teenage characters in The Fault in Our Stars think and act wise beyond their years, but that can be chalked up to their circumstances and experiences.

The Fault in Our Stars is well-written and I like the characters, the friendships, the romance, the quotes, the monologues, the themes and everything in between. One thing that I can't fully believe is the epic love story between Hazel and Augustus. The connection and chemistry between Hazel and Augustus is more platonic and less romantic, but once again, considering their lives and their circumstances, the nature of their relationship makes sense.

The Fault in Our Stars is not just a story about two terminally ill teenagers falling in love, it's also about the questions that we are trying to answer, by living life: Who am I? What is my purpose in life? Will I make an impact? Will I leave a legacy behind? Will I be remembered?

Ultimately, The Fault in Our Stars is about life and loss, love and pain and the memories made and left behind.

“As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.”

  

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I have an extraordinarily difficult time giving John Green five stars because even though I find his books to be sheer brilliance, I also could not sit down and read them over and over again. They are, ultimately, depressing. As strange as it sounds, they are depressing in a good way, because they make you think about things that you don't want to think about. In this case, I find themes to be the cruelty of fate, living life to the fullest, courage, and knowing oneself.

There are a million things that one can take out of a John Green book. To a point, I am not certain John Green intends for a lesson to be learned in his novels - the way he reads to me, he writes about topics that infuriates him, and he wants to make the world aware of these things. To describe John Green in a word, judging by any and all of his books, I would call him "passionate". It seems that the world agrees with the genius behind his latest book, judging by a recent article in Time Magazine. To put it plainly - I may be saying I think that John Green is a genius... but obviously this isn't something that you (the reader) and the rest of the world don't already know.

It is important to remember, when reading a John Green novel, that although it was likely discovered on a YA bookshelf, it is still very applicable to adults. In fact, the YA only means that the protagonist is between the ages of twelve and eighteen. His books are very accessible for adults, while remaining interesting to young adults. In fact, I daresay as an adult I get more out of the books than some of my students may, being unable to fully grasp some of the greater challenges of life when still tucked into a nest egg and not having responsibilities greater than a curfew. It is difficult to talk about this book without giving away spoilers. You cannot love any of the characters - they are far too flawed, even if you can pity them. But they are the perfect representations of reality - John Green does not sugarcoat his characters. Not this time.

To any fan of John Green's - The Fault in Our Stars will blow you away. And if you aren't a fan... this book may be a good place to start. If you are a weepy person, make sure to have some tissues nearby.

((Cross-posted to my blog: The Literary Phoenix))

[Baroness Book Trove]

CAUTION! THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK ALREADY!!!!!!!

I just started this book yesterday and I just finished it today an hour ago to be precise. And I still can't stop crying. This book is sooo good. I mean yeah we are dealing with a book that is basically based on a terminal cancer patient that could literally drop dead at any moment while she was telling us this story but at the same time it also deals with teen love and how anything could happen. This book was a really good book and I didn't think it would affect me as bad.

See I knew that someone was going to die I mean it just was going to happen. I mean a book about cancer patients....it was just going to happen. I just didn't think that he was going to kill off someone that Hazel loves!!!! That's just cruel. It reminded me of A Walk To Remember and how Nicholas Sparks killed off Mandy Moore's character and left her husband all sad. The sad thing is that at least those two were able to get married poor Hazel and Gus never did.

Then again at least Hazel and Gus were able to spend the amount of time that they did together and were able to do it happily. Hazel and Gus are two people that should be together forever and forever and forever while having cute little babies. I mean yeah they are both cancer patients but that also means that they should try to live their lives. But then again they did. At least they got to go to AMSTERDAM!! As Hazel and their mom said it in chapter ten of the book.

This book is such filled with great characters. I loved Hazel, Gus, and....-enter drum roll here- ISAAC!! I mean that poor kid has, okay okay had, cancer in his eyes. Now that is the worst luck ever. He ends up getting dumped before the day he has to get his other eye removed I guess and before he goes forever blind. And now? Now he is trying to get over his ex while helping Hazel with her loss of poor poor young Gus.

I give this book a five stars even though I want to give it ten but the star scale doesn't go that high. The reason I give it a five/five, ahem a ten/ten, is because it is such a great book that I can't help but think that I will want to read over and over like how Hazel likes to read An Imperial Affliction. I will forever be wondering if I will ever find myself my own Augustus Waters. Okay? Okay. I also recommended this book to anyone that wants a good cry. I might be watching the movie that goes with this book so that I can see if the movie is as good as the book since I heard that people liked the movie but I haven't seen it yet. But yeah GO READ THIS BOOK IF YOU HAVEN'T YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want to read more of my reviews please go here: http://baronessbooktrove.blogspot.com/

[Leah]

I loved this book. I'm probably one of the last people on Earth to read this book, but I finally have! I picked it up in the airport (I already have a copy, of course, but I was stuck for something to read and there was nothing else interesting me and the book was on 3 for 2 so I picked up this one, Looking For Alaska and Will Grayson, Will Grayson). I knew this was the one I was going to read... And I devoured it in about two hours.

What can I say about the book that hasn't already been said? I pretty much loved it. Hazel and Augustus are two of the best main characters I will ever, ever meet, if I had cancer I would be bound to my bed, by choice, but these two! Man, I loved their attitude towards life.

I loved the whole philosophy of the novel. I loved the story-within-a-story with that douchebag author whose name escapes me, who wrote just the one book that ended in the middle of a sentence (and man, that made me SO MAD because I feared it was a precursor to what was coming at the end of TFIOS).

This is probably one of the best books I've ever read, even if I saw the plot twist coming a mile away (not that it made it any less bloody sad, mind) and I confess the book made me cry a little (ON A PLANE, PEOPLE!!!!!) and I'm now really looking forward to seeing the movie.

[zooloo1983]

This book really touched me. I know that there has been a lot of hate for this book and I couldn't understand why. To me everything just seemed right.

The ending did gripe me but I thought that it was quite fitting to end it the same as the book hazel loved.

Had I not read a review on here where the spoilers weren't hidden I think I would have been so much more shocked and probably cried abit more than already did!!!

Apart from the subject of the book the story was a nice easy story and I felt invested in the characters. Although it did feel everything happened so quickly and I had finished it before realising I was so far along!

[Bianca]

It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.

[lovelybookshelf]

This YA novel was insightful and focused on living life to its fullest even when facing death, without being overly sentimental or manipulating the reader's emotions. Read my full review at A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall.

[despair_witch_16]

This book is so cute yet so sad at the same time! I love this book!❤ This book made me cry! I recommend people to read this book!

[Joséphine]

MY EXPECTATIONS BEFORE READING

I braved the hype and finally read The Fault in Our Stars. Before I read this book, I knew surprisingly little about it, considering the massive popularity and the release of the movie. For the most part, I managed to skip past all the spoilers, especially on Tumblr. Of course I knew that John Green wrote it and that it was about cancer. Oh and I didn't manage to escape the metaphor of the cigarette. Then again, I couldn't make heads or tails of it, so that doesn't really count.

In terms of expectations, I tried to ignore all the hype surrounding this book. Still, I couldn't ignore that John Green wrote The Fault in Our Stars—not necessarily because of who he is but rather because I've read two of his stories before. The first was A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle in Let It Snow, and the second was An Abundance of Katherines.

A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle amused me greatly, and I thoroughly enjoyed Green's writing style for the story that he had written. As for An Abundance of Katherines, it's one of those books I disliked so much, I still am irked just thinking about that book. After reading The Fault in Our Stars, I've decided that John Green is a hit-and-miss kind of author for me.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE BOOK

Mixed Feelings

What I enjoyed most about The Fault in Our Stars was the prose. Paradoxically, I didn't very much care for Hazel's voice. The writing style itself was clear and concise, with few words wasted. But the voice of Hazel's left me unconvinced.

I hated hurting him. Most of the time, I could forget about it, but the inexorable truth is this: They might be glad to have me around, but I was the alpha and the omega of my parents’ suffering.

Moments like these sucked me right into The Fault in Our Stars. Yet that was more because of the linguistic flair than because of the story or the characters. Like I said, in terms of the prose, it was a pleasure reading this book. However, this also worked against the book. The signature wittiness I found endearing in A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle somehow resurfaced in The Fault in Our Stars. Instead of charming me into loving The Fault in Our Stars, that built a barrier that prevented me from fully immersing myself into the life of Hazel.

Lack of Depth

Either way, the characters themselves were likeable enough to me, even though they lacked the depth I'd expect from people who were on the brinks of their deaths. They lived day-to-day, not knowing if that day would be their last. Somehow that didn't translate. In fact, the frailness and fragility of Hazel didn't even came across, in my opinion. I was particularly incredulous when Hazel still had the energy to sleep with Gus for the first time in the Amsterdam hotel, after she had been so breathless climbing the stairs in the Anne Frank House.

Sweet Romance

In terms of the romance, the relationship between Hazel and Gus was very sweet and innocent, and I couldn't help but root for Gus. He pursued Hazel with all his heart, was unrelenting, fully treasuring every moment that he had with Hazel. I liked that for all the time that they spent together, they didn't sideline Isaac, who was Gus' best friend.

Witty vs. Solemn Tone

Sadly, even though I got to know Hazel, Gus and Isaac pretty well in terms of their ailments, likes and dislikes, I just didn't connect. At no point during the book did I feel inclined to cry, even though I tend to be very emotionally involved in the books that I read. I wasn't moved much by the story. I think in part that's because I felt the approach to the issues at hand was too light-hearted and a bit too concerned with wittiness.

It's not that I expect a book such as The Fault in Our Stars to be solemn every single moment but glossing over the worst sides of cancer, and indulging so much in the romance between Hazel and Gus left a lot to be desired in terms of the pain that they suffered physically, mentally and emotionally because of their terminal illnesses.

This review first appeared on Word Revel.

[KitsuneBae]

Okay. I have to be honest here. I thought I was going to cry a lot while reading this book. But that didn't happen. One thing's for sure though, John Green is now in my "favorite authors list." I love his humor and sarcasm. Well, I just really feel a connection to his writing style.