Review: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (Chrissy’s review)

The Fault In Our Stars
written by John Green
published by Dutton Books/Penguin

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, iBooks, Book Depository, Goodreads

Did I enjoy this book: This is one of those books that I have been wanting to read for quite some time. I am so glad that I took the time to read it. It was unexpected.

I heard a lot of great things about this book, and I was worried that I wouldn’t like it or that it wouldn’t live up to the hype. This book was as good as everyone had said. It lived up to the hype.

Okay, let’s get into the book. I thought The Fault In Our Stars was very real, gritty. I couldn’t imagine being that age and facing my own mortality. The kids–Hazel, Augustus, Isaac–they didn’t sugarcoat anything. They were real, bitter, upset, trying to fight. I enjoyed that. It made me connect because it seemed more true. I rooted for them throughout the book. It wasn’t rooting for a longer life, although that was part of it. I was rooting that they got the chance to live life.

As I was reading, I did something that I hardly ever–more like never–do, I skipped ahead. I read parts and found out what was going to happen. Not because I didn’t know what was going to happen, but because I wanted to be prepared for it. Not that you can ever truly be prepared for death and dying. I just needed to know ahead of time. Seriously, I don’t do that. When the final Harry Potter book was released, I avoided the news, internet, people, etc. until I read it. I like to be surprised by books. I like to find out the story as it unfolds. With The Fault In Our Stars, I couldn’t wait. I had to know.

This book isn’t all sad all the time. It is romantic; it is sweet. There were a lot of wonderful laugh out loud moments. This surprised me, but didn’t. I would think that when you are going through something like this, you would need to find something humorous. Something to make you laugh. I loved Hazel’s friend Kaitlyn’s line about Thin Mints. That cracked me up. The egging was hysterical, especially when the mother came out of the house.

These are the words that sum up The Fault In Our Stars for me: real, funny, sad, thoughtful, sweet, romantic, angry, tragic. This is a book that I will probably read again.

Would I recommend it: Yes.

About the book – from Goodreads: Despite the tumor-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.