Tuesday 10 January 2012

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Synopsis (From The Waterstones Website) 

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel had prepared herself to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs...for now. Two years later, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means) Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and to Hazel’s surprise interested in her. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.
What I Have to Say 

I am breaking what little routine that this blog has for this book. Normally I wouldn't post up a review this soon after reviewing a book by the same author. And I apologise profusely for posting on a Tuesday after promising to only post on Mondays :P I'm also writing this directly into the blog post box thingymy rather than writing it out by hand first, which is what I usually do. But it is important to me to write this review and post it up now on the day it's out, on the day I've brought it and a few minutes after I have finished reading it.

Normally, books such as this don't appeal to me. It's not that I don't like books about cancer sufferers, it's just that I probably wouldn't pick one up in a bookshop. So it was only really because it written by John Green that made me so excited, excited enough to go to Waterstones this morning worried that they wouldn't have it in stock (I screwed up the amazon order so I had to hope that it would be in stock). 

Anyway. Since the moment, on the bus back from Waterstones when I started reading this book. I put it down three times. One time was walking back from the bus stop to home as I didn't want it to get wet and another was a few minutes ago once I'd read the first page. It was very similar to my experience reading Looking for Alaska in this way. 

I started out the book with the same feeling that it would be okay but probably nothing special, but again John Green surprised me with his ability to write such touching characters as well as humour and sadness. In one part of the book he actually got me to cry and laugh at the same time. 

What I'm saying is that this book was amazing and yet again Green managed to create something absolutely wonderful. 

Looking for Alaska is still my favourite John Green book, but The Fault in our Stars has definitely become a first second.

 So seriously. Buy this book. 

On Monday we will return to books that I read a while back which I don't want to miss. We apologise for the inconvenience (cookies for anyone who gets the reference).

5 comments:

  1. Wow, now I really can't wait for it to arrive from Amazon. If it's that good I'll have to make sure I have the Saturday free!

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  2. Man, this book destroyed me. Devastatingly beautiful.

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  3. I’d come to recognize with you on this. Which is not something I typically do! I really like reading a post that will make people think.

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  4. The Fault in Our Stars is the fourth solo novel by author John Green.

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  5. We just had faith in this fantastic writer. And....it was well-placed. I laughed, I cried, I was cliche as anything. Whatever man. It was a profoundly /good/ book, and the characters were remarkable, and I can say with no hesitation that it was the best book that I have read in a very very long time, and definitely the best he has published, ever. I hope to see students studying these in English someday. And I'll be damned if it doesn't earn him the right to attach more stickers to the book covers, this time shiny and metallic and very very award-y."
    Buy it. It's fantastic.

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