Book #56 "The Fault in our Stars"

Title: "The Fault in our Stars"
Author: John Green
Rating:  ★★★★★

 

 *Sigh*

What can I say about this book? I feel like whatever I say about this book won't do it justice. 

I'll admit that at first I was hesitant to read what I thought of as a "cancer book", but, BOY WAS I WRONG! It is so infinitely much more than that. 

It's a glimpse into a shockingly REALISTIC world where wishes don't get granted, where not everyone gets a happy ending, where people, good people, are dealt a losing hand in the game of life, but despite all of that, they continue to yearn for life. To fight to live just one more second, minute, hour, day. 

(Authors note: this book made me cry harder, and longer, than any book I've ever read. I didn't even cry that much when Dumbledore died. Yeah. I cried for about three chapters straight).

Our main character, and narrator, is Hazel Grace Lancaster. 

She is a terminally ill cancer patient who has bought herself a little more time thanks to the fictional drug, Philanxifor. 

She is an insanely bright sixteen-year-old, who is obsessed with the book, "An Imperial Affliction", (a book about a cancer patient, named Anna) written by the reclusive (fictional) author, Peter Van Houten. 

Hazel is forced by her parents to go to a cancer support group at a local church, where she meets Isaac, (a soon to be blind boy, thanks to cancer) and Augustus Waters, (soon to be Hazel's love interest, and reason for her life never being the same again) an amputee cancer patient. 

Augustus is witty and handsome, and stirs up emotions in Hazel that she's not prepared to deal with. She doesnt want to get involed with anyone because she wants to minimize the pain her passing will inevitably afflict upon the people she loves, and who love her in return.  

At Hazel's recommendation, Augustus,(Gus) reads "An Imperial Affliction" and catches Hazel's obsession. Both Hazel and Gus are unhappy with the questions that the book leaves unanswered, and make numerous attempts to contact Van Houten in the hopes of clarity. 

What follows is a captivating, heart-wrenching, and unforgettable journey through Love, Loss, Dreams Shattered, and all the in betweens. 

This book hit hard. 

I don't say this often, but really, if you don't read this, you are missing out on something critical. And you will never know the exquisite pain of a good tragedy.