The Fault In Our Stars

Warning: Spoilers

By Miriam A

The Fault in Our Stars is a stand-alone book, one of John Green’s most acclaimed works. Using a 5-star rating system, I would give this novel a 4 star rating. Both of the main characters are well developed and there is an unexpected, painful twist in the plot that succeeded in interesting me in this romance. As the novel progressed, I was disappointed when a side character I had thought would be more prominent in the novel, Isaac, mostly fell out of the storyline; Green probably thought he would interfere with the romance, but I would have enjoyed seeing his character more fully developed. This love story seems original and not  clichéd, but my opinion may be flawed as this is the first romance I have read and I don’t have any others to compare it to. Additionally, there were a few questionable scenes and profanity that didn’t really serve any purpose for the plot (and I would have preferred that Green had excluded). Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend The Fault In Our Stars because the pros of the book outway the cons.  

The plot follows Hazel Grace and her boyfriend, Augustus, who are both fighting cancer; Hazel has active thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs, and Augustus is in remission from osteosarcoma. Hazel and Augustus meet through another teenager named Isaac, who is going blind from eye cancer. Isaac is Hazel’s friend, but also Augustus’s, as Hazel learns when Isaac brings Augustus to a meeting. Hazel notices Augustus staring at her throughout the length of the dull meeting and after talking for a while, Augustus invites her to his house to watch a movie which features a lead whom Augustus thinks looks like her. After getting to know each other better, Hazel insists Augustus should read her favorite book, which he agrees to do if she will read his favorite book. Hazel’s book finishes in an enormous cliffhanger that she has always wondered about. After Augustus reads the book, he too is frustrated by the cliffhanger, and together, Hazel and Augustus write fan mail to the author asking him to explain the ending.  They eagerly await his response, but unfortunately, his reply is virtually useless and leaves Hazel and Augustus with even more questions. He invites them to visit him in Amsterdam to chat about his book (but this is only because he is certain they won’t fly across the world to talk with him). However, Hazel actually accepts the invitation and travels from Indiana to Amsterdam with her mom and Augustus, who uses his Wish (a way for people with cancer to have their dreams come true) to pay for all of their tickets. This trip to Amsterdam is the turning point for the book, when Hazel and Augustus fall deeply in love but Augustus also reveals to Hazel that his cancer has returned.  

Hazel and Augustus each battle their own physical and emotional problems as they deal with their cancers and the fallouts of those cancers.  For example, although Augustus used to love playing basketball, one of his legs had to be amputated as a result of his osteosarcoma, and Hazel has to use an oxygen tank to help her breathe because of the cancer that has spread to her lungs. She deals with this physical problem, as well as battling mental challenges. For example, at first, Hazel is reluctant to be with Augustus, because she knows that with her diagnosis she could die at any time. Augustus’s last girlfriend, Caroline Mathers, passed away from brain cancer, and Hazel realizes how much another death could hurt Augustus. Hazel has conflicting emotions about whether “it’s ok” to be Augustus’s new friend, knowing that her death would only cause him more pain. One of the most prominent themes in this book is courage. Despite her cancer, Hazel is willing to travel across the world to meet with her favorite author and Augustus is willing to give up his Wish so she can meet him. More importantly, each of these characters finds the courage to love the other despite the very real possibility that their love will ultimately cause them great pain.   

Although this isn’t a genre I usually read, I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. Despite a few questionable scenes, I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for a YA romance that also explores deeper questions about what we risk and what we receive when we choose to love another person.