The Fault In Our Stars, By John Green

Book 15/50

I’d first heard about John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars from one of my fellow book lovers, Vicky. “It’s a real tear jerker,” she had warned me. “Well, I’m not reading it anytime soon then,” I had told her in response, shaking my head. And yet somehow I knew I would be reading it in the near future.

So I waited. I bought and read other books. And then I heard The Fault in Our Stars was going to be a movie released in 2014 (the trailer already has over 14 million views!). So I ordered the book, but still procrastinated reading it.

Finally, I knew I had to dive in.

The story, in case you have been living under a rock, is about two teenagers with cancer who meet in a support group. Without giving too much away, it’s a love story and a tragic, yet uplifting tale.

I read the book in three nights and each night, I laid in bed, crying beside Ian. He’d look at me and say “Babe, maybe you should stop reading that book; it’s making you so upset.” I would just nod my head, wiping my tear streaked face and eventually fall asleep. It is one of those novels that sticks with you after you put it down, and leaves you thinking about it long after you have finished it. Green has a way of lightning the mood and making serious situations humorous, but he also has the ability to tie you to characters in a way you didn’t think was possible in such a short time. I really and truly felt like I knew the characters, which may be why it was so difficult to read at times.

While I don’t enjoy sobbing uncontrollably, I do recommend this book. It makes you feel blessed and want to embrace every moment of every day, but it also offers a different and honest perspective of sick kids that I had never thought about before. The protagonists in this book don’t want to be known as heroes who teach us to live life to the fullest after they are gone… in fact, they just want to be seen as normal kids.

I’m not going to give you an in-depth summary of the novel.I just think you should read it.

So thank you, John Green, for making me laugh, cry, and cry some more. I’m still thinking about your beautiful characters and love story, and I’m willing to bet I will be for some time.