Hello there readers, I'm back with another book review. This is a book that is so famous on the webiverse, I can guarantee that you've seen pictures of this book repeatedly on tumblr and instagram - have you guessed it yet? If you've not then I guess you've not read the title of the post, but yes it's the Fault in our Stars by John Green. I'm so late on the bandwagon, 2 years too late, but I knew I had to read it before the film. I want to watch the film either in the cinema or on DVD because Nat Wolff is in it and I've had a crush/obsession on Nat Wolff since the age of 9 when I watched him in the Naked Brothers Band film, tv shows and film sequels.. (I also bought his album 'Black Sheep' but that's irrelevant). Anyway, I'll stop rambling and get on with the review (you can also add me on goodreads here if you want to see what I'm reading as I'm doing a reading challenge)
Synopsis:
Despite the tumour-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.
My thoughts:
I have to say what I loved the most about this book was the writing style, John Green has a really unique way of writing so it doesn't feel like a bunch of long words that people don't use in conversation has been thrown at you, it's simplistic enough that it sounds like you're actually being spoken to by Hazel. Don't get me wrong, I love books with long words it makes me feel much smarter but I think this was a nice easy read which is always good.
The storyline itself was quite cheesy, but I found myself attached to the characters. Something I like to call the Mean Girls Complex, where the story is pretty cheesy and could so easily be cringey if the characters and the comic relief weren't so good. I found Augustus to be quite cringey in the beginning but he was such a deep character and he did introduce some philosophical points in the book which I found interesting. Hazel was a bit dull personality wise but I think that was intentional as she's a cancer patient so she thinks cancer defines her, but she is obsessed with this author and his book - I won't mention any more on that though. I loved Isaac so much (was it the image of Nat Wolff in my head? Who knows..), he provided some comic relief but he also had an interesting story and he plays a role in getting Augustus and Hazel to meet.
The book is divided into short chapters (the odd one or two are longer though, and the odd few are very short) but it's very readable and easy to get into, I found myself doing quite a lot of binge reading with this book.
Overall rating:
I would give this a 4/5, I do think it is overrated but I did really enjoy it and I can definitely see myself reading it again. I didn't cry, but I think that's because I knew what was going to happen at the end (trying so hard not to spoil it although I really wonder who doesn't know what happens..). I would definitely recommend this, keep in mind that isn't directly about cancer - that's more of the side stories that comes into the main story if you get what I mean. It's a coming-of-age story but it's like a grown up love story because the characters are all cancerous and know they won't live very long so they take their first loves quite seriously.
Have you read the Fault in our Stars?
Have you read any other of John Green's books?
