The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

The Fault in Our Stars

I do not remember when I first heard about this book.  I feel as though it simply appeared in my conscious without a formal introduction.  Once there, I heard about it everywhere.  Well, ok, not everywhere.  After all, aside from a moderate knowledge of the dystopian genre, I spend basically no time exploring the latest and greatest in the world of young adult literature.  Yet, somehow, this book not only made me aware of its existence, but also perked my interest enough to get into my hands.

It is exactly the type of book that I don't read.  Teenage girl, dying of terminal cancer, falls in love with another cancer patient.  Everything I do not like in books should have been here: teenage angst, depressing plot, canned emotional responses to complex situations.  Usually even things like good reviews are enough to steer me away from a book like this.  I do not know why, but I overlooked those likelihoods in this case and am so glad I did.  While I am not saying The Fault in Our Stars is entirely void of such literary attributes  they are, at least, disguised or handled well.

One of the descriptive words used on the dust jacket calls Stars 'irreverent.'  What a wonderful word to describe Green's work.  Despite what you may be thinking, irreverence is exactly what this book needed to make it feel authentic.  Hazel, the heroine of this near-Greek tragedy, came across extremely real to me.  Now, I know nothing about what it is like to have cancer or even to be closely connected to someone with such a devastating illness.  I do not claim to after having read this book.  However, I do not believe you have to be able to personal relate to something to appreciate its genuine nature.  And so I feel about Stars.

The plot, when examined from a distance, is not particularly special.  The literary idea of star-crossed lovers has long been explored and overused.  Even Green's characters were not anything extraordinary.  Yet, the way in which he portrayed them handling the extreme situation which they had been forced to define as their normal, well, perhaps that is where the something special arrives.  

These kids, unsurprisingly considering their medical state, think deeply about life and its meaning.  Not in a canned, expected way, but in a believable way.  Their musings on their worth are interspersed with satirical comments, the way real people talk about important things.  

One complaint I have seen other readers make is that Hazel and Augustus are unrealistic teenagers.  That they think too deeply and have conversations too intelligent for their age.  I highly disagree.  They are teenagers in extraordinary situations who have been forced to grow up and face death far earlier than they should have.  They should be real, and anything but ordinary.  That is exactly what I see in Green's writing of them.  They laugh and have fun; yet they live not with the excitement of an uncertain future, but with the somber acceptance of a certain, nearing death.  To me, having Hazel, a girl who has spent three years being educated independently due to her illness, quoting poetry is not strange or out of place.  She has found her solace in literature, something to which I can certainly relate.  Those moments, for me, give the book a depth beyond typical books in the young adult genre.

Many of those who have read this book described their experiences fighting tears through its pages.  I will admit, I am not a book crier.  A movie crier, absolutely.  For as much as I love books, though, I rarely shed a tear over their pages.  No exception here, but that does not at all mean the story is not heart-wrenching.  Any normal human being will probably cry at some point.

Green tells a compelling, emotional story about teenagers and families living with terminal illness.  In light of some recent health issues in my own family, Stars served as another reminder for me of how blessed I am to be healthy.  There are so many people living with pain, both physical and emotional, on a daily basis with no end in sight.  Green offers a glimpse into coping with that reality.

Are you a book crier?  If so, what books have made you cry?  I am alone in crying at movies but not over books?  

Pages: 368

Date Completed: April 20, 2013