Book Review #16: The Fault in Our Stars

Book 16: The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

I finally got around to reading something of John Green's. I'd heard so many good things about his work, and this book in particular. I knew that even though it was about someone with cancer, it was going to be a meaningful, enjoyable read, not something simply depressing. I wasn't disappointed, and I'd say it exceeded my expectations.

Hazel is a 16-year-old with thyroid cancer. Her cancer is being kept at bay by a new miracle drug, but she doesn't know how long she has left. At her cancer support group one of the members decides to bring along a friend of his, Augustus Waters, who is in remission (the cancer is "gone" but it could always come back). They are instantly drawn to one another, and thus begins a spontaneous, beautiful relationship between the two of them, as he gives her someone to cherish other than her parents, and something to keep her from constantly thinking about her cancer.

John Green's writing is both witty and beautiful. He makes a fair number of philosophical remarks as well, which I really enjoy in a book. I couldn't help making highlight after highlight in my Kindle as I read. Here are a few of my favorites.

"The BiPAP essentially took control of my breathing away from me, which was intensely annoying, but the great thing about it was that it made all this noise, rumbling with each inhalation and whirring as I exhaled. I kept thinking that it sounded like a dragon breathing in time with me, like I had this pet dragon who was cuddled up next to me and cared enough about me to time his breaths to mine." 

"As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once."

"I want to have scrambled eggs for dinner without this ridiculous construction that a scrambled egg-inclusive meal is breakfast even when it occurs at dinnertime."

"Sometimes it seems the universe wants to be noticed."

Hazel felt very real to me, and that made it easy to relate to her. Her disease doesn't define her. And the message in the book is definitely for anyone, not just for someone with a terminal disease. Given all this, and the fact that I essentially read the whole thing in a day, I'm definitely going to be reading his other books.