Book Review: 'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green

Once again, its been 2 weeks since I finished this book but I still wanted to share my thoughts so here we go....

This was one of these books that there was loads of hype about and I wasn't a part of it until ages later! Haha! I actually downloaded this on my Kindle around Christmas time but I only got round to starting it about 3 weeks ago or so.

Brief Summary: Hazel is a terminal cancer patient who meets cancer 'survivor' Gus at Support Group. They're friendship evolves quickly and, though Hazel initially feels that it would be unfair to put someone through the trauma of dating a dying girl, the relationship is inevitable. They share their innermost feelings that cannot be discussed with people who don't understand, and bond particularly over a novel that is close to Hazel's heart. But Gus has a relapse, and slowly begins to get severely ill and, as his condition deteriorates, the young couple's bubble of happiness fades.

When I first began reading it, I didn't really understand the excitement. I do now, but I don't think I'm quite as big an addict as some! My summary by no means does, or intends to do, justice to such a masterpiece, I include it simply for the benefit of anyone who hasn't yet read it in case I make references you don't understand!

Initially the fact that not a lot was going on put me off a bit, but as I read further I began to realise that it wasn't action that made the writing so admirable, but the emotional content, and the fact that the worries and concerns expressed seemed so truthful that you come to sympathise with the characters.

John Green has quite a specific style of writing, and once I'd picked up on that it was far more comfortable to read. I'm a bit squeamish and so, at times, I was worried that medical references would daunt me ! But, on the contrary, there aren't a lot of medical scenes at all!

Due to a lacking in the action department, with the exception of a few key incidents, characterization is crucial to the appreciation of the novel. Green is successful in capturing what I can only imagine are the varying reactions towards perilous illness; anger, depression, realisation, isolation and more positive feelings such as knowing that nothing is ever too dangerous and wanting to leave your mark upon the world, to name but a few.

I fund certain themes to be a little bit unrealistic, such as when the couple get to meet their favourite author who hasn't even spoken to, far less met, fans in many years. There are certain elements of the novel that that just seem too perfectly staged, but I'm starting to realise that this can be said of a great many novels and that sometimes we need to be accepting of a few key facts in order to appreciate their impact upon the story as a whole.

A lot of my friends warned me that their reading of the book involved a lot of crying. I was surprised to find that this didn't happen for me, but it did make me feel quite depressed and upset for a while so I suppose it achieved its desire effect in that regard!

I'm very happy to hear that 'The Fault in Our Stars' is being made into a film which will be released in June, because I think it will be extremely interesting to see what the director does in order to convey the story and do it justice.

Overall, I really enjoyed 'The Fault in Our Stars'-  its always a good sign when your trying to squeeze the reading of a chapter between every activity of the day, and when your so keen to finish that you finish it while 'road reading'*.

Thoroughly recommend it to anyone who hasn't yet picked it up!

Catriona xx

* I learnt the term 'road reading' in one of my favourite book 'The Sky is Everywhere' by Jandy Nelson, though it was something I used to do years ago without knowing the name. Its where you walk down the street while reading! Not the safest of practices but I hadn't done it since my walks to primary school and I was enjoying TFIOS so much, that I couldn't resist finishing it off on my way down town!