Sunday, April 13, 2014

Book Bingo: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is the story of two teenagers: Hazel, who is suffering from a slowed but incurable lung cancer and a cynical view of the world around her, and Augustus, who has one real and one prosthetic leg due to a previous bout with cancer and chooses to hold on to life and romance for all they are worth. From the moment they meet, Augustus changes Hazel's perspective on her life and those around her. And as their relationship and Hazel's cancer progress, she and Augustus must decide how they will confront life's obstacles and what kind of legacies they want to leave behind.

(picture taken from Goodreads;
cover design by Rodrigo Corral)

Conclusion: This book was phenomenal. Hazel and Augustus are sarcastic and funny, emotional and intense as only teenagers can be. They may be sick, but they live their lives to an admirable degree. At the same time, Green's book is honest and straightforward. This is not exactly a book where two beautiful people meet, fall in love, and run away together. This is a book about love, but it is also a book about sickness and how that sickness affects every part of life, in good ways as well as bad. I can't go into too much detail without giving things away, but I can say that I alternately laughed and cried throughout this book. I wish that I could meet Hazel, Augustus, and Isaac, because they seem like people with whom I would love to be friends, flaws and all. The last thing I'll say is read this book! It's amazing.

This book was my fourth "TBR Pile" choice for the 2014 Book Bingo Challenge. I'm nearing the end of my bingo, so stay tuned for my modified plan for this challenge!


2 comments:

  1. This book gets endlessly praised... I fell like I should read it, and that makes it feel like homework, so I keep avoiding it. One day!

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    1. I know what you mean--I have two books I've been avoiding for over a year for the exact same reason. There are a few reasons why I finally decided to read this: One of my friends gave it a mediocre review (meaning she thought the book was mediocre--which, as you've pointed out, is rare and I had to decide for myself); there's a movie of it coming out this summer; and the paperback just came out (I can borrow books from work, but they have to be hardback, so I wanted to finish it before I lost my chance). I had more motivation than you probably will, but if you feel like people are praising it too much, I encourage you to go to Goodreads and scan for unhappy reviews! Be careful of spoilers, though. This is one of those books where knowing the ending could really change how you read it.

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