It’s taken me two days to read The Fault In Our Stars, a much-anticipated read after all the hype I’d heard about it, particularly via Twitter.
The story of Hazel, a terminally ill cancer-sufferer, is a harrowing and poignant one. For the first few chapters I was a little disappointed with the story, as it felt a bit like I was reading a pre-teen novel that I couldn’t really relate to.
However, after the first 100 pages or so I really got into the characters and felt like I was living Hazel’s life with her including girly moments like a first love. John Green brings her to life in a way that I have rarely seen in many authors and it was surprising how easy I found it to be a part of her life even though, touch wood and thank God, I’ve never been affected by cancer in anyone.
He also managed to bring the turmoil and torture of cancer to life and it gave me one of those leases of life that make you sit back and appreciate things.
Augustus was the perfect antidote to her suffering and he was almost like the missing puzzle piece to her life – albeit while missing his own limb. I found myself welling up and physically sobbing with the twists and turns of the novel and (*SPOILER ALERT*) I really thought John Green was setting us up for her demise rather than his. That was the biggest shock.
I loved the ending of the book as well, as it really reflected the ending of An Imperial Affliction, the fictional book that Hazel is so very obsessed with.
Although the characters were a little young it was beautiful to watch her grow up even though she was consciously being eaten away by this devastating disease. My disappointment at the beginning of the novel was far from satisfied by the end. It was a book that tampered with many of my emotions and left me wanting to hug Gus, Hazel, their parents and little blind Isaac all at once.
Hats off to you, John Green.
Having laughed and cried at the latest Bridget Jones instalment Mad About A Boy and now TFIOS (which had been on my Most Wanted List for months) I now get to sift through the rest of my collection for another read. I think I might go for The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy – one of my all time favourite books that I discovered through English Literature A-Level that I can now read for pure pleasure.
Time to geek out.
Reasons why... 