THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

Author: John Green

Title: The fault in our stars

Publisher: Penguin

Number of pages: 318

Synopsis:

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Review:

You never know how to write or what to write when you’re talking about cancer. The fact is that in the Western world, nearly everybody dies of cancer. This is always a tragic story because you can’t choose or prevent to have that illness and because in the majority of the cases, it has no cure, only some ways to make the agony a little bit longer. Sounds hard but it is what it is.

What I have really loved about this novel is the way the author has treated the illness through some genuine and funny characters that try to deal with their teenage lives as best as they can. These characters show irony and sarcasm towards their cancer in every possible way. They fight depression but at the same time hate to be recognized for their fights. They learn from each other and from the world that one has to appreciate the small things in life, because life is too short and you’ll never know (they for sure will never know because their fate is written, they’ve got such bad luck they could never have a normal life, but “normal” is a subjective word). It is this contrast between irony and tragedy what I have loved the most about this book…you can be laughing your ass out in the first chapter and drown in tears in the second one.

Anyway, I knew before-hand that I was going to love this book. In some aspects, it has reminded me of other novels such as PS: I love you, or Tuesdays with Morrie. This book is one of those works where you could be highlighting quotations every five lines, beautiful ways to put down complex feelings that make you think and reconsider your life experiences.

Only if I had to say something negative about this book it would be that sometimes it can be a little cliché. John Green, be careful with that or every single one of your books will sound the same.