Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I know other reviewers have used words such as "blase" (which, to be fair, is quite 'blase' in and of itself) to describe this novel, but let's get down to the nitty gritty of it all. I know it's the "hip" thing to not like the books everybody else is reading and, honestly, before I picked up one of John Green's novels (this is my first, but NOT my last) I figured he had to be overrated.

I. Was. Wrong.

Write that in your datebooks because I don't say it often, but I was very wrong in my prejudgment of this novel.

Pros:
The characters are charming, poignant, and painfully real. In the face of tragedies too huge for most adults to experience with a smile, they manage to insert light, carefree, intellectual humor. I laughed as much as I cried in this novel, and let me tell you, that's saying something. Green does not romanticize the struggle with cancer, but rather gets deeper into the fact that no matter how old a person is, he or she has an identity. No matter what their struggle, they have a sense of humor and the ability to be a beautiful soul. The love story here is one of the truest and greatest I've ever read, perhaps because of the short time frame, perhaps because of the circumstances. I don't know. Either way, it's a book I will use in my classroom and recommend to anyone I meet.

Cons:
... I can't really think of any, unless you include massive emotional upheaval and tear-wrenching catharsis.

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