Happy Sunday!
A while ago now I read John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars". It was released in January 2012 and quickly became #1 on Amazon. The critical response world wide was phenomenal and is a #1 best seller.
I thought I would tell you about the novel if you've not already had the pleasure of devouring it and give you my honest opinion.
The novel from 16 year old Hazel Grace Lancaster's point of view, a girl who has terminal lung cancer and has been battling cancer since she was thirteen. She has an oxygen tank attached to her via the tubes through her nose because in Hazels' words "My lungs suck at being lungs". When she attends a Cancer Children Support Meeting and encounters Augustus Waters, her life changes dramatically.
Augustus provided much needed companionship, humor, and reminded Hazel not to let the cancer consume her; to not let it take away her hopes, dreams and social life. He also showed her what it felt like to be unconditionally loved. His manner was very much like how a young male might handle situations, but he was also not afraid to let Hazel (and the reader) see his vulnerable side. The witty and thought-provoking dialogue between the two really helped the flow, and lightened the mood of a novel surrounding a rather serious topic.
They ask the questions that relates to all of us: Will I be loved? Will I be remembered? Will I leave a mark?
Green has the ability to handle the pace of a novel well and appropriately. His characterization was exceptional, creating characters with depth that touches the reader. He very believably portrayed a young female teenager's thoughts and issues to the point where I felt that Hazel was one of my best friends.
What I loved about The Fault In Our Stars is that the journey that Hazel went on wasn't acceptance of death -she'd completed that before the novel began - but on the acceptance of life. How life isn't always fair, but life just is. And how it is greatly put in the novel; "The world is not a wish-granting factory."
The Fault In Our Stars isn't a depressing read, then again, it isn't an uplifting novel either. It is simply a truthful depiction of love, loss, and the life of a young girl who has cancer.
John Green once again captured my heart and left me speechless when I closed the cover. If you haven't read this already, go out and buy it. I cannot describe how this makes you feel or the change you feel inside you, so go and find out for yourself!
“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book. And then there are books like An Imperial Affliction, which you can't tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like betrayal”
~The Fault In Our Stars
Love
Sophie
x
P.S. I absolutely cannot wait for the film adaptation out 8th June 2014!