Tuesday 6 May 2014

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Posted by Unknown at 15:47
BOOK REVIEW: The Fault In Our Stars  
by John Green


The Fault In Our Stars
by John Green
Book description from Goodreads:
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.


My review:

***5 STARS***


I am a very harsh reviewer. I rarely give out 5 stars. 5 stars for me is only reserved for books who managed bring me on the edge, to the borderline of insanity. The kind of books that makes me feel so many things, that makes me want to recreate myself and reborn into another person. That makes me want to jump over buildings or free fall.
It's a lot like falling in love.

My flavour of books are normally paranormal, supernatural stuff, with wings or vampire fangs etc.

But cancer, deaths, patients?
No. I was never into that. I was never into the sob stories. I'm a HEA kinda girl. I love happy endings. It's why I can't stomach tragedies or some other boo hoo hoo tales. It's just not something I dig for. In my 22 years of life, I can only remember one other book that involves hospital patients. And that was My Sister's Keeper. But that was only because it was free.

So I was a bit unsure to try The Fault in Our Stars. Call me a discriminator, but I normally don't read books from male authors either. But I heard so many hype about this book, so many raving reviews that the curious part of my brain demanded for me to try it. Just give it a taste. A little sip.

So I grabbed a digital copy and read.

I heard from many people that it's a very sad sad book. But to be honest, the first half of the story didn't turn me into a tear jerker. I was wondering whether if I was truly a cold-hearted person for not feeling teary over these sad cancer protagonists.

But wait for it. Be patient. Because the emotions will slowly seep into you like cancer cells. It will raid you and turn you inside out like a virus.

And I became wrecked.

I'll get to that part in a bit.

I can tell from this book, John Green is a highly intellectual individual. I love his brain. I want to dive into it and live there. I want to usurp it.

He has a brilliant sense of humour too. You would think a story about cancer, it will all be about boo hoo and tears, but nah, there are plenty of funny elements into it too.

"I think he's hurting her boob," I said,
"Yes, it's difficult to ascertain whether he is trying to arouse her or perform a breast exam."


"Pretty great," I agreed, although it wasn't, really. It was a kind of a boy movie. I don't know why boys expect us to like boy movies. We don't expect them to like girl movies.

^In which I agree wholeheartedly.


And then you get to read some great philosophical thoughts as well. I always love morality and philosophy in books. It makes the whole adventure a lot more worth it. Like you can actually learn from it. As if the book can make you into a better person.

Were she better and you sicker, then the stars would not be so terribly crossed, but it is the nature of stars to cross, and never was Shakespeare more wrong than when he had Cassius note, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/ But in ourselves."

What a slut time is. She screws everybody.

Some tourists think Amsterdam is a city of sin, but in truth it is a city of freedom. And in freedom, most people find sin.


Now these are the parts that made me feel. I didn't realise I became emotional until every part of my cells were drenched with sadness.
I became like this:

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The first thing that made me cry was what Peter fecking Van Houten said:

"Sick children inevitably become arrested: You are fated to live out your days as the child you were when diagnoses, the child who believes there is life after novel ends. And we, as adults, we pity this, so we pay for your treatments, for your oxygen machines. We give you food and water though you are unlikely to live long enough.

"You are a side effect," Van Houten continued, "of an evolutionary process that cares little for individual lives. You are a failed experiment in mutation."

Those were the angry tears. I had the privilege to never get personal with cancer but even I felt outrage when I read that. Like how dare he! Sure, I can never know how it feels to die and in pain for most of my life but those words were hurtful and they probably pained me more than Hazel Grace.

Then there were sad but happy tears. They tasted bittersweet. And that was all thanks to Augustus Waters. I freaking loved this guy! He was so sweet and thoughtful and lovely and made me swoon!

"I'm in love with you," he said quietly.
"I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you."

Oh yeah, that totally made me bawl there.

See why I loved this book? Because it made me feel so many things. Words contains power. Power to move worlds. Power to move people's hearts. And I feel this book managed to do just that.

And my last parting remark:

"Even cancer isn't a bad guy really: Cancer just wants to be alive."

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