Saturday, February 11, 2012

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings." - Cassius from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

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I read Paper Towns last summer and thought it was brilliant. This book was not quite as good. Not "quite" because it was better. I ordered the novel already signed by John Green, and had it signed again by when I met John and his brother Hank. Like so few things can do (Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean 3 come to mind, as well as several Pixar animations), it seamlessly blended hilarity with tragedy.

The Fault in Our Stars tells the story of Hazel, a teenage girl with cancer. But it does not focus on the cancer; in fact, she states the appropriate number of times that she does not want people to sympathize with her, as she is not only a victim of disease, but a person as well. She meets a boy named Augustus Waters (Gus) and has a non-cliche, non-sappy romance with him (very rare nowadays), but Gus also has cancer and his days are numbered. They go to Amsterdam to meet a writer, and there is much discussion of humanity and the philosophies and such. I can't say much more without spoiling things, but I definitely recommend this to pretty much anyone.

Final grade: A

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