The Fault in Our Stars

Apr 04, 2013 April*procrastinator and proud* rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: the-fault-in-our-stars, so-much-more-than-just-a-book, best-characters, best-endings, best-male-leads, book-that-better-be-in-to-movies, books-i-can-t-live-without, books-i-own, character-growth, favorite-authors, favorites, heart-warming-books, awesomesauce-heroines, re-readable-books, best-of-2012, i-cried-hard, beautiful, life-and-death, tragedy, signed, raw-emotions, i-don-t-need-sleep-anyways, fangirling

This is me after I finished the book (and whenever I think about it).
description

*pointless EDIT* Woooah! 1000+ likes!? I'm surprised how many people are willing to read my little blurb of nothingness!

*EDIT* In a lot of peoples reviews I keep seeing "they don't talk their age!" or "They make these beautiful long speeches which is something that normal teenagers don't do" and I have to point out that Augustus and Hazel AREN'T normal teenagers. They've had to go through so much more in their lifetime than a...more This is me after I finished the book (and whenever I think about it).
description

*pointless EDIT* Woooah! 1000+ likes!? I'm surprised how many people are willing to read my little blurb of nothingness!

*EDIT* In a lot of peoples reviews I keep seeing "they don't talk their age!" or "They make these beautiful long speeches which is something that normal teenagers don't do" and I have to point out that Augustus and Hazel AREN'T normal teenagers. They've had to go through so much more in their lifetime than a lot of teenagers will ever have to, and its aged them. And quite honestly, this book wouldn't be as good if they were "normal" (whatever that means)
*sighs* okay I'm done, proceed with reading. If you want to, I'm just tiny words on a screen. Do whatever you want.

As much of an amazing writer as I want to be.... I'm really not. So I'll just point out the things that made this book amazing. ;)
I knew that I would cry so I really didn't bother swearing not to cry. What I didn't expect is bawling my eyes out. I really didn't. John Green has done an amazing job of making these characters feel so real to me. When they cried, I cried (bawled). When they laughed, I laughed. When they melted, I melted. Their romance was so epic and I know, I KNOW, that this is a book I will read over and over again and cry every single time.

The characters were perfection! Especially Augustus Waters. Not only is his name Augustus (which is epic in itself) He had the guts to go up to Hazel and just straight up ask her to come hang out with him. Nice guys finish last? I think not.

You know this book was so awesmazing that I gave it its own tag. Just look up there and you'll see a little tag that says "the-fault-in-our-stars". It was THAT amazing. Seriously. So amazing that I'm pretty sure it was my first heartbreak... from a book. I really haven't felt that much from a book, much less a person, in a very long time. (I'm kind of a loner and a commitment phob... not a good mix) But my heart didn't just do this » 3, it did this » *BOOM!* (didn't have a sign for that)

I wish I could write more about this book, but I just can't explain the amazingness of it with my simple, unworthy words, so I am going to tell you what you NEED to do....
READ IT (less)

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Jun 10, 2012 Erika rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, romance, young-adult, best-of-heroes, ladies-of-quality, special-collections, favorites, the-magnificents

John Green.

John Green.

John Green.

You're not like Peter Van Houten, are you?

What have you done to my brain...

and my heart...

I'm not gonna review how exquisite John Green can write, or how he can create characters as special as Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters, or how amazing he can tell a story. Despite the huge number of ratings and the spectacular average rating, this book is not perfect. You might find it unrealistic, because if there are many of us who see the life and its complexity like Haze...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Sophia. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: awesome-parent, beautiful-ending, death, depression, deja-vu, heart-breaking, medical-places, pretentious-writing, eye-rolls-and-frowning, unconvincing-romance, teary

EMOTIONAL BLACKMAIL.

You will cry, because this is VERY sad.

So a discussion occurred in my head after I rated the book.

(view spoiler)...more

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Jan 26, 2012 Tatiana rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of cancer stories and everything John Green writes

Shelves: 2012, ya, why-the-hype, b, ala-ya-2013

As seen on The Readventurer

The Fault in Our Stars currently has a rating of 4.74 on Goodreads, almost everyone I know has given it 5 stars, therefore I'm certain no one would want to read my sour musings, except me and maybe a couple of other like-minded and unimpressed.

What I'd love to know is this - what makes a writer undertake the topic of cancer? So much has already been written about it, so many Lifetime movies filmed, so many tears shed. It literally has been done to death. What new did J ...more

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Nov 19, 2012 the review man rated it 1 of 5 stars

Expecting meaning from The Fault in Our Stars given John Green's previous output is like expecting the latest Uwe Boll film to come first in the upcoming Sight and Sound poll. [Note: it didn't.] It's like expecting to lose weight by eating at McDonald's three times a day. It's like thinking that maybe, just maybe, if I jump off the roof of the local skyscraper, this time I'll sprout wings and fly off into the sunset. Maybe.

Conflating manipulation and quality is at the heart of The Fault in Our S...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Rhi rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-you-have-my-heart, 2012, books-that-made-me-cry, 2-stars

I must be clear from the beginning. This is perhaps the most personal review I have written. My choice of stars was difficult for this. I am a self confessed John Green fan, I believe he is amongst the best of, not only YA, but fiction writers out there in general.
This is a beautifully written book. There is very little to complain about in terms of style, plot, character, etc. However I couldn't, in all good conscience, give this any higher because it sits so badly with me. I have let this nov...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Meg ♥ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, favs, z-2012-reads, own-copy, signed

Hazel is a 16 year old girl with stage IV thyroid cancer, and has been living with an oxygen tank since she was first diagnosed at 12. She realizes she is going to die, but she is on a drug that is keeping the tumors at bay. At a support group meeting she meets hottie Augustus Waters, who is in remission. They immediately hit it off and change each others lives drastically.

The Fault in Our Stars is another beautifully written book by John Green. A few months ago John made a video on his youtube...more
Hazel is a 16 year old girl with stage IV thyroid cancer, and has been living with an oxygen tank since she was first diagnosed at 12. She realizes she is going to die, but she is on a drug that is keeping the tumors at bay. At a support group meeting she meets hottie Augustus Waters, who is in remission. They immediately hit it off and change each others lives drastically.

The Fault in Our Stars is another beautifully written book by John Green. A few months ago John made a video on his youtube channel, and in this video he read the first two chapter of this book. I was hooked instantly. I wanted to know everything there was to know about Hazel and Augustus. I'm not going to say that this was the most original cancer book out there, but it felt more personal.

Let's start with the characters. John Green wrote the same exact character over and over again in his previous books. This is one complaint I've always had, but you won't find that here. Hazel is no Alaska Young, she is no Margot. She's just Hazel, and she's lovely. Same with Augustus. He's unlike all of John Greens male characters, and I adore him.

There is simply one complaint I have about this book. John needs to make his 17 year old characters sound more like 17 year old teens than 35 year old men. Most of the dialog in this book and sweet and enjoyable, but then the characters come out with these crazy words and there are other ways to show your characters are intelligent people without always making them spout out these weird, random words. In all honesty it's a bit annoying, but it doesn't bother me too much, because I understand that his younger readers will build a much better vocabulary if they pay attention. Also, his book is full of quotable lines as you can clearly see from everyone else's reviews.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. John is a phenomenal writer. He's great at building suspense when needed, and also at hitting you in the gut with a healthy dose of raw emotion. Almost everyone I know who has read this book cried. At least a little. He also throws in lots of humor which is usually appreciated to break up sad moments.

As far as John writing a female voice for the first time, I thought he did a good job. This book wasn't life-changing for me, but I easily could see how others could be affected by this book in an astounding way. It tackles cancer, death, loss of sight, loss of loved ones, love, thoughts of the afterlife and shows vividly from one girls perspective what it may feel like to know you are dying. This book may not suit everyone, but if you don't have issues reading about those things I would recommend this book to you. It was quite depressing at times, but I'm sure you would know that just by reading the synopsis.

4.5/5 Stars(less)

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Jan 18, 2012 Madeline rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: kids-and-young-adult

At age twenty-two, John Green worked as a student chaplain in a children's hospital.

Let's take a moment and consider all the implications of that, and why he is making a colossal understatement when he described the experience as "devastating." That was about twelve years ago, and Green has said in interviews that because of this experience, he's spent twelve years trying to write a book about kids with cancer - not poster children of strength and courage and illness-granted wisdom, but real ki...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Rosalinda rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: EVERYONE

Recommended to Rosalinda by: My crazy GR friends!

Shelves: next-up, next-book-i-m-reading, favorites, best-book-ever, made-me-cry, perfect-hero-and-heroine, amazing-writing-style, best-ya-book-ever, i-need-more-stars, intelligent-heroine, loved-loved-loved-it

FIVE OKAY & INFINITE STARS

OKAY?
OKAY

There are almost 33000 reviews of this book. Why do I try to write one? I just don’t know but I do know that I have to let you know my thoughts about this AWESOME book.

I love YA. Even if I take YA holidays sometimes and stop reading it I can’t deny it’s one of my fave genres. This book and Forbidden are probably my favourite YA books and right now I cannot decide which one is my absolute favourite.

I knew about this book, I knew how it ended and I though...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Jaci rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: different, fast-reads, favourites, funny, love-stories, must-reads, sad

Holy holy holy I waited so long for this novel, so long. I wish so bad I could give it more than 5 stars. John Green is absolutely amazing, amazing, amazing. The Fault in Our Stars had me laughing and crying, then laughing more and crying more. I will reread this over and over again, just like the rest of his novels. Oh wow, was it ever worth the wait. Thank you, John Green, for being so damn spectacular.

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Apr 08, 2013 Emily May rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-na, contemporary, 2013

It seems silly that I have to say this, but I've seen many a negative review of this book met with backlash from John's nerdfighter fans, so I want to make one thing clear: I like John Green. You'll find plenty who worship him as a god amongst men and many who are highly critical of him, I fall into neither of these categories but I do like him and I enjoy watching his videos. I find him funny and I agree with a lot of what he stands for; I also appreciate the amount of charity work he does and...more

It seems silly that I have to say this, but I've seen many a negative review of this book met with backlash from John's nerdfighter fans, so I want to make one thing clear: I like John Green. You'll find plenty who worship him as a god amongst men and many who are highly critical of him, I fall into neither of these categories but I do like him and I enjoy watching his videos. I find him funny and I agree with a lot of what he stands for; I also appreciate the amount of charity work he does and the way he helps the "nerds" feel better about themselves and make it out of high school a little less scarred than they might have been. I like John Green.

But I do not particularly like this book.

There are plenty of people raving about this book on goodreads, on Kirkus, in various magazines and newspapers... so I realise I am in a tiny minority. I will also admit that I might not have felt the same if I hadn't already subjected myself to numerous "cancer books" but, as it is, I do not feel anything that unique or interesting has been brought to the table here. For the first half (approx), despite my lack of enthusiasm, I expected to give it three stars because I didn't consider it to be a bad book and it was well-written enough; however, as the book wore on, I began to realise that I was growing more and more bored and found myself struggling to read on. This was something I hadn't anticipated. I'd prepared myself for many different possibilities: heartbreak, a changed perspective on life and death, disdain, annoyance... but not bored indifference. Hence the lower rating.

One of the first problems I encountered was that the kids were wise beyond their years. And I don't mean intelligent, I mean wise. They came out with things that really only suit people who've been alive a few centuries - like Dumbledore or Gandalf - or at the very least people who are sat comfortably in middle age. I like that Green doesn't patronise his readers by oversimplifying things or dumbing down characters in a condescending effort to appeal to teenagers, but these characters behave in a way that is unnatural to the point where sometimes it is verging on ridiculous. It's not completely unbelievable that some kids exist who are actually like this, but they definitely don't all speak and behave in this way.

The characters are all, in one way or another, John Green. They all have his quirkiness, his sense of humour; I was picturing several John Greens sat around having a conversation while I was reading The Fault in Our Stars. In fact, reading this book was a little bit like watching one of Green's vlogs, which might have worked well if JG hadn't dampened the humour with philosophical musings. As it was, I had a book that was trying so very hard to be both funny and sad at the same time and ended up failing to deliver either one as successfully as I would have liked. The dialogue felt false and scripted because of the teens' tendency to showcase their depth and intelligence. Natural conversation between anyone of any age doesn't work like this and I couldn't shake the feeling that there should be a laughter track playing in the background.

The Fault in Our Stars, in my opinion, would have been far better if Green had stuck to humour like Andrews did in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. I believe that the exaggerated characters and their unrealistic conversations would have been fine in a straight-up humour book because that's not supposed to portray something real and deep and moving. But Green loses it by trying to be philosophical and, in the end, I think he has produced a book that is as melodramatic and message-driven as any other on this issue. And his attempt to balance humour and sadness left me somewhat devoid of emotion throughout and provided fewer laughs than I'd hoped.

Ultimately, I feel that JG sacrificed humour in order to be deep and philosophical - perhaps this book tried to be too many things, perhaps JG tried to be too clever. But Me and Earl and the Dying Girl was a much better book, in my opinion, because it did the whole serious illness + humour thing but didn't over-complicate things by being philosophical. Like I said near the beginning, perhaps I am just tired of these books and The Fault in Our Stars needs to be appreciated by someone who has not already exhausted themselves on similar efforts. (less)

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Jan 02, 2012 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, romance, i-cried-damn-it, better-than-i-expected, book-with-no-ending

First and foremost, the author really does not want you to spoil yourself. I, however, am the kind of person who likes to read revealing reviews before purchasing a book. There are, after all, only so many books you can read in a year and afford to buy. If I didn't own this book, I'd want to read a review like this... So, I leave it up to you, intrepid reader. I'm sure you're smart enough to know your own preferences and I'll be using spoiler tags for the stuff I believe Green doesn't want discu...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Nataliya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads

So, book, you decided not to play fair, huh? You used Tearjerking 101, huh? You armed yourself with adorably precocious teenage characters delivering insanely quotable lines while dying from cancer, huh?

Well, guess what - "I'm not cryyyyying! It's just been raining on my face..."

And so my hard-won cool image of a cold-hearted cynic has been saved by this line, courtesy of New Zealand's 4th most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo:

Seriously, book, you know that mos...more
So, book, you decided not to play fair, huh? You used Tearjerking 101, huh? You armed yourself with adorably precocious teenage characters delivering insanely quotable lines while dying from cancer, huh?

Well, guess what - "I'm not cryyyyying! It's just been raining on my face..."

And so my hard-won cool image of a cold-hearted cynic has been saved by this line, courtesy of New Zealand's 4th most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo:

Seriously, book, you know that most heartstrings cannot resist being tugged on in this fashion, especially when you are using kids who are off the charts on the precocious cuteness scale with all their precocious irony, precocious sarcasm, precocious world-weariness and precocious vocabulary.

Are you tired of reading the word 'precocious' yet? Too bad, since adorable and fragile precociousness is at the 'literal heart' of this book. That's what alienated some readers - but I'm a sucker for precociousness in literature; guilty, your Honor!

------
Like with any literature, what you get out of this book varies based on how you choose to interpret it.

You can see it as a shameless use of a serious medical condition in children in order to make money and get recognition (because it's kids dying from cancer, c'mon!)

Cancer in kids has been used as a tearjerker before. Google 'TV tropes Littlest Cancer Patient', please. Here, I will save you the trouble.

You can see it as a cutesy young adult love story. You can see it as a collection of quotable lines clearly put into the speech of teens by the middle-aged author. You can see it as yet another coming-of-age novel (there's even a requisite trip/adventure in there, really). You can even see it as a book trying really hard to NOT be a stereotypical 'cancer book' - to the point where characters are stating so at length.

And you know what? All these are to some extent true.

But what I got out of it, what made me tear up a bit was the motif of fragility of life as seen by the children who have a limited supply of that life, basically a limited 'infinity'. Reading it, I got a few flashbacks to Pediatric Oncology - the time in medical school when I realized that I'm not strong enough to be a pediatrician and see kids suffer and die.

Hazel Lancaster and Augustus Waters are the two children with cancer. She has terminal thyroid cancer and is tethered to an oxygen tank; he falls victim to metastatic osteosarcoma (before you scream 'Spoiler!' in outrage, I sincerely ask you - how could you not have seen in coming?) They introduce themselves in their cancer support group by stating their diagnoses - and my heart breaks a little at the thought of children learning to define themselves by their disease. Even their favorite book is the cancer book.

But no, I'm not cryyyying...."

This is not a perfect book. It relies a little too heavily on tearjerking. Frequently, it gets to be a bit too full of itself, occasionally cringeworthy - sometimes to eye-rolling extent. But with the quotability factor and the smart precociousness still comes the real sadness and cuteness and feeling that clawed its way into my heart and made me love it despite the imperfections. Maybe I liked it because of associations and memories it brought with it rather than for its own merits - but hey, the emotions will stay with me for a while, whatever the reason for them may be.

I think this book would have a huge appeal to teenagers, its intended audience. The characters are relatable, they are intelligent, and the male lead manages to transform from 'oh, rly, jerk?' to a considerate and lovely young man. The parents are present in the lives of both teens and are portrayed in a very sympathetic light; definitely no 'absent parent syndrome' here! Plus, it has a healthy portrayal of teenage sexuality, unlike what we frequently see in young adult literature.

So great book? No. But I easily give it 3.75 stars and therefore rounding up to 4 stars (Is the fault in them? Go figure.)

“The pleasure of remembering had been taken from me, because there was no longer anyone to remember with. It felt like losing your co-rememberer meant losing the memory itself, as if the things we'd done were less real and important than they had been hours before.”

(less)

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May 08, 2013 Marie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mind-boggling, sad, shocking, 5-stars, crazy, insanely-good, intense, male-author-challenge

I thought I could handle this. I thought wrong. Heart wrenching, I thought I knew what that felt like, I remember using it in other reviews. I thought I've felt everything, I thought I was prepared. Trust me, if you think that you've read a book that has pulled your heart out, cut it up and thrown it leaving you to pick up the pieces, think again. I have never, ever , ever read a book that has touched me so deeply. That had me crying the whole way through and that left me in a state of depressio...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Richa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I HATE this book. Absolutely hate it. Not just from the bottom of my heart (which would literally mean my ventricles, and so, no) but with my whole heart. I hate it, hate it, hate it.

I hate the fact that it made me laugh, so hard!
I hate the fact that it made me smile, so much!
I hate the fact that it made me chuckle, so profusely!

I hate the fact that it gifted me with so much Laughter, Smiles and Chuckles when I was expecting to come face to face with tragedy at any moment....it changed my expec...more

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May 03, 2012 Trudi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, my-heart-beats-for-you, 2012-reads, coming-of-age, emotional-landmines, grief-and-loss, in-her-own-words, sherwood-picks

Alright, alright! I admit it, it got to me -- it freaking absolutely got to me. If I were Superman this little book would be my Kryptonite. Why did I think I would be immune? I was so smug going into this, feeling secure in my awesome, arrogant certainty that the sure to be oodles of maudlin and reams of cliches would keep me safe and sound from any wrenchings of the heart. My overall dubiousness and cynicism would serve as my protective shield, offering immunity against such ruthless emotional...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Aestas Book Blog rated it 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

“You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful.”

Life is unfair. Absolutely, positively unfair.

But, while not all stories have happy endings, but it doesn’t make their journey any less beautiful.

I’ll admit, I was terrified to read this. I’ve had a copy of it for the last year and every time I’ve come even close to starting it, I just chickened out and chose something else. But now, having read it, I’m actually kicking myself now for having put it off.

Honestly, w...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Katya rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, geek-love, contemporary-ya, dramarama, the-ya-project

EDIT, 16.04.2012 For further analysis of the themes in the story, my Book Lantern post. Warning, spoilers included! Is the Fault Really in Our Stars?

Also, Meghan's follow up post:
Augustus Waters: Hero or Zero?

The first time I heard about The Fault In Our Stars was in a vlog by John Green, and my thoughts ran along the lines of: "Oh, new book. Nice. Might check it out of the library." And that's that. It wasn't until the early shipping fiasco and the subsequent blog posts that I really conside...more

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May 01, 2013 Akanksha ❤ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite

Movie comes in 2014 :D :D :D :D

I wish they cast him, he's so pretty!!!

And they've taken Shailene Woodley for Hazel Grace!

QUOTE IMAGES!!!!!

:

So here I lay, after reading this book with swollen eyes, a runny nose, a wet puffy face and a whole lot of heart ache and a head ache too.

This book was beautiful. I have no words for how I felt about this book. I am still crying as I write this and find stupid pictures to portray how I felt.
Yes, I had to read it with a dictionary kept by.. but still.. It W...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Kelly-Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: EVERYONE EVER I CANNOT EVEN TELL YOU HOW MUCH YOU NEED TO READ THIS.

Recommended to Kelly-Jane by: fяσzєη

Shelves: hey-look-a-proper-heroine, depressing-as-fuck, high-levels-of-swoon, i-haz-dis, it-hurts-like-i-can-t-even-tell-you, six-stars-bitches, this-makes-meh-happeh, this-shit-is-legit

Possible spoilers. This will also be the longest and most boring review I have ever written. Little-to-no humour. Also, no gifs. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.

DIRECT HIT, RIGHT IN THE FEELS.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

(^^OOH, INSIDE, PEOPLE-WHO'VE-READ-THE-BOOK JOKE)

Okay.

This book is beyond amazing. So much so that I feel that to try to dissect in a review must be a sin in some religion. Maybe in Nerdfighteria. So I'm just going to talk about it for a moment. A really long moment.

First of all, you may like to lis...more

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May 30, 2012 Veronika rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Veronika by: Alice Marvels

Am I the only one who just wants the autograph in my pre-ordered copy? I am super psyched for that!.....oh and the free story that comes along with it too lol.

UPDATE: Finished this book on May 26th.
This book was actually better then I thought it was going to be and I'm glad I stuck with it until the very end (because there was a point in time where I did not want to finish reading this book at all). Being the second John Green book that I have read, the previous being the great Looking For Alask...more Am I the only one who just wants the autograph in my pre-ordered copy? I am super psyched for that!.....oh and the free story that comes along with it too lol.

UPDATE: Finished this book on May 26th.
This book was actually better then I thought it was going to be and I'm glad I stuck with it until the very end (because there was a point in time where I did not want to finish reading this book at all). Being the second John Green book that I have read, the previous being the great Looking For Alaska, I did do the awful deed of comparing the two book, at first, however I came to realize that just because the novels are by the same author doesn't mean one should compare them. I still thought this book was amazing, not as amazing as I originally thought it was going to be, but it was still good. I applaud the fact that John Green managed to get me to read and complete a book that contained a love story because if you know me then you know romance isn't my favorite subject nor my forte.

Awesomeness/Thoughts:
- I really liked Isaac. It was a little odd though that he took his predicament so well though.
- Three words: PETER VAN HOUTEN! I absolutely loved and loathed him. He was a jerk but somehow John managed to make me have pity for him anyway. He was undoubtedly my favorite character!
- Why isn't An Imperial Affliction a real book!!!!!!!!!? Why did you do this to me John Green!!!!!!? Oh the agony!
-the Literal Heart of Jesus....LOL
- This book reminded me a lot of Before I Die by Jenny Downham (but I never finished it).
- John Green just writes the best witty and overally intelligent characters ever doesn't he?
- Just realized that this book was released on the same day that Alaska....you know what.
- So I guess, just like in An Imperial Affliction, we never get to know what becomes of the characters after the story ends :'(
- I loved my blueberry J scribble that I received in my pre-ordered copy!

P.S. Anyone want to take an impromptu trip to Amsterdam now?

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5(less)

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Apr 16, 2013 Ariel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourites, own

Reread #1, April 17th,2013

I'd like to start off by saying that my original review of this, the blurb I wrote when I first read this (which you can find below) is a lie. I never cried while reading this book. I know it's probably ridiculous to point it out, and honestly I could easily just continue with the lie, but it's a lie. When I originally finished this, when I was writing up the little blurb, every one around me was talking about how this book had broken them to pieces, how it had made the...more Reread #1, April 17th,2013

I'd like to start off by saying that my original review of this, the blurb I wrote when I first read this (which you can find below) is a lie. I never cried while reading this book. I know it's probably ridiculous to point it out, and honestly I could easily just continue with the lie, but it's a lie. When I originally finished this, when I was writing up the little blurb, every one around me was talking about how this book had broken them to pieces, how it had made them cry and cry, tears of sadness and of joy, and I thought the only way to express that I too really loved it was to say that I cried. Which is so ridiculous it saddens me. Because I did love this book. I do love this book. This is one of the best books I've ever read and reread and it's okay that I didn't cry.

The problem I faced then I still now, however, as I still don't really know how to express myself. It's simple to say "I cried," because people get that. "Oh wow, it must have really hit her hard if she actually CRIED about it. Wowza pants!" I don't know how to fully express myself but here's the best I can do for now.

Another truth is that I've never dealt with death, because so far I haven't had too. All of my grandparents have died before my existence, my aunts and uncles and cousins are in perfect health, and my family has never had family friends so I've never had to say good bye to anyone. I've only been to two funerals - one long ago that I barely remember except for the "creepy old dead lady that looked like wax!" that I attended when I was extremely young and one for the brother of a school mate. I think a lot of people think this book is about death, and it is. But it's not. It feels as though unless I don't have a sad story to tell my thoughts are not as valid as someone who does, and that might be true but to me my thoughts are valid and they are the only ones I have.

This story hits me hard because of two reasons (especially in regards to this rereading as I know that each time I reread it something new will be important). The first is the concept of who the hell we are and why the hell we're here. Augustus and Hazel face this more immediately then I do, they know their days are soon closed, but I deal with it too. It might seem trivial but I face this issue when I wonder what to study in school, what career to follow, what dreams to chase. Just because death isn't staring me straight in the eye at this moment doesn't mean I don't think about it. It doesn't mean I don't wonder what will become of me. Hazel and Augustus know that they are coming to the end, but I don't and I have a future ahead of me just as scary as the days they had in front of them. Some infinities are bigger than others.

The second is this idea of love. The elusive love. I am not an outwardly affectionate person, it's not really my "scene", and so although this book may or may not be primarily a love story it still is one and it aches me so to see two people so perfectly and imperfectly in love. It brings up those thoughts of "Will someone ever love me like that?" "Will I ever find someone that I can love so importantly?" You can shrug it off, I'm only 18, calm down, it'll happen, but I can admit, and this is a deep thought of mine that I probably shouldn't share with the internet and yet here it is, that I fear never loving someone or being loved by someone (who, of course, is not my family). The relationship between Augustus and Hazel is so god damn idyllic that maybe no one has had it, and yet I know millions have.

These were some random thoughts for you. I should be studying for exams and my mind I'm literally going crazy so maybe this doesn't make any sense to anyone but there you go. On a note, I think I enjoyed this story more the second time through.

First Read January 13th, 2012:
Have you ever cried because of a book?
I now have.

I didn't necessarily cry because of the events in the book, although I will admit they were contributing factors, I cried because the book brought to mind situations and ideas and concepts that I have lived and am living that sometimes feel overwhelming. And this book made them real and made me look at them.

This is the saddest and most depressing book I have ever read.
This is one of the funniest and wittiest books I have ever read.(less)

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Nov 11, 2012 Laura Newcombe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own, in-my-bookshelf, memorable-covers, most-anticipated, 2012-reads, 2012-cant-wait-release, author-crush, best-titles, depth-thats-deeply-deep, favorites, high-expectations, inspirations-what-you-are-to-me, pass-the-tissues, what-just-happened

Update: 11/11/12

There was never any doubt that I was going to give this book five stars. Now, just a couple of therapy sessions and I should be able to function again!

P.S. Anyone notice the irony of me finishing this book on Remembrance Day? I did not intend for that. Yeah, that’s right – Remembrance Day. Maybe this is the universe's way of getting noticed. Or it just has a really sick sense of humor...

P.P.S. That wasn't a misuse of sick. I didn't mean it as pun. And now you all think I did simp...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Demonic Circus Princess rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Death Cab for Cutie fans

Recommended to Demonic Circus Princess by: Death the Kat

Shelves: beautiful-cover, best-male-character, better-than-expected, cool-side-characters, depressing, don-t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover, fangirling, hilarious-as-hell, left-me-an-emotional-wreck, made-me-puke-rainbows-of-joy, makes-you-really-think, moe-moe-moe, originality, shattered-my-heart, so-insanely-in-love-with, sounds-like-me, touching, unique, warm-fuzzy-feelings, will-never-forget

SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX

Okay, so now that I have your attention, I would just like to say that you have to go out and buy this book right now. Don't even bother borrowing it from a library, because you're going to want to reread it at least thrice.

Ah, the Green brothers. How I love them. One's a science genius, the other's a glorious writer, and both are fucking hilarious.

When it comes to books about cancer, you know the drill: MCs are depressed, trying to c...more

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Jan 18, 2012 Stephen M rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: idiot-heart, dftba, tears-of-beautiful-laughter, diet-dfw

In the immortal words of a 6 foot 3, 230 pound tattoo-covered biker who accosted Don Hertzfeldt after a screening of Hertzfeldt's recent tragic and very sad animated trilogy: "I sobbed like a bitch"

*
Some context seems necessary here. I recently went to the premier of the final chapter of the 'Bill trilogy' by the animator Don Hertzfeldt. He is most famous for Rejected, a series of short animations that are supposedly advertisement rejections for major corporate products. It garnered a great deal...more In the immortal words of a 6 foot 3, 230 pound tattoo-covered biker who accosted Don Hertzfeldt after a screening of Hertzfeldt's recent tragic and very sad animated trilogy: "I sobbed like a bitch"

*
Some context seems necessary here. I recently went to the premier of the final chapter of the 'Bill trilogy' by the animator Don Hertzfeldt. He is most famous for Rejected, a series of short animations that are supposedly advertisement rejections for major corporate products. It garnered a great deal of popularity for Don and while the animation is hilarious and a great deal of fun, he has moved on to more serious material since then and improving vastly in writing and ground-breaking animation techniques. While still having small tokens of humor, the first of the series Everything Will Be Ok is the devastating story of a man with a fatal illness and coming to grips with his disease while losing his mind. The top comment summarizes the story quite well:
"Is it the illness? or is it the constantly attentive perception of his life and the world around him, and the nagging feeling that life is a horribly strange, dehumanizing, isolating, and pointless experience that brought about psychosis in Bill.
I think Bill thought too much about his life and routine, and experienced anxiety and psychosis over the absurdity of life. Footage of a man's face bleeding played over and over on tv, a manatee watching you while you sleep. insanity in every day life."

That about gets to the heart of the series and at the screening of all three parts of this short film, there was not a dry eye in the house. We were lucky enough to have Don Hertzfeldt at the premier to answer some questions afterwards. He turned out to be a very nice guy who had very little to say about his own work because he insisted that he never thought too deeply about his animations. He seemed to only go off of intuition or to put it as simply as he did, "whatever felt right". One person asked him what he wanted the audience to get out of his films. He told this story in response, (i'm quoting for the sake of convenience, it's not exactly what he said. I don't remember).
"A few days ago, I showed this film in a theater in Texas. After the show was over, I went to the merch booth for signing tickets, taking questions and talking with the audience. Before I could get to the table, though, I saw this massive figure in my peripherals. At first I thought someone was getting ready to sock me across the face because it was coming in so fast and it looked so large. When I turned around, I cringed in anticipation. Standing before me was this massive, must have been, six foot, three inch man who was towering over me. He had tattoos all up his body, sleeves and all. He looked like some kind of biker. Before I could say or do much, he grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously. He said 'I sobbed like a bitch' and then turned and left."

To me, that perfectly sums up my reaction to The Fault in Our Stars. And now that I've written all this out, the parallels are abound. Both deal with a fatal disease, cancer and the inevitability of death. It was enough that this book was about pediatric oncology, a term that is terrible, in itself that it could even exist, but the fact that the two main characters had to have the most beautiful romance amidst it all and that John Green is such a good writer that it never felt like he was exploiting child cancer or manipulating your emotions. He adds enough Wallace Stevens, quantum mechanics, Emily Dickinson and a fake reclusive writer to keep you engaged until the heartshattering last 100 pages. This has, hands-down been my favorite book of the year and was three and half hours of crying, laughing and coming to grips with the ubiquitous fact of life: we all face oblivion all the time and one of these days, we will have to embrace it.(less)

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May 01, 2013 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite-authors, teen, young-adult, favorites, highly-recommend, 2012-national-book-festival-authors

Sometimes, not nearly often enough, a book comes along that you must finish reading no matter what the time of night, or morning, and in spite of a full day facing you after your dearth of sleep. I only halfheartedly tried to put the book down once last night/early this morning, and then I gave in to the power of the need to finish it. I originally balked at reading this book, as I wasn't sure when I would ever be in the mood for a book about teens dealing with cancer. All I can say now is, don'...more Sometimes, not nearly often enough, a book comes along that you must finish reading no matter what the time of night, or morning, and in spite of a full day facing you after your dearth of sleep. I only halfheartedly tried to put the book down once last night/early this morning, and then I gave in to the power of the need to finish it. I originally balked at reading this book, as I wasn't sure when I would ever be in the mood for a book about teens dealing with cancer. All I can say now is, don't judge a book by what you think its subject matter is. Yes, Hazel and Augustus are two teens who struggle with cancer and all that entails, including loving parents who want so desperately to banish the evil monster that has imprisoned their children. But, this gripping book is not about cancer; this book is about people, two people who are amazing. As Augustus tells Hazel early on when he asks what her story is and she starts to remind him of her cancer diagnosis, "No, not your cancer story. Your story. Interests, hobbies, passions, weird fetishes, etcetera."

The first book I read by John Green was Looking For Alaska, and I was impressed by his ability to get inside the teenage mind, the one that is questioning the rules and wisdom of the ages, as teens should and actually do. Then, when I read An Abundance of Katherines, I fell in love with Green's witty characters. Wit is very much valued by me in writing, and Green is a master with it. In The Fault in Our Stars, the wit is a continual feast of delight. Yes, cancer kids can be wonderfully witty and passionate about life, just like, well, just like any kids.

Don't misunderstand, there is the dreaded disease of cancer always there in this book. How could it be otherwise? It is treated by Green as it is, ugly and humiliating. That teenagers can have fun, find love, and share favorite books while talking about death suits and last wishes is nothing short of miraculous, normalcy against all odds.

I will probably at some point reread this moving book to embrace all the wit and wonder that it contains. It's a book that you just know will maintain its power for the rest of your reading life. (less)

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Sep 01, 2012 Stevie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, romance, coming-of-age, teen-life, i-own

EDIT: I HAVE FINISHED THE BOOK
Initial reaction:
description

I'm going to keep this review short for now. This book was amazing and terrible and heart wrenching and hilarious.

Amazing because of the writing style, the deepness of the characters, the underlying (and overlying) themes, and the emotions that it provokes. John Green never fails to write wonderful stories that don't dumb down the harshness of reality yet still hold strong notes of hope.

Terrible because of the reality of the story. I have very per...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Paula rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, 2013

SPOILER ALERT!

Dear John Green:

description

(view spoiler)

-----------------------------

Now a little bit serious:

5/5 STARS!!!!

Wow, this book left me literally speechless, I mean; Wow.

The writting of this book is amazing, I'm a fan of John Green already.

This book is about Hazel -a girl with cancer- and Augustus -a...more

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Jan 11, 2013 Clarifina ~Books Are My Drugs~ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Clarifina by: Um, everyone?

Shelves: books-i-love-like-chocolate, i-was-a-sobbing-mess, ya, sweet-guys, messed-with-my-emotions, depressing-as-hell, made-my-heart-hurt, never-forget-as-long-as-i-live, beautifully-written-books, books-that-spoke-to-me

Can't....form....a... Coherent sentence right now. Will do a review soon after my tears stop rolling down my cheeks in an endlessly flowing river.

**********

Warning!: This book is NOT for the faint-hearted. Those who read this book must be prepared to be emotionally scarred by it and to cry their eyeballs out of their sockets. If you are prepared for hours of puffy and red eyes, do proceed and read this tear-jerker of a book.

This is me after I finish reading The Fault in Our Stars.

Meet Hazel Gr...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, 2012

Cancer sucks.

A fact John Greene lays out well in The Fault in our Stars, a story about two teens one terminally ill, Hazel Grace, and another, Augustus Waters who is in remission. Hazel has thyroid cancer which has metastasized into her lungs. All looks as if she is about to die when they try an experimental (and entirely fictional) drug that has only works in about 20% of cancer patients, and she ‘s one of them. It buys her time, the length of which no one knows.

Augustus is a survivor of Osteos...more Cancer sucks.

A fact John Greene lays out well in The Fault in our Stars, a story about two teens one terminally ill, Hazel Grace, and another, Augustus Waters who is in remission. Hazel has thyroid cancer which has metastasized into her lungs. All looks as if she is about to die when they try an experimental (and entirely fictional) drug that has only works in about 20% of cancer patients, and she ‘s one of them. It buys her time, the length of which no one knows.

Augustus is a survivor of Osteosarcoma , a cancer of the bone and is shy a leg to show for it.

Hazel Grace stays home most of the time. Her parents are her best friends and she reads the same book over and over. Concerned, Hazel’s mother forces her to go to a support group for kids with cancer, to get out and make some friends. Usually, she finds group lame, but this time Augustus Waters is there. He’s “hot”, and blatantly stares her down……..which she doesn’t mind because of the hotness and all. She’s surprised by his attention because of her chipmunk cheeks (medication side effect) and her oxygen tank.

But life often turns on a dime.

Augustus wants to dive right into a romance, but Hazel puts him off a bit. She won’t agree to see him again until he reads An Imperial Affliction , or AIA, her favorite book (my kind of gal). AIA is about a teenage girl with cancer which famously ends mid sentence. It’s widely suspected that that means the girl dies right there in the middle of life, in the middle of a sentence, like we all do I suppose. But Hazel has questions about the rest of the characters in the book. It drives her bat shit, and there was never a sequel. (You can imagine her frustration if you read The Dark Tower series by Stephen King as it was released……very…..s l o w l y). So, the two of them decide they will get some answers even if they have to go to Amsterdam to find the author and torture it out of him!

This is a beautiful book. And you will probably cry……pretty sure. John Greene’s books always suck me in, I’ve read most of them, but this one is his best in my opinion.

In an interview with the author at the end of the audio book, they asked John what he wanted people to get from this book (other than cancer sucks). He said that he wanted people to understand that very sick people are still people, that they are not other, apart from healthy people. We tend to separate from the terminally ill because we don’t believe, or want to believe, that that could ever be us. But at the very bitter end (unless we go quick) it will most definitely be us, and we will still be who we always were……just moving a bit slower.
4.5 stars
(less)

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John Green Book C...: I don't know where to go from here! Help??	5	21	3 hours, 6 min ago
The Perks Of Bein...: The Fault in Our Stars	324	1620	3 hours, 52 min ago
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YA Buddy Readers'...: The Fault in Our Stars / Start Date: May 18, 2013	3	9	May 16, 2013 06:16pm

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