From the Bookshelf of Drop Everything And Read…

The Fault in Our Stars

John Green

Start date: November 1, 2018

Finish date: November 30, 2018

Discussion: Currently Reading

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What Members Thought

Mar 06, 2013 Ahtims rated it really liked it

A tough subject to read, despite being fictionalized. Story of cancer afflicted teens, who strive to live a day at a time. Hazel and Augustus meet, fall in love and try to carve a niche of their own in their dismal cankerous world. The book focuses upon their day to day struggle with pain, disability, and the knowledge that death is just a whistle call away. Isaac, another teen is battling with his woes of losing his girl friend and eye sight almost simultaneously. Their parents are helpless in ...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Mark rated it it was amazing

Shelves: coming-of-age, engl-492-spring-2013, sex, survival, family, illness, death-and-dying, romance-star-crossed-or-otherwise, engl-492-spring-2014, kick-ass-female-characters

"Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death."

At this point (2014), I'm not even providing a recap. You know the plot. If not, ask a teenager sitting nearby, or watch the film trailers.

To begin, I loved this book. After reading and teaching Looking for Alaska ma "Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death."

At this point (2014), I'm not even providing a recap. You know the plot. If not, ask a teenager sitting nearby, or watch the film trailers.

To begin, I loved this book. After reading and teaching Looking for Alaska many times, I didn’t think I would find another John Green book that I liked more than that one. I do still prefer LfA, but this one comes in a close second. I admire Green’s writing tremendously; I think this book is one of the best-written books I’ve read recently. Hazel's voice is immediately strong and resonates and the first person POV lends towards high emotional impact. There is literary language throughout and high vocabulary. Green is also one of those authors, like Chris Crutcher, who seamlessly and skillfully weaves tragedy and humor together, no more so than in this book.

There is no question that this one probably has enjoyed the widest appeal of any other YA book in 2012, or in very recent memory. In fact, I think except in the cases of books taking place in Hogwarts or Forks, no other was anticipated with more hype and excitement. I know the wait lists for the book may still be long in some libraries, and I’ve loved seeing students passing it around and talking about the book in every school I’ve been in.

However . . . while I enjoyed the book a lot, there wasn’t anything in it that surprised me, or made me really sit up and take notice. I went back and read passages again because they were so well-phrased, but not because of anything to do with the plot. There’s a general formula to JG novels, and those who have read him can spot them easily: smart (and wise beyond their years) main characters, comic relief/somewhat pathetic sidekicks, mysterious girls, and some sort of journey/road trip. And it’s not like other tremendous YA authors don’t have their own trademark characters/situations. All authors do, to some degree. Green uses his elements to great effect – he’s a master at them; but to me they still felt too familiar, too much like what I had read before.

I’ve discussed this book endlessly with students in my YA classes, who were ready to rip my lungs out over my initial 4-star Goodreads rating. I’ve come around, and I realize that when I first read it, I was reacting to and pushing against, in some part, the (over)hype of the novel. This is an exceptionally strong book. Cancer is obviously a tricky subject to write about, and as much as Green wanted to move away from, or subvert, clichéd emotions and overly sentimental scenes, he still did those things at times. The premise of the novel is a ready-made tearjerker, and everything builds towards eliciting those emotions. I’ve cried at many books, but not this one.

Still, there is no denying that this is a zeitgeist-type of YA book, one that pretty much every teen has read, or wants to read. And I’m sure, like with my initial reading, there are still many who conflate the quality of this novel with the hoopla surrounding it – particularly with a film version only months away from release. But it is highly readable, highly teachable (the sex scene may be tricky in some contexts), and definitely worthy of the high praise it’s received.
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Dec 04, 2012 Angie Taylor rated it liked it

This is the second John Green book that I have read. I admire Green's writing. He writes honestly and deals with real life situations and emotions that make me feel. I'm an adult and I don't have cancer, so it could be argued that of course I don't connect with the characters. But I believe I connect better with the characters at my age than I would as a teenager having death and sickness in my family, and being more aware of it at my age than I would have been as a teenager. I really liked Haze ...more

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May 11, 2012 Nicole rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-read, july, young-adult, ya-2015, ya-2018, ya-2021, ya-best-of-the-best, favorite-all-time, indiana, read-four-times

Fourth read 2023:
Found even more appreciation and wonder in this amazing story.

Third read 2021:
I don’t recall crying the first two times I read this book. I cried this time. One of my favorite ya books of all time.

First read 2015:
Another surprise. I put this off for a long time figuring it would be another overrated book. It wasn't. John Green, at least in this one, lives up to the hype. Almost as good as Eleanor and Park but not quite. ...more

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Dec 20, 2013 Barbara rated it liked it · review of another edition

Hazel has cancer. She meets Gus at the cancer group. Hazel is obsessed with this one book she really likes and wants to know the answers about what happens after the book ends to the characters.

Gus decides to use his one dying wish on Hazel. They make a trip to see the author and ask him these questions. He is a bitter man. The author doesn't want nothing to do with anyone.

So Gus sets out to finish Hazel's wish by writing an ending for her. He sends it off to the author hoping that he will re- ...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Amanda rated it really liked it

*takes a deep breath, looks around, looks back at book*

I'll begin by saying my 4-star review is a generous one induced by a straight-through read and lack of sleep. I can't quite reconcile my feelings for this particular story, but to sum it up in a lackluster and non-eloquent way:

It was okay.

*waits for uproarious backlash*

Ok, ok. Wait a minute. Let me explain. And by explain, I mean present you with a list of qualms and personal pet peeves that (unfortunately) almost inevitably and ubiquitously ...more

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Mar 23, 2014 Shan ~A~ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-kindle, books-i-own, romance-humor, humorous, favorites

I loved this book. I figured I would seeing as though I saw the movie and thought it was great, and we all know that 9 out of 10 times the book is better than the movie.

I am usually not a huge fan of YA, but John Green has made me a convert.

Hazel Grace and Augustus are absolutely amazing. I have laughed and cried throughout. Thankfully it was more laughter, but once the tears started it was hard to stop. These two had the most amazing chemistry for ones so young, but really age doesn't have any ...more

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Jan 21, 2014 Jacqueline rated it it was amazing

Amazing! Just read it!

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Jan 21, 2012 Olympia rated it it was amazing

This book was beautiful. But be aware it must be read with a box of tissues. Worth every page, a reader will begin and not be able to put this book down until it's finished. ...more

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Aug 17, 2011 Carina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I absolutely loved this book. It made me laugh, just as much as it made me cry. It's beautifully written, with witty amazing characters; and I really can't think of anything negative to say about this book. Absolutely amazing. ...more

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