The Fault in Our Stars in Mock Newbery 2026

May 10, 2012 Barbara rated it really liked it

Shelves: death, families, road-trip, writing, travel, romance, ncbla2013, reading

Hazel has been living with terminal cancer for most of her life, and has withdrawn from her friends and classmates. When she meets Isaac and Augustus Waters at a cancer support group, her life changes. There is immediate chemistry between Hazel and Augustus who is fond of saying things such as, "I'm on a roller coast that only goes up..." (p. 11). And he is on that roller coaster heading toward the top--until it isn't, and then it comes crashing back down toward earth. As soon as I read that quo Hazel has been living with terminal cancer for most of her life, and has withdrawn from her friends and classmates. When she meets Isaac and Augustus Waters at a cancer support group, her life changes. There is immediate chemistry between Hazel and Augustus who is fond of saying things such as, "I'm on a roller coast that only goes up..." (p. 11). And he is on that roller coaster heading toward the top--until it isn't, and then it comes crashing back down toward earth. As soon as I read that quote about the roller coaster from his mouth, I knew that he wasn't going to make it, that his cancer would come back. Hazel is obsessed with a book called An Imperial Affliction about a girl coping with cancer written by a man who lives in Amsterdam. When she recommends the book to Augustus, he also becomes enamored with it, and they travel to Amsterdam to meet him and to find out answers to questions they have about what happens to some of its characters. By that point in the book, it's clear that Augustus is quite ill, making the romantic dinner and walks the couple shares quite poignant since the time they have together is clearly going to be brief. When the book's author, Peter Van Houten, turns out to be an unbelievable jerk, I wasn't all that surprised although I was disappointed in him. As always with books written by John Green, the dialogue is witty and fast-paced with exchanges that make readers laugh. Although I don't know too many folks who speak like Hazel and Augustus, I still enjoyed their exchanges and their budding romance even while being awared that it didn't stand much chance for longevity, given their medical histories. (As a sidenote: I wonder why so many of us become upset and depressed when reading stories about terminally ill teens or adults whose romance is unlikely to last very long due to their impending deaths without considering how many romances or marriages between healthy folks don't end well. Maybe that's why folks cry at weddings. Or perhaps I'm just in a cynical mood.)In the end, though, I enjoyed this book thoroughly because Hazel had a shot at love, no matter how briefly. Augustus loved her and understood her and took risks for her. While the book didn't bring me to tears, its beautiful writing and hopefulness amid hopelessnes reminded me of the possibilities of love and the power each of us has to make a difference in the world around us. ...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Mark rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance-star-crossed-or-otherwise, coming-of-age, family, sex, illness, relationships, young-adult-literature, re-read, death-and-dying, humor

"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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May 13, 2012 Kathy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, favorites, fiction-contemporary, book-group-candidates, award-winner, bis-book-group, global-awareness

I read this with my BGBG girls and only one of them gave it the same glowing review that I did. It bums me out that the young people who are reading this now looking for a plot-driven title are missing the most important aspects of this character-driven master piece. I made them all promise that we would read it again after everyone of us has had her heart broken at least one time...

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Feb 23, 2013 Chinasa Izeogu rated it it was amazing

John Greene is my favorite author of 2013. If you haven't experienced his work , I highly recommend the audiobooks, especially Will Grayson, Will Grayson and this book. ...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Nikki rated it really liked it

Shelves: madam-librarian-in-a-public-school

Dear John,

I started reading your book at 10:00 PM last night. I wanted something to help me fall asleep after watching Game of Thrones. Ten minutes turned in to an hour, and soon I found myself awake at 1:00 AM, crying. Ugly crying. And I wasn't crying because I was sad, but because I loved the characters and felt what they felt. I cried because I always cry when I have read something beautiful and want it to be a part of me forever.

It is rare that I don't long for the story to continue after re ...more

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Jun 14, 2013 Juliette rated it liked it

I'm going to write the obvious here and say this was a tear jerker, a kid with cancer? I don't think it's possible to have a character (or two, or three) with cancer and it not be sad. I enjoyed the characters and the plot was interesting, but I can't help but think my recent mood of impatience with books is effecting my ratings.
...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Christine rated it it was amazing

I could not put the book down.

I want to write to John Green and ask what happened to Hazel and Isaac. I do not think that I would get the same response as the author in the book.

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Apr 07, 2013 Becky rated it it was ok

pg13 rating, I could have done without much of the language. I do not think I could easily recommend this to my stepdaughters

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Mar 21, 2013 Melisa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, 2013

The Fault in Our Stars is a typical teenage cancer/romance story (think Lurlene McDaniel) written so beautifully I think I should write Mr. Green a thank you letter. Best young adult book I've read in a while? Certainly. I plan on enticing slobbery, awkward teens to read it by saying it was good and had sex in it. Maybe they will think the writing is normal, raising their expectations bar? Here's to hoping. ...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Sharon rated it it was amazing

Shelves: a-fiction-ya, medical, death-grief

A real page turner, not because of a mystery, but because of the writing! The dialogue between the teens, and between the teens and the adults, is incredible. The characterizations and the plot development are pitch perfect. Very emotional! What a fine tuned novel!

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