The Fault in Our Stars
discussion
Am I the only one who hates this book with burning passion?
Alex wrote: "Kate wrote: "Alex wrote: "Mochaspresso wrote: "Alex wrote: "Mochaspresso wrote: "Alex wrote: "Mochaspresso wrote: "As others have stated, I agree that some of the plot holes suggested above may ..."Alex wrote: "Mochaspresso wrote: "Alex wrote: "Mochaspresso wrote: "Alex wrote: "Mochaspresso wrote: "As others have stated, I agree that some of the plot holes suggested above may have more to do with the r..."
I hated this book! I found it an addictive read but my God the characters were just dreadful! And I honestly thought that this book and these characters were the most pretentious thing I could ever read...that was until I saw your comments.
Your opinion is your opinion. Read another book, by John Green or other.Different strokes for different folks, that's all.
Good luck finding books you enjoy! :D
Kate wrote: "I didn't hate it but it definitely didn't blow me away. It was seriously overhyped and for no good reason. I watch the vlogbrothers channel and I like John Green so I really had high hopes for this..."oh my gosh good i thought i was the only one who didn't really care about the characters. i thought i had to since they had cancer. but i don't actually think any of his characters are that good. like the ones from looking for alaska and paper towns are the exact same. and while hazel and gus are both very witty they aren't really good characters. they just have good lines in the book.
Brooke wrote: "That is the best review ever."I AGREE!
Ayesha wrote: "I happily bought the hardcover of The Fault in our stars back in December 2012 after seeing the high average GR ratings and raving reviews saying how beautiful, life-changing, thought-provoking and..."Wow, everybody, my respect and admiration. I read the book and will not give an opinion, but I am very impressed with the quality of debating. It is mostly young people motivating their viewpoints and doing it well. Enjoyable ongoing conversation!
Sandy wrote: "Loved it. Loved the honesty of young people dealing with cancer. sure, some of it was a little far-fetched. It didn't stop my affection for the characters."I totally agree 100% with you. It was an amazing book and I don't know why it is getting so much hate.
Aly wrote: " The Fault in our Stars: A SummaryTwo sick teenagers that sound like 90 year old's fancy each other and go all the way TO ANOTHER COUNTRY to have sex, and then the boyfriend dies, and suddenly gi..."
I agree with you about the teen voices being off.....but then again, the book seems to be very popular among young people. That makes me wonder if perhaps, it's really my personal perceptions of what the "teen voice" should sound like that is off?
I think you over trivialized the plot a bit. I think Hazel learned more than "good things do happen". I liked the idea that Hazel learned to live life rather than just staying in a holding pattern and waiting to die.
Aly wrote: "@Charlotte: Agreed!
There are so many fanpages on facebook crying abouy how beautiful and amazing and life changing it is and it's all I can do not to prove them wrong else I would have an army of..."
They'll have to take mine first.
There are so many fanpages on facebook crying abouy how beautiful and amazing and life changing it is and it's all I can do not to prove them wrong else I would have an army of..."
They'll have to take mine first.
Argh! I just couldn't get into the 'John Green' mindset (did I even want too?) and people still kept on telling me TFIOS was amazing. But it wasn't. John Green's books are annoying. Hell, John Green is annoying . John Green let me count the ways thee is so annoying. Done and it's written right here.http://plotholesbegone.wordpress.com/...
Akansha wrote: "Argh! I just couldn't get into the 'John Green' mindset (did I even want too?) and people still kept on telling me TFIOS was amazing. But it wasn't. John Green's books are annoying. Hell, John Gree..."
This. Is. Genius.
This. Is. Genius.
@ Aly and CharlotteI agree
Kira wrote: "I totally agree 100% with you. It was an amazing book and I don't know why it is getting so much hate."This book was shitty and I don't know why it is getting so much love.
Akansha wrote: "Argh! I just couldn't get into the 'John Green' mindset (did I even want too?) and people still kept on telling me TFIOS was amazing. But it wasn't. John Green's books are annoying. Hell, John Gree..."THANKS! THANKS FOR WRITING THAT POST!
You're amazing.
I hope you don't mind if I share the link on FB.
Aly wrote: "@Mochaespresso: I would just like to point out that I'm not old or anything, I've only just turned 20 and have beeb reading Johj Green's rubbish since I was sixteen and all of his writing is the s..."I remember that when I was 20, I was very far removed from my HS days in mindset and attitude, meaning that even though the age difference was technically only a few years, I didn't necessarily feel like I had any kinship or commonality with HS aged kids any longer. To be honest, I didn't even have it with typical college kids in my age range at that time either. I was employed full time, had a car, an apartment and was attending college part-time at night. I was just wondering out loud if my impression of the teen voice being off in the novel was more about me and my possibly skewed perceptions rather than a flaw in the writing.
I'm inclined to say no and that many people (myself included) are probably just willing to tolerate purple prose if it is a story that they otherwise liked. However, that's just what I think. It doesn't necessarily mean that I'm definitely right. It's just an opinion.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I can't stand this book. It was so cliche and unrealistic I had to push myself to get to the ending. I mean most books are unrealistic, but this book was at a whole new level of that. Although, I do love John Green and Looking For Alaska. This just wasn't my cup of tea. /:
Kurt Vonnegurt once stated: "Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae."Yet, I have to admit that I certainly have. (I despised American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis so much that I almost burned it, instead I gave it to a friend who adored his writing. It had do with a specific scene mid-way through with a rat and cheese. It was a book club book.) And Atonement by Ian McEwan (sp?) I threw at the wall (another book club book). And do not get me started on Stephanie Meyer's Twilight novels and those movies (ugh). Then there's Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love - that I could not read, unreadable self-indulgent twaddle. All these books - I wanted to erase from my head.
Equally, I have loved books with a passion. Often an insane one. To the point that I wanted everyone in the universe to read it. They changed me in some small way.
The writer was able to communicate what I felt inside my heart. And I thought, upon completion, if I could just somehow...convey these thoughts - read this book, that would do it.
Then I wander onto the internet, and discover that people read this book and HATED it. They didn't see any of the things I saw in it. We might as well have read two separate books. And there are people who adored the books I hated, and saw things that I did not see.
It's a wee bit discombobulating. While it makes sense that other people are unlikely to view the world in the same way...because hello, we are unique and incredibly different. It's also painful at times and can feel isolating.
If I hate a book and only see lovely reviews - I wonder what the heck? Or if I love one and the reviews I read didn't see the same bits, I loved, or they hated it - missing what I loved entirely - ACK, that's so much much more painful for some weird reason. It's like someone kicking your child. Yet just as weirdly bewildering.
I don't believe hate accomplishes much, nor does rage - except create more of itself. Although hating cancer - has motivated people to find a cure. So maybe it depends on what you hate and how you handle it?
Only people with real talent should be allowed to write dystopian.
Thank goodness for this discussion!
I was honestly afraid of being the only person on the face of the earth to not like TFIOS! I mean, yes I did shed some tears, but this book honestly did not meet up to all the hype around it. I got nothing from it, sad to say:(
I was honestly afraid of being the only person on the face of the earth to not like TFIOS! I mean, yes I did shed some tears, but this book honestly did not meet up to all the hype around it. I got nothing from it, sad to say:(
Dear People Who Hated This Book,
That's all I have to say.
Charlotte wrote: "Also, who's willing to take bets on how long it takes before John Green writes a dystopian romance? "No hell no! Can we please not think about that? He'll destroy the whole genre.
Brooke wrote: "Only people with real talent should be allowed to write dystopian."
One of my friends joked that no one should be allowed to write a dystopian book until unless they have passed tests in science, psychology, sociology, history and warfare.
@Zia
You're welcome.
@Drew
Aww...cute gif. Well, if you want to know my problem you can read my review.
Charlotte wrote: "I found this: http://wundgeheilt.tumblr.com/post/68...And I am now prepared to upgrade my opinion on John Green from "bad writer" to "misogy..."
Thanks for posting the link.
Aly wrote: WHATS WRONG WITH YOU?@Aly: Tons of stuff. Whats wrong with you?
For the people who think that Hazel and Gus are adults stuffed into teenager bodies, or are too mature for their age- Not all teenagers are brainless idiots who party and do drugs. Some of them; the fringe, yes; but some of them can and do think about philosophy and society and the universe and the fact that most of our lives will amount to nothing substantial to the universe and history. If that was your major complaint with the book, then please realize that it is completely unwarranted, and just because you may not have been like that as a teen, there are people ages 14-19 who think like that. Teenagers are not all disrespectful, and John Green specifically wrote this book with the idea that teenagers are human beings and capable of rational thought and acting like adults. I fully admit there are problems with this book, but when people decide that it is unrealistic because of how un-teenager-y Hazel and Gus are, it's stereotypical and somewhat insulting. I'm not saying that here were not some crazy, sonnet-y monologues in this book, but overall I feel like it was one book that tried to portray teens as real people.
I think that this book was great it was a true take on the life of someone with a terminal illness. It shows that they can live life to the full and enjoy it. I applaud you though for speaking your opinion and not caring about what people think'
Juliana wrote: "Some books, I get angry when people insult. This book- I just pity you. For the people who think that Hazel and Gus are adults stuffed into teenager bodies, or are too mature for their age- Not all..."It's possible to be smart without being self-righteous about it. I was a smart, rational teenager but I didn't act as though everyone was beneath me. The characters were obnoxious.
Good for you then.
Juliana wrote: "Some books, I get angry when people insult."Why do you care so much about what other people think about books you love? Have you ever thought that maybe you could learn something from listening to another person's perspective? Or that not everyone thinks the same way that you do or has the same experiences so what we take away from a book is completely unique to each reader? I find that amazing and enjoy reading other people critique books I love and how they view the characters in a completely different way from how I saw them. The person I see as passionate, another will see as obnoxious and overbearing. The person I see as heartless, someone else will see as ambitious. The person I find to be a pretentious, shallow jerkwad (Hazel and Augustus, I'm looking at you) other people think are intelligent and philosophical. There is a quote that says "no two people read the same book," and that is so true. I find it sad that you only see value in your own estimation and opinions. The world is so much richer when you open your mind up to the idea that two people can have opposite ideas and both be correct.
If you want to learn more about how opposite perspectives can both be true, I highly suggest that you watch the vsauce video on youtube entitled "Is your red the same as my red?" It's fascinating.
If, however, you want to remain closed minded I suggest you not go around trying to change other people's opinions about books (or anything else for that matter). It is an exercise in futility and will only serve to frustrate you and anger everyone else.
So, I read your review and: “Genuinely sick teenagers don’t have the luxury to be so witty and clever every single time. One thing I don't buy is that teens with cancer suddenly become magically wise. They become terrified, confused, depressed and angry. They DON’T magically gain great insight in life and go around puking long monologues about the meaning of life.”
Right, first of all I think that Hazel would be as wise as she is even if she wasn't a sick teenager. She didn't become magically wise, she was diagnosed when she was thirteen but we don't know how she was before so you cannot say she suddenly became magically wise. If you've read the book then you must know about Augustus last girlfriend who was, as you say, terrified, confused, depressed and angry. Isaac was also confused and angry at some point. So, not ALL sick teens magically become wise but some may.
“I knew that someone would die. Augustus's death wasn't powerful enough, if Green would've shown his death I would've understood why the world cried a whole bucket over him.” It wasn't Augustus’ death that made me cry, personally, but the fact that when he thought he was cured from cancer and all the suffering, the illness took control of his life again. I also cried on the pre-funeral, it's really hard to read that someone has accepted he is going to die and is willing to say his goodbyes while he still can. Isaac speech was heartbreaking; he was loosing his best friend.
“"He died eight days after his prefuneral"
WHAT THE HELL?? Green tried to make his death sound LIKE HE WENT TO A PARTY LAST WEEK!!!” No, John Green did his death as every death is in real life: all of a sudden.
I disagree in absolutely everything you said in your review but I can't make you change your mind. I think you are trying too hard to find the flaws in this book.
#letsallbefriends #whysoangry #hugsallaround
Zia wrote: "#letsallbefriends #whysoangry #hugsallaround"??? it's a discussion, I'm not angry I'm just exposing my point of view.
I personally did not enjoy the book either. There was way too much hype around it and it sorely disappointed:( Not worth it.
@JosefinaThat's your opinion NOT MINE. I hated the book.
Josefina wrote: " I think you are trying too hard to find the flaws in this book."And I think you're trying too hard to love this book and bash others who hated it. Atleast I have written a review expressing why I hated this book whereas you haven't given any proper review or reasons for loving it.
Charlotte wrote: "Good for him. But still... the teenagers he writes are not rational, they are pretentious, unrealistic (I'm not saying they're unrealistic because they party, again, I'm saying they're unrealistic because of the way they talk. YES, sure, some teenagers are philosophical, but the eloquent way they express their thoughts on the spot ("My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations") was ridiculous and pretentious and just a feeder of the manic pixie dream teenagers have fallen in love with."You said it all.
@AlyTrue. I don't see why people have to get so angry just because someone hated thier favourite book.
I find the direction that this debate has taken rather interesting because there is a person in this thread stating that they found the portrayal of the teens in this book to be realistic and others are emphatically stating that it most certainly was not. The world is so big and so varied yet some are so sure that their perceived notions of what all teens everywhere are like is correct. This is exactly what I was speaking of earlier regarding my view. Personally, I didn't feel that they were portrayed accurately in this book (...too much purple prose was used in some of the dialogue, imo), but I was also willing to admit that since I have encountered many who disagree that there may be a possibility that I don't know as much about today's crop of teens in the world as I think that I do.
btw....just because someone disagrees with someone and says so, that doesn't mean that they are angry or are "crying about it." I can understand how someone might find the use of that phrase in the midst of a debate offensive.
Aly wrote: "@Mochaespresso: Did you read the part where I said it wasn't aimed at anyone? No? Then don't accuse me of insulting people."Part of a discussion or debate is owning your words and be willing to deal with whatever comes of it. Just because it may not have been your intention to insult, all I am saying is that I can see how phrases like that might be viewed as insulting. I didn't actually accuse you of anything. There were also statements earlier in the thread that imo, unfairly categorized fans of the book and their reasons for liking it in a very stereotypical manner that may not necessarily be completely accurate.
There are people in the world who don't like the book and are free to say so and state their reasons why. By the same token, people should have the freedom to say that they agree or disagree and state their reasons why. The mere act of voicing a disagreeing opinion isn't "crying about it".
Mochaspresso wrote: "By the same token, people should have the freedom to say that they agree or disagree and state their reasons why."But that does not mean that they should shove their opinions down the throats of people who hated this book. That also doesn't mean that they should get angry on a reviewer for hating and criticising a book.
Ayesha wrote: "@JosefinaThat's your opinion NOT MINE. I hated the book."
yes, I get in and that's why I said I can't make you change your mind, I was just giving my opinion,take it easy.
Aly wrote: "Mochaspresso wrote: "Aly wrote: "@Mochaespresso: Did you read the part where I said it wasn't aimed at anyone? No? Then don't accuse me of insulting people."Part of a discussion or debate is own..."
Me merely stating an opinion that contradicts yours is not equivalent to someone "jumping down your throat" and you should not be taking it as such.
Ayesha wrote: "Mochaspresso wrote: "By the same token, people should have the freedom to say that they agree or disagree and state their reasons why."But that does not mean that they should shove their opinion..."
I'm sorry but I don't see how the mere stating of an opposing view in a open forum that has been established for discussion is "having an opinion shoved down your throat".
I'll agree this book is horrible and many people have said the same on this thread but the reason they're not getting as much hate as you (Ayesha and Aly) is because we are not being hypocritical about our opinions. You keep saying how horrible the fans of this book are because they simply will not accept your opinion - which I agree most of them are being pretty closed minded about. But then you question EVERYONE simply stating that they liked this book and refuse to accept anyone else's opinion and you in turn "jump down [the throats]" of those not questioning you but simply sharing an opinion.
was that hypacritical aimed at me Sammy?
Cecilia wrote: "was that hypacritical aimed at me Sammy?"You clearly have not read my comment correctly
Cecilia wrote: "was that hypacritical aimed at me Sammy?"In fact you've just proven that they might be right for arguing with you as you're clearly just trying to fight with everyone when you think a post that is quite blatantly aimed at other people is aimed at you
btw, "this isn't aimed at anyone" posted in an open forum as some sort of disclaimer means nothing to me. It's actually aimed at everyone because anyone and everyone can read it. That's just a fallacy internet code of conduct phrase for "I can say whatever and have no one challenge it because I wasn't directing it an anyone in particular". So what that it wasn't aimed at anyone in particular ? It's posted in an open forum and therefore, it's up for debate, discussion and challenge just like any other posted comment would be.
Like I said, own your words and deal with whatever comes with it. Just because someone disagrees doesn't mean that they are angry or jumping down your throat or shoving an opinion down your throat. It's just a discussion and it isn't necessarily that serious. That same message applies to fans of the book as well as the critics.
I'm so sorry this is happening to you, Aly.
yes this book was definitely not worth the hype. The whole idea behind the main "adventure" in the book which was to go to Amsterdam was absolutely rubbish. She wanted to go so she could ask the author about what happened to FICTIONAL CHARACTERS. it was so stupid and I HATED!!!! the character of the author. Also for me the whole scene with Augusts and Hazel really ruined the entire thing even more. I WILL NOT BE WATCHING THE MOVIE
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No, sweetie. You need to understand the difference between common knowledge and your opinion. Just because you think something doesn't make it common knowledge. The world does not revolve around you and your opinions.