Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

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From the back of the book: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

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Imagine being diagnosed with terminal cancer as a teenager. Imagine afterwards, where if you live your life as normal, you're an inspiration (but secretly others whisper that you're in denial). If you're broody and upset, you're obviously depressed. Hazel's mother thinks she's the latter, and sends her to Cancer Kid Support Group, which is generally the last place she'd like to be. 

But one day, in walks Augustus Waters--a former cancer-kid now in remission, although he lost his leg and basketball career in the process. Hazel and Augustus quickly strike up a friendship built on their mutual love of books and self-depreciating perspective. And like many teenage friendships, the often toe the line between being friends, and being something more. 

With all this talk about cancer, you'd probably think that The Fault in Our Stars was a book about cancer. Strangely, it's not. And I don't think it's a novel about death either. I think like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, it's a coming-of-age novel simply about life as a teenager--and how you live it when you suspect that you may not live until 30. Or even 20. Cancer plays a large role in the novel, but it's almost as if its a supporting character rather than an overarching plot device. I'm not going to tell you that it isn't hard to read about two teenagers battling cancer--it is. At times, it's brutal. But, it's also got just the right amount of humor mixed in that allows it to be not only tolerable, but an amazing read.

The only thing that I'd say as a potential criticism was that sometimes it felt like the book made some small digs at the Christian faith...which is something that I usually don't actually mind in novels, but I oddly found myself feeling a little defensive about it while reading this novel. I'm not sure why--maybe because I really liked everything else about The Fault in Our Stars, and wished that I could recommend it to everyone universally without wondering whether or not they'd ultimately be offended. Either way though, this was such a small complaint in the grand scheme of things that it almost isn't worth even mentioning. But I did, so there you have it.

Anyway, The Fault in Our Stars is billed as being Young Adult fiction, and it only takes one quick look at the reviews on Amazon to see that many teens are being profoundly impacted by John Green's latest novel. But really, I don't think I would have guessed that it was being billed as a YA novel--although narrated by a teen, it also dealt with some very adult issues, and didn't seem to include a lot of the angst that sometimes I associate with the genre. So, if you've been hesitant to jump into the YA genre, take a chance with The Fault in Our Stars. It'll be worth it...and if you don't think it was worth it, well, then you probably shouldn't be taking suggestions on books to read from me anyway, because I thought The Fault in Our Stars was one of the best books I've read in a very long time.

Intrigued? Join the conversation over at BlogHer Book Club, where you can also read an excerpt. Overall?

Disclosure Statement: This was a paid review as part of BlogHer Book Club. As always, the thoughts are my own--I don't think I could lie about a book even if I wanted to!