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.
This is the second John Green novel I have read and as I predicted they just get better and better! I absolutely LOVED this book! There is nothing bad I can say about it.
The Fault in Our Stars follows Hazel who has thyroid cancer and has to have an oxygen tank with her at all times. She constantly worries that her lungs will give up on her but at the same time she has come to terms with the fact that she has cancer and will not live for long. At a cancer support group meeting she meets Augustus Waters another person with cancer. They get to know each other but Hazel won't take it further because she knows that the heartbreak is inevitable. How could she date this guy and then she suddenly gets worse and doesn't make it another week? She knows she's a grenade just waiting to explode. Augustus doesn't care, he likes Hazel too much for that, plus he knows he needs to live his life not shy away from it. To show Hazel how much she means to him, he offers her his one and only wish, together they embark on a journey that will change things for them both.Through these two characters we are shown every agonizing moment of living with cancer and the fight not only to carry on living but to stop it from consuming your mind and your personality. The book seems to pose the question, if your entire personality has become nothing but the need to fight and survive cancer and there is no longer room for joy or even love, then in what way is that living?
As well as Hazel and Augustus' story the book shows how a large part of the struggle takes place within family circles and how it feels to have a child suffering from cancer knowing that they will not be cured. He subtly conveys the emotions of both sets of parents and how each of them are dealing with the situation.Ultimately Green strives to portray his characters not as those fighting cancer are often shown, forced into playing the role of brave and wise soldiers stoically enduring untold suffering. He shows them as they truly are, just people. They have no choice but to keep fighting because they are given no other option and because to admit defeat means death.
It is not their struggle that defines them but who they are in spite of it, managing to live and to love and even have fun and laugh. They use every moment given to them in the most beautiful way possible and that is what makes them exceptional.
The book is so powerful in making you look at cancer sufferers differently and showing how strong they really are, it also made me think that if I ever have any problems they are nothing compared to the actual people dealing with cancer everyday. John Green gives us an inside view of the emotions associated with such a known illness and how love conquers all.
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