'The Fault in our Stars' John Green by Lorena Perch 9FR

First of all, let me start of by saying that I am extremely uninterested in reading- no book has ever made me want to continue to read past the first chapter! This was true, except now my perception of reading has changed entirely- not just wanting to read past chapter one but to want to read more in general! All of your English teachers will tell you that reading boosts your grades but also I think that it has widened my imagination, it has gotten me off of the internet- and believe me it must be special if it can do that- lastly, as cliché as it sounds, I think that it has made me a generally better person.

Now for the book! The Fault In Our Stars tells the story of 16 year old Hazel Grace Lancaster and her life with terminal lung cancer. Hazel is an outcast who has absolutely no social life due to her illness therefore her parents, predominantly mother, force her to go to a cancer kids support group- which she thinks is a load of rubbish! Until, one day a gorgeous guy named Augustus Waters, who is also a cancer patient but is in remission, turns up at the support group. Throughout the book you follow their romance journey through their euphoric and the utterly devastating moments together! I dare not give away any more spoilers!

This book is flawless! I have never cried so much, smiled so much or enjoyed a book this much in my whole life! The characters are amazing! Hazel is very smart and she won’t be fooled by the world, she accepts her situation and lives life like any ordinary teenager but just happens to be dying as well- she is an absolute inspiration. Augustus is indescribable- he is a perfect gentleman and you cannot help but fall in love with him!   

All of the characters have stolen my heart! This book has an extremely serious and philosophical outlook on life- as heart-breaking as it is, it is as equally heart-warming! You can’t help yourself but get emotionally invested in their lives; when things go down-hill you can’t help but fall with them! Also I’d like to applaud John Green for writing such a remarkable book with such an extraordinary meaning behind it: ‘a short life can still be a full life.’ Furthermore it shows you how lucky you really are compared to so many of your peers who are suffering with illness; you can take time to appreciate everything that you have. Plus, it shows you that just because people with illness can’t necessarily do everything that you can, it doesn’t mean that their emotions and lives are any different to yours. People say get your tissues at the ready because you will need them- they aren’t lying! I literally thought that this book will be the end of me.

It wasn’t just the phenomenal story that made this book so amazing- it was extremely well written! John’s writing is fantastic- it allows you to find yourself and discover where you are at with your own emotions! Some of the language used was exquisite- I’m not that stupid, but some of the words left me needing a dictionary! The Fault In Our Stars is full of countless memorable quotes which are ingrained into your brain and will probably never leave; they are truly motivating and meaningful and will instantly make you feel something- wheth

er it be extremely happy or tremendously depressed. Some of my favourites include: ‘some infinities are bigger than other infinities;’ also ‘my thoughts are stars that I cannot fathom into constellations,’ plus ‘you say you’re not special because the world doesn’t know about you, but that’s an insult to me. I know about you.’ Lastly a quote from William Shakespeare, reiterated in this book, which inspired the name of this book ‘the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.’
 
Overall this book is by far the best book I’ve ever read! I love how it deals with quite a touchy and deep subject with a perfect balance between being light-hearted and the point-blank truth. Subsequent to reading the novel I read the advertisement about John Green’s books at the end of The Fault In Our Stars and it said ‘Laugh. Cry. Think.’ These three words describe this book faultlessly. It then went on to say in the small print ‘WARNING: these books contain characters that may well stay with you forever. Suitable for anyone who enjoys intelligent writing, laughing out loud and blinking back tears.’  I think that this book deserves 5/5 stars on all bases! A friend of mine said to me the other day ‘I don’t read. I’m just going to wait for the movie,’ in all honesty I would have said that a month ago but now I would say read the book because it is life-changing and I don’t think that any film could live up to the raw emotion and amount of detail that this book can give you! I would recommend this book to anyone who remotely seems interested because this book will suck you in, not let you leave, more importantly, change your perceptio