Taken 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."
So there's been a lot of fuss about this book. A LOT. I've picked it up on several occasions, read the blurb (above) and thought "Meh, doesn't sound that special" and put it down again. I'm not someone who reads something just because everyone else is. The last book I read because it was selling out and a complete must-read turned out to be a massive disappointment. So what changed my mind? In all honesty it was a quiet moment at work that coincided with yet another bit of fuss (the book's been published in the UK since May 2012 and yet it is still creating a bit of noise in the media in February 2013!) and so led me to pick it up and start reading. Page 1 starts half way down the page. By page 2 I was hooked. Literally. There was something about Hazel, about the way she was written, that just drew me in and made me want to keep going and see her story through to the end. She is serious, funny, intelligent, depressed (possibly) and completely real (in a fictional sense). She is a brilliant character to follow through this story. She goes from a point of being the weakest to the strongest without changing. She faces up to her reality without fear but without being sickeningly positive like she's swallowed a self-help library. She is completely compelling. And then you meet the "gorgeous plot twist" and you can't help but like him too. You know quite early on that this book is going to make you cry. It's about cancer, which usually equals doom on the crying front, and then there's young love between two fantastic characters and when you put the two together it's like it's written in the stars so complete is the inevitability of the need for tissues. Yet this book will also make you laugh. It will charm you, make you fall in love with it, break your heart and begin to comfort you all in one.
Green's style of writing is fantastic. He strikes a brilliant balance between humour, love and tragedy. The focus is all on Hazel's point of view but that isn't a negative. It allows you to see the world through her eyes but he doesn't suffocate you or leave you longing for another perspective. He also throws in lots of literary links (a few that I would have missed had I read this a few months ago and probably more that I have missed) such as Beckett's waiting for Godot and Shakespeare calling time a slut (which cues the brilliant line "What a slut time is. She screws everybody.") Overall, The Fault in Our Stars is very well-written, uncomplicated, heart-warming, emotional and devastating. It is a must-read and for good reason. Yes, you will cry but you will also laugh and love Hazel. My only regret is that I put it off for so long and I cannot wait to read more of his books (I sincerely hope they are just as good as this one!). Yes, I have become a John Green convert.
I give it 10/10!
Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Publisher: Penguin
Teenage Fiction
No comments:
Post a Comment