From a corner in the library

Book Info

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green [johngreenbooks.com/]
Date of Publication: January, 2012
Synopsis: 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.
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love. [Goodreads.com]

It is going to be very difficult to (finally) write a complete review about this book. I'm biased. This is one of my favorite books. I love the characters, I love the plot and the dialogues and the cruelty and everything.

Right, where do I start?
Hazel: I really like her. She's so smart and sensible. I loved that she tried to stop herself from falling in love with Augustus, but then she couldn't;

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She appears to be all serious or even pretentious, but then she has these moments when she's all goofy and I love that! Like when she told her mom she (the mom) would be a great Patrick. Or when she was kinda sarcastic, or came up with the pedophilic swing set headline.
Augustus: I really cannot begin to describe him or what I love about him. He was just so sweet. I think he started my thing for perfect YA lit fictional boys... See, Gus, you did get to leave a mark in this world!
Isaac: I just wished there was a whole book series about Isaac, I love him. The eulogies he wrote for Gus? Broke my heart nearly as much as Hazel's did. And I am so mad at Monica, though Hazel was right... she didn't have to handle him (but she made a promise and I, like Isaac, believe everybody has the obligation to keep their promises. I also believe in the true love thing).
Van Houten: I liked him, is that crazy? I mean, he was an assclown, but still. He lost his daughter and didn't know how to handle it.

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About the plot. I have a tendency to love everything John writes (novels, short stories, collaborations, grocery lists...), so I'm biased here. But I mean, come on! It's a tragic love story! And yes, I know I've said before that I kinda hate female YA characters who think they're not enough for their male counterparts... but Hazel really believed she was a grenade, she did have the potential to hurt him. And she tried to stay friends with Augustus instead of just pushing him away.
For me, what makes the story unforgettable is the unconditional bonds that are formed in the most unexpected situations (whoa, I just used the prefix un- three times in one sentence). Because Love is not only among bf/gf or whatever, but also parents and children and friends and sometimes random people who are going through the same shit you are, and other times books and authors who have no idea who you are. I liked that.
Also, not liking your life, or your choices and being jealous of others'. What's wrong with that? Of course, if you have the chance to change the course of your life, do it! And if you don't, well... "Life's not a wish-granting factory." But heck, make the best of it... because "It's a good life."

Okay... I'm almost done. Couple more things.
First, there are a lot of little things I love about the book that seem to go unnoticed. Like Phillip. Can you just take a minute to consider the fact that Hazel Grace named her oxygen tank Phillip because it simply, freaking looked like a Phillip?!?! I love that part!!! :) It makes me smile, and I don't know why.
Then, the part in Amsterdam when Augustus tells Hazel he "lit up like a Christmas tree" and he sits down in a chair and she thinks: "That chair. How old was it? Fifty years?" I got it the second time I read the book... The chair was older than any of them would get to be. And that's fucking depressing.
Also, her dad. He wasn't with her the way her mom was. But when he talked to her... omg, it was intense. He loved her, he just showed it in a different way. He's an amazing character, I think.

Last thing: the movie. I loved it. Most of the times, I hate that the movies miss so many important details or that they change so many things, but I didn't mind with this one (I told you I'm biased). I think that what they left out or change didn't affect the story's effect.
I was kinda mad that they left out John's scene!! :O How could they?!
The cast was perfect, in my opinion (but it is also my mom's opinion). I think the most impressive one was Van Houten...  Willem Dafoe was simply perfect! That's exactly how I imagine Van Houten.
But I'm pretty sure that I loved the movie so much mainly because I followed John's updates about it. Videos and pictures and everything... it just felt like I had part on it, you know?
Also, the soundtrack has Ed Sheeran. Nothing else to add.




One last thought: Don't you giggle every time you imagine John actually writing down that a 17-year-old boy's voice was "dead sexy"? I do ;)