The Fault In Our Stars

 

The Fault in Our Stars, also known as TFIOS to its huge fan base, has got to be one of John Green’s most popular and interesting young adult novels.

A story about a young female, Hazel Grace, who is diagnosed with lung cancer at a young age and is now facing up to the idea that she isn’t going to live forever. Hazel meets a young male named Augustus Waters at a support group, which at first she is reluctant to go to. Augustus is described as pleasant, confident and humorous with his never ending witty comments. Green portrays him to be a slightly comedic character as he often makes inconsiderate remarks about himself and his loss of a limb, due to his diagnosis of a rare bone cancer a few years ago.

Hazel and Augustus undertake a journey of mixed emotions, including love, hate, disappointment and sadness. Their journey takes them all the way to Amsterdam in search of Peter Van Houten, the author of their favourite book An Imperial Affliction. Their trip to a distant part of the Earth brings them a lifetime of happiness and heartbreaking memories.

The novel in itself isn’t the average teen fiction. When looking at the way the it’s written, Green uses quite complex language and deep meanings to express the feelings and inner thoughts of Hazel and Augustus. He portrays them to be mature characters who are living ahead of their time – this is most probably due to the limited time that the characters do or don’t have left. Hazel’s character demonstrates to the reader that everyday actions such as breathing and climbing the stairs are taken for granted by the majority of humans, as they don’t understand suffering like she does.

When reading the novel a question occurred to me, why are the human race so interested in the suffering of other people? We’re always wanting to know more about someone’s unfortunate circumstances, as is shown in Green’s novel as we’re itching to find out what could possibly happen between Hazel and Augustus. This abnormal interest is followed up by Green throughout the novel as he makes remarks on the way the characters are treated by the public – like incapable human beings.

Overall, I would definitely recommend The Fault in Our Stars to its target audience of teenagers and young adults. However, I probably wouldn’t encourage the novel to older and maturer adults as the context wouldn’t be understood the same due to the way Green has used language and technique to create deeper meanings that the target audience would understand. Green offers a variety of intriguing insights into the idea of morals and mortality. He does this through the characters of Hazel and Augustus – Green continuously compares the two characters and their different outlooks of life. Hazel is content with dying as an unknown and unnoticed human being, whereas Augustus feels as though life is meaningless unless he achieves the honour he believes he deserves.

The popular novel has recently been adapted into a film, which is equally as good as the novel itself. Of course, the book is better due to its capability to draw the audience in and leave them on the edge of their seats. However, the film has done the novel quite a few favours in terms of popularity and worldwide fame for its author.

This novel is both touching and humorous through Green’s clever use of language and technique to intrigue his ever growing audience. If you’re into young adult books full of humour and life changing events then this book is perfect for you. Expect to cry, laugh and reflect on the way you treat others through this wonderful piece of literature by John Green.