I recently received this beautiful hardcover copy of The Fault in Our Stars and knew I had to re-read and relive the beauty, love and heartbreak that John Green curated almost ten years ago.
If you don't know already, The Fault in Our Stars focuses on a 16-year-old girl named Hazel who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Rather than finding a way to completely eradicate the cancer from her body, doctors are focussed on the best ways to keep her alive. Cue the entry of Augustus, who attends the same Cancer support group as Hazel, and becomes completely smitten with her.
Green has such a clever way to make the reader go from completely balling their eyes out to laughing out loud. I don't think I had dry eyes whilst reading this but I also recall smiling and laughing. Even when I read the novel the second time around, I still found myself sobbing and giggling.
The plot of this book may seem tragically cliché, however, the characters, their relationship and outlook on their 'cancertastic' lives are something to be admired and cherished. For a book which has multiple young characters suffering from cancer, the amount of humour in this book is surprising but also refreshing. The characters are a true complement to each other and generate so much depth into understanding some of the uncommon emotions and feeling that patients and families endure during the progression of cancer. Green also makes a point of questioning one's purpose and existence. Who are we? Why are we here?
The reader is challenged to answer these questions whilst the characters go on their own personal journey to seek the answer.
Maybe okay will be our always.
Hazel and Augustus find love. They find their forever in their numbered days and then they come to terms that they have reached their inevitable destination. They create memories and treasure their time together in the most admirable way. In a way we could all learn from.
Both times around, I was completely invested in the story, in the love and in the characters. There is one character who flies under the radar, however is extremely vital. That is Phillip, Hazel's oxygen tank. The personification of this medical necessity highlights how normal it is for her. It's a part of Hazel, a part of her routine and life. It's not just an oxygen tank for her, but it's her buddy who keeps her going (literally).
It has been said countless times over the past ten years that The Fault in Our Stars is heart-wrenching but hopeful. John Green has created an absolute masterpiece which will be read over and over for years to come. I am sure it will be listed as a classic in the near future.
Re-read completed on: 3rd October 2021
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