The Fault in Our Stars John Green’s novel, The Fault in Our Stars will show you that there is more than one way to read a sad story. The 16-year-old narrator, Hazel, believes that when it comes to telling sad stories, “You have a choice in this world, I believe, about how to tell sad stories, and we made the funny choice.” (209). John Green shows the funny way to tell a sad story through the humorous, sarcastic tone while talking about something as severe and upsetting as cancer . This book will have you laughing and crying by the time you reach the end, it is certainly a book worth reading.
Hazel Grace Lancaster, the 16 year old cancer sufferer, protagonist and narrator, lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she is forced by her overprotective mother to go to cancer support groups as an effort to meet friends. The bond demonstrated between Hazel and her mother was both a believable and a relatable mother-daughter relationship. It is at this support group, that Hazel meets her best friend and first love, Augustus Waters. Their relationship shows how much more meaningful life can be if you have someone to share important experiences with. It also amplifies that although the couple is young and both have suffered from hardships, including cancer, it does not get in the way of the pair building a relationship, a skill that many could learn from. Throughout the novel, Hazel does not let the illness that she has been marked with stop her from having goals or dreams. It is shown through the authors writing style, that the target audience is young adults. John Green is able to do this successfully by having the story told through the eyes of an adolescent, creating the tone and dialogue as though it is told by a teenager, making it relatable to a younger audience. The dialogue between Hazel and her love interest, Augustus, is both romantic and playful, when Augustus is describing why he likes Hazel he says “You are so busy being you that you have no idea how utterly unprecedented you are” (123), by Green choosing to have the character dialogue in this style, it causes the conversations between the adolescent characters to be more related and understandable. The author deciding on this style also allows him to be able to emotionally affect the reader without using a complex word choice. Through dialogue, Green is also able to make the regular conversation between teenagers relatable, with the use of sarcasm. Hazel and Augustus share a mutual friend, Isaac, who has been suffering from cancer, his treatments cause him to lose his eyesight. After the surgery, Hazel asks Augustus how Isaac is doing, Augustus sarcastically responds with “I mean, he’s blind. So that’s unfortunate.” (73). This type of sarcastic response is very similar to one a teenager might say, creating these characters have a connection with a young reader, due to the reader’s understanding of the character. Conversations using these elements create a believable relationship in the reader’s mind. John Green uses intense themes, such as death, which causes the reader to stop and think about what the author’s point really is. Throughout the novel, it is shown to the reader just how important it is to realize that even if you don’t have a long life ahead of you, you are alive now and that is what is important. Through the first person point of view the story is told in, the reader is able to go in Hazel’s mind and understand her thoughts on death, more importantly, her death. Hazel thinks, “I was living with cancer not dying from it, that I mustn’t let it kill me before it kills me” (120), giving the reader a better understanding of what her viewpoint is based on her illness and how much she treasures and appreciates her life, causing her to be an endearing character that the reader is able to sympathize with. Concerning death, the author also says “The dead are visible only in the terrible lidless eyes of memory. The living, thank heaven, retain the ability to surprise and to disappoint” (113). This is said as an effort to make the reader understand that if they are lucky enough to be alive, then they should act alive.
Along with making the characters endearing, the author makes it relatable to the reader themselves or someone the reader knows. Hazel is shy, but does not sugar coat what she is going through, she also does not feel sorry for herself and, like for many people, adding a sense of humor helps. She introduces her having cancer by saying, “Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever, they always list depression among the side effects of cancer. But in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying.” (1), showing the reader from an early start that she is not going to let what she is going through stop her from doing anything, making her determination a relatable trait. Another important and relatable character is Augustus. He is that charming boy that everyone knows. He also has an extreme positive outlook concerning his cancer, which both Hazel and the reader find admirable. At their support group, he says “I’m on a roller coaster that only goes up” (10). From when these characters are first introduced it is impossible to not relate to them.
The pacing of the book was overall nicely done. The novel had a great hook that made the reader not want to put the book down. Although overall the novel progressed at a fast pace, there were a few sections that seemed to be dragged on and wordy. The spotty slow tempo did not cause you to lose complete interest of the story, since the tempo would be quickly regained and taken back to the correct speed.
This book is not one that you read about and then forget about it. You go on a journey with these two characters that you can connect and relate to, you have compassion for their struggles and try to imagine your life in their situation. This book causes you to think about the things you take for granted every day, the things as simple as being able to breath without being connected to an oxygen tank at 16. It was a powerful story that although many readers of the story are not living with cancer, they were still able to relate to the character. This book is good for any young adult. This book will have a lasting impact on anyone who reads it.