A Review of "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green

by  Beth Wyant

It's been awhile since I've delved into Young Adult literature and it's a little out of my comfort zone.  But since our high school library is my new stomping grounds, I figured now was a good time to begin.  I decided to begin my journey by choosing a book that achieved huge national recognition and was also awarded the Bluegrass Book Award in Kentucky.  It's called "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green.

This book is about kids with cancer.  Yuck!  Who would want to read something that is sappy, sentimental and depressing too?  Not to worry.  Green's book is intelligent, honest and raw and I highly recommend it to readers of all ages. 

The book begins when two intellectually-precocious  teenagers with cancer meet in a Cancer Kid Support Group.  Hazel has  terminal lung cancer but has been given a few extra years with the help of a new drug.  Augustus has a rare cancer that has taken one of his legs.  The two fall in love and their stories are rewritten.  Hazel is consumed by a book about cancer written by an expatriate in Amsterdam.  When Augustus uses his "cancer wish" to buy them tickets to Amsterdam to meet the author, the plot begins to twist and turn magically.  What happens next is not to be spoiled by my review. 

I loved this novel and immediately shared it with my own teen.  We both found ourselves laughing, bawling and daydreaming about what it would be like to have terminal cancer and to be a heartbeat away from death.  I highly recommend you stop by PT's library and check it out.