The Fault in Our Stars

For awhile, I have wanted a place that will give me content reviews of books just like movies. I want to know how much language and sex is in something before I buy a book. So, I thought that maybe I could at least provide some of that for others. Plus, I just love to be able to lay out exactly what I think about everything in a book. There will be spoilers, but I will try to keep anything major out of the content part of the review. Enjoy, and if you have any suggestions on either how to review or any books I should read, please comment. :)

     This is the first book I have read by John Green, and now An Abundance of Katherines is on request at the library. After hearing so much about this novel, how much it makes people cry, and the emotional impact it leaves behind--combined with watching the preview for the movie, I decided I needed to read this book. A friend was gracious enough to lend it to me since the cue at the library was over 170 people, and with a promise to return it before the end of finals, I began.
     The novel is just over 300 pages and told from the first person view of 16 year old Hazel Grace Lancaster. She has been pulled out of high school because she is suffering from thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs. She is perfectly content to stay at home and watch the current season of America's Next Top Model and reread her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction. That is, until the metaphorically-obsessed, beautiful Augustus Waters walks into her Cancer Support Group. And at last, someone can look past the oxygen tubes in her nose and understand how to reach Hazel while navigating the world of death that she lives in.

     Possibly the first thing that struck me about this book was the humor. That seems a bit odd since it's about two kids with cancer, but I laughed out loud at many parts during my read. At first, I was a little put off with how morbid the humor turned. "I didn't tell him that the diagnosis came three months after I got my first period. Like: Congratulations! You're a woman. Now die" (24). But then I came to appreciate the use of the ironic laughs.
     Hazel has been saddled with a pain-ridden life and has understandably become cynical. This heavy sarcasm comes out in the oddest and most hilarious spots at times. It brings life to the book and relieves the tension that is as thick as leather in certain parts. Isaac is also a huge source of ironic humor. "Come over here so I can examine your face with my hands and see deeper into your soul than a sighted person ever could" (74). It is this choice by the characters to view their depressing world in a humorous way that I think makes them so real.
     Augustus and Hazel, and Isaac as well, all seem like teenagers I could meet walking down the street. So many novels today want to be in the YA category so authors place their characters as being 16 or 17 when the character acts two or three years older. Some might say Hazel and Augustus act older than their ages, but if they do, it is a realistic difference seen in how some children have an uncanny maturity when faced with the ever-present prospect of death. These days, authors also attempt to make their teenage characters different and deeper by having them use big, intriguing words. This often gets annoying, but these kids--especially Augustus--are the type of people who would actually talk that way. Someone who is so obsessed with metaphor would know how to use the word hamartia. (I just looked it up myself). The authenticity of these characters is vital to the success of the book, and John Green has a hold on to communicate these kids to the reader.
     Probably the biggest disconnect for me in the book is the trip to Amsterdam. Augustus uses his "Make a Wish" trip to take Hazel to Amsterdam to meet the author of their favorite book. While reading, at one point I thought, 'Wait, are they actually going to Amsterdam?' And then later, 'They're really in Amsterdam; this is really weird.' It did seem a bit odd when looking over the plot overview of the story, but it is nevertheless vital to the story.
     The theme of 'What is the point of life if no one will remember you?' is quite predominant in the novel. It is perhaps the greatest element besides the love story between Augustus and Hazel. I appreciated this question as it is something serious that people must consider. For those unsaved, what is the point of a life? Even for those believers, the question may pose a difficult thread of ideas. 'What is the point of life if no one will remember you?' So, make sure you make a difference in a life to where someone will. And I think that may be a point John Green may be leaning towards. In the end (of life and the novel), life is about choices. Do we choose to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Do we choose to live a typical life or travel the world? Do we choose to marry or stay single? Everything is affected by our choices, even the little things like what we wear. And John Green understands this with nearly the last line in The Fault in Our Stars. "You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you" (313).
     Life, in a way, is completely out of our control. You cannot direct traffic, you cannot convince everyone, and you cannot dictate what another says. But you can choose how to spend your time. You can choose who you spend it with and what kind of an impact you can have on another person. There are people in my life who have hurt me just like the next person, and I wish that I could change those experiences. However, I can't, and like it or not, those hurts have made me who I am today. What comforts me is looking back on those hurts and realizing I wouldn't give up the beginning or the middle to escape the painful outcome. The people were worth it, and that makes the pain bearable.

Sexual content: A girl and guy have sex at one point in the story, but it is not described in detail. They go into the hotel room, and that is about it. There are a few brief discussions about virginity. At one point, a guy and girl are making out quite heavily in public with another guy and girl standing right there. The onlookers discuss how awkward it looks and how heavily the guy is groping the girl. The leader of Support Group, Phillip, tells his cancer story before each meeting, and it involves talking about how he had to have his testicles removed. This is referenced more than once by Hazel as something that has turned boring and made Phillip weird. Once, when playing a voice-command video game, a guy and a girl command the computer to sexually interact with a stone wall. The computer asks for a repeat of the command, and the whole thing is played off as humorous.
Language: One f-word. Many uses of the s-word. Several occurrences of b**tard and other insults. Many uses of 'oh my god' and other liberties with God's name.
Negative content: The Support Group is held in the basement of a church and is said by the leader to represent the heart of Jesus, because Jesus treasures sick kids in His heart. While the leader, Phillip, says this in reverence, it is played off as humorous and mocked by characters because they mock Phillip. One guy is encouraged by another guy to vandalize a girl's car by throwing eggs at it, and they carry out this idea. One character uses a pack of cigarettes as a metaphor to how he can take control of some small element of death, and he perpetually has one (always unlit) in his mouth. Two underage characters drink champagne at a restaurant but do not become drunk. One adult character is seen plainly as an alcoholic, but it is shown starkly negative and damaging to all that come in contact with him.