Review: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

January 24, 2014
Author: John Green
Publisher: Penguin Books
Year: 2012
ISBN: 9780141345659
Rating: ★★★★½
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One of our reviewers read one of John Green’s YA stories and loved it! Here, she talks about a very well-written story of two teenagers whose lives and loves fall under the shadow of cancer. 

I’m not going to attempt to objectively review The Fault In Our Stars. I fell in love with it, and I’m going to unabashedly declare my love.

Here is a young adult novel that is utterly refreshing. For one, there’s no swearing. The language in contemporary YA fiction grates on me, even if it is the authentic teen voice (really?). The Fault In Our Stars is a rare exception. The teenage protagonists, Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters, are intelligent, witty and articulate; not the monosyllabic grunting specimens you often come across in this genre.  There is no dumbing down. The book is clever, philosophical at times, beautifully written, and just what I would have loved reading as a young adult (heck, even now). Would today’s teenagers actually read this book, I wondered. Judging by the success of this book (The Fault In Our Stars was on the top spot of New York Times Bestseller list), there is hope for the world.

Quoting Hazel Grace’s line in the novel, ‘You have a choice in this world, I believe, about how to tell sad stories.’ And John Green made the funny choice. Quite like Erich Segal’s Love Story, The Fault In Our Stars is romantic and funny, yet tragic.

Unlike Oliver and Jenny’s love story though, this one does seem too good to be true – Hazel and Augustus are perfect for each other. They never really fight, or even argue. But then, cancer is more than what the average teenager has to deal with, much more. So I guess one shouldn’t grudge them their loving families, otherwise perfect lives, and the thrill of being in love.

Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief, said of the book, ‘John Green at his best. You laugh, you cry, and then you come back for more.

I can’t agree more. Get a copy and read the book, whether you’re a young adult or any-kind-of-adult. You’ll be glad you did. Fear not, there isn’t much crying, even for someone as sentimental as me.

Get updates on John Green’s work through his website and Twitter, and read our review of one of his other books Looking for Alaska

 

 

Arundhati Venkatesh

Writer at IndiaBookStore
Arundhati Venkatesh is a children's writer and editor. In her previous work avtars, she managed projects at an IT major and headed communications at a non-profit.

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