'The Fault In Our Stars' Review: John Green's New YA Novel

By Ellie Papadakis

Ellie is a junior at Elk Grove High School. She’s a student reporter for The Mash, a weekly teen publication distributed to Chicagoland high schools.

If you enjoyed reading Nicholas Sparks’ “A Walk to Remember” or Aidan Chambers’ “Dying to Know You,” John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars” holds the same amount of heartbreak but also has a lot of happiness mixed in.

Hazel Grace Lancaster has thyroid cancer, which has spread to her lungs. Hazel’s mother forces her to join a “cancer kid support group.” She reluctantly goes to keep her mom happy, but meets Augustus Waters, a former basketball player and amputee.

Hazel and Augustus become closer as they go through a journey of ups and downs while learning to cope with their illnesses. Throughout the novel, they bond over Hazel’s favorite book, “An Imperial Affliction,” which eventually leads Hazel and Augustus to Amsterdam.

Green’s protagonists have unique personalities that bring them to life. Reading the book is like reading about real people. Hazel, who narrates the book, has a sarcastic sense of humor that even makes the bittersweet moments seem enjoyable.

This is no ordinary book about being terminally ill. You’ll cry, but you’ll also laugh at the humor and love that’s found in the novel.

Green has a way of capturing emotions -- even when he’s writing from a girl’s viewpoint. The amount of thought and planning that Green put into writing this book is evident as you read, which made “The Fault in Our Stars” even more enjoyable for me.

Read it. Just make sure you have some tissues ready.

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