The Fault In Our Stars

"I wanted to write a story that grappled with the reality of teenage mortality and the unfairness of that and the injustice of that, and what was angry about it, but at the same time was hopeful and that argued that it is possible for a life to be a good and full life even if it isn't a long life." -John Green, on The Fault in Our Stars

John Green. Sigh. I love this man's books, and I love the video blog project he created with his brother, Hank, and I love Nerdfighters! (If you want to know what I'm talking about please go here: Vlogbrothers Channel) But I'm not here to talk about his videos, I'm here to recommend his latest book, The Fault In Our Stars.

The Fault In Our Stars is the very first book John has ever written from a girl's perspective. John did such a wonderful job capturing a female voice, it honestly blew me away a little. Said female voice belongs to a young girl, Hazel Grace, who has a terminal form of cancer.

I know what you're thinking, Oh man, not another book about terminal illness! That's such a bummer! But this isn't that kind of book. (Well, sort of, but not really.) John's book is full of humor and sadness, happiness and tragedy; he strikes this wonderful balance between light and dark, and the book is so honest about what it's like to live with a disease.

Hazel is a really bright and interesting young girl who loves reading poetry and watching bad reality television. Her life is pretty routine; school, support group, TV and parents. Until she meets Augustus Waters. A young handsome boy who shows up to support group one day and changes her life. He introduces her to new experiences and teaches her it's okay to let people in, even if that means they might lose you someday.

I really loved this book!! I couldn't put it down. The week I started reading it, I went home every night after work, ate a quick bowl of cereal and got back to reading. By the end of the week, I had a sink full of bowls and spoons that desperately needed washing, but I couldn't stop reading until I'd finished the book. (That happened to be early Sunday morning, since I stayed up all night Saturday just to finish it.)

So I highly recommend this and ALL of John Green's books. His work is always so funny and thought-provoking. So go to his website and peruse his books: John Green Books, and then read The Fault In Our Stars. Happy reading, and don't forget to be awesome!