Do not be turned off by the death theme in this book, I promise you will laugh more than you will cry while reading The Fault in Our Stars. This book covers much more than death! Hazel, the main character, is diagnosed with a cancer at 12. A new drug helps the tumors shrink and the book describes her life as a survivor at 16 years old. Her life is very different than that of a typical girl that age. She doesn't attend school, has few friends and very few outings. Her mom encourages her to join a support group for young cancer patients and that's where she meets Augustus Waters.
Their friendship is both beautiful and heartbreaking. The circumstances under which they meet are not ideal and perhaps because of that they get close sooner than they would have in another case. They are able to intimately relate to each other in ways that few people can at that age. John Green is a true master when it comes to writing about teens. He does a wonderful job of bringing out characters that are so far from the stereotype that a reader might find it hard to believe!
One of my favorite parts of the book is when Gus proves to Hazel the value of their friendship. In this day and age when bullying is more common that proms, it's nice to hear about true friendships, even if they are in a work of fiction. While I read this part in the book I pondered how I could teach my children to be better friends. This is something that I don't want to forget and I don't think it's too early to start talking about the value of friendship. It thank John Green for giving me the spark to start these conversations early on with my children!
Please join me at the BlogHer Book Club page HERE for more discussions about this book.
This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.
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