The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Dutton Books, New York City, 2012. ISBN: 978-0525478812

Summary

Seventeen year old Hazel would much rather watch TV and read her favorite books then go to a support group or make friends. But since Hazel has terminal cancer, her parents make her attend

a weekly support group for other young people with cancer. Listening to the other tragedies and details of her fellow patients is bad enough for Hazel to never make friends with someone like her.

But that all changes when Augustus comes to a group meeting.  He’s had osteosarcoma, but isn’t like any cancer patient Hazel has ever met: he’s funny, he’s worldly, and he’s attractive.  Most important, he’s interested in Hazel for who she is, and not just because she happens to have cancer. The two of them become friends and share their interests, including Hazel’s favorite book, “An Imperial Affliction.”  After growing closer to Hazel,  Augustus decides to use his saved Wish from the Genie Foundation to take Hazel to Amsterdam, where the author of “An Imperial Affliction” lives.   While Hazel and Augustus grow closer on the trip, a sudden revelation  will change everything about their relationship.

Critical Evaluation

Despite the bleak fate that awaits Hazel and Augustus, Green manages to have a lot of heart and humor in his ‘cancer story.’  Both Hazel and Augustus, as well as their friend Isaac, still act like normal teens and for the most part don’t let their cancer define their life.  The emotional scenes are heartbreaking and realistic, but never come across as too depressive. Green’s trademark humor shines through Hazel’s narrative and the dialogue between the teens.

The love story between Hazel and Augustus is both beautiful and heartbreaking.  The relationship between the two teens doesn’t come across as melodramatic or too cutesy to be believable. For anyone who’s dealt with young heartbreak and love, Hazel and Augustus’s relationship will bring up bittersweet memories for many readers.

With sexual situations, language, and medical descriptions, the Fault in Our Stars is best for older teens.  Interested readers should look beyond the ‘cancer story’ plot and pick up Green’s latest novel for its beautiful love story and hilarious and realistic narrative.

Reader’s Annotation

When Hazel meets Augustus, she might just get the chance to be a normal teen and fall in love.

About the Author

“John Green is the New York Times bestselling author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and The Fault in Our Stars. He is also the coauthor, with David Levithan, of Will Grayson, Will Grayson. He was 2006 recipient of the Michael L. Printz Award, a 2009 Edgar Award winner, and has twice been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Green’s books have been published in more than a dozen languages.

In 2007, Green and his brother Hank ceased textual communication and began to talk primarily through videoblogs posted to YouTube. The videos spawned a community of people called nerdfighters who fight for intellectualism and to decrease the overall worldwide level of suck. (Decreasing suck takes many forms: Nerdfighters have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight poverty in the developing world; they also planted thousands of trees around the world in May of 2010 to celebrate Hank’s 30th birthday.) Although they have long since resumed textual communication, John and Hank continue to upload two videos a week to their YouTube channel, vlogbrothers. Their videos have been viewed more than 200 million times, and their channel is one of the most popular in the history of online video. He is also an active Twitter user with more than 1.2 million followers.

Green’s book reviews have appeared in The New York Times Book Review andBooklist, a wonderful book review journal where he worked as a publishing assistant and production editor while writing Looking for Alaska. Green grew up in Orlando, Florida before attending Indian Springs School and then Kenyon College.”

(John Green’s Biography.  Retrieved September 21^st, 2014 from http://johngreenbooks.com/bio-contact/)

Genres

Romance

Comedy

Contemporary

Curriculum Ties

N/A

Booktalking Ideas

1: Hazel and Gus’ favorite books: what does that say about them?

2: How realistic is the story?

Reading Level/Interest Age

Ages 14+

Grades 8+

Challenge Issues

Language

Sexual Situations

Medical/Cancer descriptions

Defense File

1—Ensure that policies such as “Freedom to Read,” “Collection Development,” and “Challenged Materials” are available for patrons and staff to read and research. Have list of awards and reviews for titles, as well as a “Reconsideration Form” on hand at all branches.

2—Listen to challenges and complaints openly and without judgment. Allow the patron to express their thoughts without inputting your own.

3—Have patron fill out reconsideration form. Provide information and background on challenge material’s author and title.  Forward reconsideration form to appropriate supervisors.

PPLD’s Challenge Materials Policy: http://ppld.org/challenged-materials-policy

PPLD’s Collection Development Policy: http://ppld.org/collection-development-policy

Why included?

I included The Fault In Our Stars for Green’s humor and writing style, as well as the heartbreaking, beautiful love story.