Book: The Fault In Our Stars - John Green

I had really no expectations going into this book - I didn't know it was a teen book until I downloaded it. I had noticed recommendations from a diverse range of people and the title was intriguing (I had no idea of the original reference). I had been reading some heavier, dense, and less accessible books before this so it was a refreshing change of pace. To clarify, the book deals with heavy topics (i.e. death & cancer) but it's a breeze to get through.

I was drawn into the characters really quickly and really enjoyed all the kids' distinct personalities. The love story between the two main characters is really well done in that it mostly develops slowly and deeply and is a lot of fun to watch happen. And I love the quick-witted dialogue - although I don't know enough teenagers to know if there really are kids that are this brilliant, witty, and mature (I sure wasn't). Because, despite the situation they're in, they are pretty well-balanced people - despite constantly thinking of death, suffering, and pain. The interaction between Hazel and Gus is really the best part of the book. There are just a couple of minor criticisms that I'll mention in the spoiler section, but overall the dynamic dialogue between the characters what makes it a really engaging book. Oh, and also, having living in Indianapolis myself for 2 years, I really loved knowing everything he was talking about geographically in Indy.

Spoiler Section:


So the only part I didn't like about the love story is that Hazel and Augustus have sex in Amsterdam. Poetically and structurally, especially from the viewpoint of the end of the book, it makes sense and they are teenagers with hormones and libidos, etc. etc., but I thought it didn't quite fit with the characters themselves - like the part in movies where the two main characters all of a sudden just start kissing without explanation. I thought that Hazel wouldn't have gone for that. I never think teenagers having sex is ok - and I realize that the author is probably trying to be "realistic" but it didn't fit for me here. I also kind of thought that things dragged on a bit after Gus dies. Perhaps Mr. Green does not want to let happen to his characters what happened to the characters from An Imperial Affliction. And maybe its just cause I liked Gus's characters so much that I just missed him, but I felt less engaged at that point. And the very ending (letter from Gus to Peter van Houten) is nice and all, but the little explanation for Gus writing to van Houten and not Hazel (namely that he doesn't think he's a good writer) makes no sense and seems to be just a mechanism to keep some suspense and have that final moment come at the time the author wants it. That lessened it's impact for me.