THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

a. Bibliographic data: Green, John. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. New York, New York: Penguin, 2012. ISBN 9780525478812.

b. Plot summary:

         Hazel Grace Lancaster has been living with cancer for a few years and knows that the end is near. She attends a support group one day, forcibly by her mother, and surprisingly meets the love of her life, Augustus Waters, who also has cancer. Soon, they are inseparable and their lives align with love, laughter, tears, and travels. Their obsession with an author of a book they both adore has set them off in search of answers and adventure. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS gives its readers a raw insight into young love and its many ups and downs. Follow these two star-crossed teens as they live life together, coping with cancer and taking advantage of the many perks. 

c. Critical Analysis:

         THE FAULT IN OUR STARS hooked me quickly and only took me about two days to read. I could not stop! Hazel, the main character tells the story through her perspective, somewhat like a journal entry. The plot was a slice of life that was relatable to my own as I also battle a severe illness. I was able to recognize some of my own growth as a teen and then young adult in this book. Hazel Grace Lancaster, a smart, sarcastic, and relentless teen fights lung cancer and finds life quite meaningless… until she meets a boy at one of her group sessions that she grudgingly attended. After they meet, they become inseparable and spend the rest of their short lives together living with great purpose.

         This book takes place in a quite suburban town. The most descriptions that are given occur when the teens travel to Amsterdam to complete their mission of uncovering mysteries in their favorite book. Green uses imagery and other descriptive words that allow the reader to feel as though you can look around and see the place yourself. I read that Green spent some time in Amsterdam in order to best describe it, which is evident in his writing.

         The themes in this book are plentiful. My favorite theme in this book is friendship. There is so much conflict in friendship in this book because Hazel struggles with being friends with people when she knows she is dying, even amongst her mom and dad. She tells them, “I’m like. Like. I’m like a grenade, mom. I’m a grenade and at some point I’m going to blow up and I would like to minimize he casualties, okay?” (p. 99). She believes the more people she befriends, the more fragments she will leave behind.

         Hazel Grace and her beloved friend Augustus Waters both love to read book and they share books together, which they relate their lives to use to feel connections. They end up almost obsessing over Peter Van Houten’s book AN IMPERIAL AFFLICTION (which is not a book in real life). They desperately seek answers that are left untold in the book and use this to drive their purpose for the rest of the book. The plot revolves around this book and whether or not the author will provide them with answers.

         The author, John Green, uses quite a bit of dialogue throughout the book to express the thoughts of the characters, allowing us to feel as though the conversation is being had right in front of us. There are very humorous sections of the book and then it can quickly bring you to tears in just a few short words. The descriptive style of the author and his ability to grab at your emotions is what had me reading for hours on end.

d. Reviews:

“In its every aspect, this novel is a triumph.”—Booklist

“This is a book that breaks your heart—not by wearing it down, but by making it bigger until it bursts.”—The Atlantic

“A story about two incandescent kids who will live a long time in the minds of the readers who come to know them.”—People

“Remarkable . . . A pitch-perfect, elegiac comedy.”—USA Today

“A smarter, edgier Love Story for the Net Generation.” —Family Circle

“The greatest romance story of this decade.” —Entertainment Weekly

“[Green’s] voice is so compulsively readable that it defies categorization. You will be thankful for the little infinity you spend inside this book.” —NPR.org

“[Green] shows us true love—two teenagers helping and accepting each other through the most humiliating physical and emotional ordeals—and it is far more romantic than any sunset on the beach.”

—New York Times Book Review

Awards/Honors:

#1 New York Times Bestseller
#1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller
#1 USA Today Bestseller
#1 International Bestseller
#1 Indie Bestseller

Goodreads Choice Awards Best Young Adult Fiction

Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books of 2012

SLJ Best Children’s Book 2012

IRA Young Adults’ Choices, 2013

YALSO 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults

Hornbook Fanfare 2012

TODAY Book Club Pick

Time Magazine’s #1 Fiction Book of 2012

e. Connections:

Since the students that would be reading this book would be in high school, I would suggest using a great deal of technology to create their own book review. This could be with a Prezi or any other source available to them. This would also be a good chance to make a book trailer.

The students could reflect on how different their life and outlook would be if they knew they only had a very short time to live.

The students could make a book club, having consistent meetings and deep discussions about the several themes in THE FAULT IN OUR STARS.

Students could write down new vocabulary words from the book and create flashcards for these that are discussed as a class and referred to often.

Students can compare the book with the movie or this boo with another one of his novels, such as PAPERTOWNS.