Cinematic Saturdays: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author:  John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books

Publication Date: January 1st, 2012
Genre: Young Adult

Pages: 313

ISBN: 0525478817
Source: Purchased through Amazon.com

Awards: Buxtehuder Bulle (2012), Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production Honor (2013), West Australian Young Readers' Book Award (WAYRBA) for Older Readers (2013), ALA Teens' Top Ten Nominee (2012), Indies Choice Book Award for Young Adult (2013), The Inky Awards for Silver Inky (2012), Abraham Lincoln Award (2014), Goodreads Choice for Best Young Adult Fiction (2012)

Rating: 

Summary (from Goodreads):                         

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

A | B&N | Gr

John Green's first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award presented by the American Library Association. His second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Paper Towns, is a New York Times bestseller and won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best YA Mystery. In January 2012, his most recent novel, The Fault in Our Stars, was met with wide critical acclaim, unprecedented in Green's career. The praise included rave reviews in Time Magazine and The New York Times, on NPR, and from award-winning author Markus Zusak. The book also topped the New York Times Children's Paperback Bestseller list for several weeks. Green has also coauthored a book with David Levithan called Will Grayson, Will Grayson, published in 2010. The film rights for all his books, with the exception of Will Grayson Will Grayson, have been optioned to major Hollywood Studios.

In 2007, John and his brother Hank were the hosts of a popular internet blog, "Brotherhood 2.0," where they discussed their lives, books and current events every day for a year except for weekends and holidays. They still keep a video blog, now called "The Vlog Brothers," which can be found on the Nerdfighters website, or a direct link here.

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I have been waiting for MONTHS for this movie to come out so I could finally review it! I can honestly say that it was worth the wait, because I believe the movie shaped a little more of my view on the book, but we'll get to that.

Many who have read The Fault in Our Stars are probably thinking, "How can you give the book only THREE stars? Did we read the same book?? It was AMAZING gfghkjhhkhklll." Well, yes. Yes we did. I had heard so much hype for this book and even Amazon was suggesting it to me every time I logged on. I had an Amazon GC, so I decided to take the plunge and purchase this book.

First let me say that I did like this book a lot. There was this looming foreboding throughout the entire book that made you want to keep reading, even though you knew the ending was probably going to be depressing. It reminded me a lot of My Sister's Keeper with a touch of A Walk to Remember. And although this was a story about cancer which is generally a very courageous topic to write on, I felt like there were strong points and very weak points:

Strong Points

• The overall theme of the book is a topic that hits a lot of people in the gut. Cancer sucks. And I think there were many ways that John Green portrayed the thought processes and reactions that teenagers may experience. I'm not saying they were spot-on, but we have Hazel, who has a more cynical POV, and then Augustus, whose glass is half full.
• John Green made the effort to add unique elements to the story, such as Augustus' 'metaphor' or the whole concept of An Imperial Affliction. They were interesting and fresh and are a lot of what made the story.
• At surface, the characters are unique. It's comforting to imagine that a kid with cancer is easily positive and wants to make the best of everything, but Hazel was more of a realist. She gave us a glimpse into the reality of a life with cancer when you are meant to be at the very beginning of your journey.
• If you're looking for a tragic teen romance, then you'll love this book.
• There were several poetic elements and quote-worthy lines interposed into the dialogue.

Weak Points

• Not many teenagers talk like that. Some do, but not many have such a wide vocabulary and can spout off soliloquies of several stanzas at a time. It just isn't realistic.
• The characters were very static. I didn't feel like there was much depth to the characters or the story, and I felt like we could've been taken so many more places than we were.
• There was extreme overuse of "or whatever." Especially in the beginning of the book, it felt like it ended almost every single sentence to the point of exhaustion. 
• I was totally expecting the book to end similar to An Imperial Affliction, and was almost disappointed when it didn't.

Rating: 

It is not very often I like a movie better than the book. Actually, this is probably a first. But the movie was so well done that I feel it deserves all 5 stars. The cinematics were great, not overdone and I loved the texting bubbles that incorporated the style of the book cover.

I loved the casting. Shailene Woodley found her breakthrough in this role and I was incredibly impressed with her performance. It was her ability to bring out the emotions of the story that made the book come alive for me. She made the character of Hazel more likable and rounded. 

The chemistry between Hazel and Gus was magnetic. The beauty of their love amidst their odds bloomed before our eyes. It wasn't too overplayed, and I actually enjoyed watching sweet little moments like these:

If you haven't yet, you should at least see the movie. It was so well done that I was actually surprised and shed more tears than I did reading the book. Honestly, I was not expecting it to turn out so well. It also followed the book almost to a T, except they completely left out Hazel's friend from school. Even the dialogue was accurate.

I wish I could say that I found the book just as amazing as everyone else did. But I think it took seeing it in action and moving at a realistic pace that allowed me to really become part of the story. If you get the chance, go see the movie! If you've already seen it, please share your thoughts!

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