The Fault in Our Stars

As far as I am concerned, John Green can do no wrong. You should read all of his books and watch all of his CrashCourse, Mental Floss, and vlogbrothers videos on youtube (that should keep you busy for the next year or so). His book The Fault in Our Stars was no exception, even though it wasn’t something I would have expected from him.

Language/Characters: 10/11

The defining feature of this book is the language. Despite the tragic subject matter I laughed aloud at least once per page at the characters witty remarks and humorous observations. It really didn’t matter what the book was about—I just wanted to keep reading because the language was so engrossing. The dialogue is excellent as well, and the characters voices are written so well that you feel like you can hear them talking. The characters are interesting and memorable, and since there are only a few you really get into them-even the characters you barely see.

Narrator: 9/11

Hazel is a fantastic narrator for this story. Not only is her narration funny and intelligent, her internal monologue is also very real and honest. You empathize with Hazel and you understand her. And, even though Hazel has a legitimate reason to be negative or depressed, she doesn’t become obnoxious by whining about her misery or reminding you how pathetic she is (as certain female protagonist from certain popular book series do).

Plot: 8/11

I usually prefer books which are driven by action, and there is essentially no action in TFiOS. But I still couldn’t put the story down. It wasn’t that I wanted to get to the end of the book and know what happened—I just wanted to keep watching the characters’ lives because they were interesting. The plot is a little predictable, but it still catches you off guard sometimes.

Overall I give TFiOS a 9/11, and that is really impressive considering it isn’t my kind of book at all. Not only is this a good story, but it is written by a good author and it has a lot of deep thoughts. It will help you understand illness and life in a way you never did before. You should definitely read this book, and John Green says that he likes the movie adaptation so you should go see it as well.