YAB Review: 'The Fault In Our Stars' By John Green

Today’s post comes to us from Youth Advisory Board member Skyanne, who read “The Fault In Our Stars,” a sad yet heartening novel by John Green about two terminilly ill teenagers who meet at a Cancer Kid Support Group and fall in love. The story takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster as Hazel and Augustus find strength, support, and love while battling illness and fighting time. The long-awaited New York Times Bestselling Book does not disappoint as Skyanne explains below…

Remember, to contact members of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board, you can email them at youthadvisoryboard @ ypulse.com, or simply leave a note in the comments.

YAB Review: ‘The Fault In Our Stars’ By John Green

First Impressions?

Personally, I was apprehensive to begin reading “The Fault in Our Stars.” I’ve had a love-hate relationship with John Green’s previous books, and “The Fault in Our Stars” had such a large amount of hype and excitement attached to it that I was worried it would fall short of my expectations.

Of course, I had no reason to worry. The thousands of readers who pre-ordered their signed copy and blew up the Internet with their excitement over the novel were correct in saying that “The Fault in Our Stars” is one of the best books in stores right now.

Sum It Up…
“The Fault in Our Stars” follows Hazel, who has terminal cancer and is currently a living “miracle” as the newly invented drug that slows the progress of the cancer is actually working. Her mom, who is (quite reasonably) very protective, forces her to go to a Cancer Kid Support Group meeting each week, where she meets Augustus Waters. Two teenagers living with cancer and falling in love makes the perfect tragic romance, but John Green keeps the reader guessing throughout.

John Green is known for his quirky characters and the cast of “The Fault in Our Stars” is no exception. From the senile author that Augustus and Hazel fly to Europe to meet to Augustus’ friend with eye cancer, there is no lack of unique characters who are guaranteed to make you laugh. Each character offers a heartbreaking yet real look into the lives of those affected by cancer and, in some cases, the lives of teenagers in love.

When were you hooked?
By the time I reached page 10, there was no thought of putting the book down. My eyes were glued to the pages, despite the fact that night was slowly turning into early morning. Even though the novel is about cancer and both main characters are suffering, “The Fault in Our Stars” still manages to be not only hopeful, but funny. There were times that I would be wiping tears on one page and laughing on the next.

Final Verdict?
There are some things that only certain authors can do without being cheesy or just plain weird. “The Fault in Our Stars” is a perfect example of this. It features a lot of John Green’s trademark weirdness, but also manages to be romantic and funny without being corny while tearing the heart of the reader to shreds the next minute.

A novel that everyone should read, “The Fault in Our Stars” is almost guaranteed to stay with readers long after the last page is turned.

Skyanne Fisher

Skyanne was the girl skipping school in fourth grade to stay home and write. Now a senior in high school, Skyanne still spends the majority of her time writing or reading. She loves traveling more than anything else and has goals to visit every continent in the world and every country in Latin America. Her second passion is volunteering and she hopes to spend time in developing countries, particularly places like Ghana and Cambodia, to work with children. Skyanne will be attending LIU Global in the fall of 2013 after taking a gap year to travel. She is obsessed with “Vampire Diaries” and never passes up a chance to fangirl over Ian Somerhalder. She writes blog posts for Scream for a Dream, runs a book review blog, and can be found on Twitter @skyvsworld or on her travel blog, Sky Around the World.