Once in a blue moon you read a book and just know it will be a classic. It may have a certain aura before you even flip open the cover, and once you begin reading you can't help but feel connected to the future generations who will still be reading this book, still feeling the same impact. John Green's new book, The Fault in Our Stars , simply reeks of lasting literary significance. Reading it for the first time was like reading Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian or Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief- I knew I was reading something immortal. In other words, it's a good book.
Hazel Grace is experiencing the side effects of dying, and she has been for years. When she 12, she was diagnosed with a terminal type of cancer, and while she has worked hard to fight it, she know that her fate is inevitable. Yet, here she is, 17-years-old, on a new type of drug that is doing a fairly good job of keeping her alive, and she suddenly finds herself dealing with the side-effects of living as well as dying. Like falling in love, imagining a future for her friends and family, and doing whatever it takes, even hauling her oxygen tank to Amsterdam, to satisfy her ravenous curiosity.
Yes, The Fault in Our Stars is a book about kids with cancer. It's a book about dying, but only in as far as dying is a side-effect of living. Hazel has figured out how to live with humor, honesty, boldness and tenderness. Read this book and she will become your hero!
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