Since I'm generally a follower and not a leader, I figured what the heck, I'll give you guys my thoughts on this book. Now that I've had almost four months to collect my thoughts about it.
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.
Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.
Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.
So here's the thing with John Green. It's no secret that I adore his books. When I heard that John was taking a leap and writing from a female perspective for the first time, I was stoked. He writes some amazing male characters and some truly interesting female characters as well, but writing a main female character can be a bit of a challenge when you've written primarily male characters. With a few exceptions, I felt that Hazel Grace was a very well developed character with faults and strengths that are incredibly relateable (even to those of us not dying from cancer). There were a few moments where I thought that she was a bit of a cliche, but a book with out cliches is hard to find, and the cliches weren't part of the main story points.
Clearly this book is not the happiest of all books. But the way this book flows is incredible. It takes the rollercoaster of teenage love and sets it to super fast. Just when you get the highest you can be, it brings you down a little bit, lifts you up, then plummets you down quicker than you'd like. It's heart crushing and heart touching all at the same time. I have never read a book that made me feel as many feelings as this book did.
I'm ending with Augustus for a reason. I read a lot of contemporary YA fiction. This (more often than not) consists of a lot of teen romances that end in happily ever afters and kisses and rainbows. It has some of the dreamiest guys that you can't help but fall in love with. That being said, after meeting Augustus Waters, I felt that most all the other guys paled in comparison. The thing about Augustus is that he is incredibly aware of how he effects Hazel. He is also, extremely set on getting what he wants. There is nothing sexier than a man who knows what he wants and isn't afraid to take it.
Hazel and Augustus' relationship is a whirlwind of a romance that manages to stay fairly grounded in the reality of their situation.
Warning: If you read this book, you will cry at least once. If you don't cry: We can't be friends anymore (just kidding).
Because I'm a quote-aholic, I'm going to end this post with quotes from this book... there will be a lot of them... sorry.
"What a slut time is. She screws everybody."
"Some infinities are bigger than other infinities."
“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book. And then there are book which you can't tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.”
“(I didn't tell him that the diagnosis came three months after I got my first period. Like: Congratulations! You're a women. Now die.)”
You can check out John Green every tuesday on his Youtube channel, Vlogbrothers
