THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

Green, J. (2012). The fault in our stars. New York: Penguin Books.


Green’s novel is an unexpected treat for readers. Sure, the movie was good, but as the maxim goes, the book is always better. The sixteen-year-old protagonist Hazel Grace Lancaster has been battling terminal thyroid cancer nearly all her life. A miracle drug gives her an extension on life but is not until she meets Augustus Waters at a cancer survivor group that she truly starts to live and appreciate her lease on life to the fullest.

One of the major themes in this novel is that of courage. This book is not dystopian fodder. The characters do not face tyrannical overlords. They do not have to fight against fantastical and magical creatures. Instead they face a monster that one too many teens and their families are acquainted with- Cancer. They must endure endless hospital and doctor’s visits all while having the ever real and present threat of death hanging over them. Yet, besides this all too real threat they have the courage to smile, to love.

Besides being a love story, at its core this novel is a bildungsroman. Through her relationship with Augustus Hazel moves forward from the stagnant life she was existing in. She blossoms into a young woman who has ventures into new friendships and adventures- that might seem bland to others, but for someone with her health issues is revolutionary.