Synopsis:
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years,
Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon
diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears
at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely
rewritten.
My Take:
As an avid reader it shouldn't come as a surprise when I say that my
favorite class in school was almost always reading/literature/english or
whatever name the class took on. I was an enthusiastic student who was
frequently baffled by the literature selections of my teachers, why
they chose books that students couldn't relate to or that were so
uninteresting or difficult to read that many got by with the Cliff Notes
version I will never know. When in High School I began to question the
standard interpretation of what we read; I would play devils
advocate and demand proof that
literary devices
like symbolism were really the intent of the author or could they be fabricated by academics looking for something to prove that the book
they loved was "better" literature than another.
If you've been around here for any length of time you can be sure that I
believe many really great stories are simply that, and academics are to
blame for taking the fun out of reading them.
I'm sure at this point you are wondering what all of this has to do with
The Fault In Our Stars. It's simple really, the author, John Green,
tells the readers not to do this before the book has ever begun; he
notes that The Fault In Our Stars is a story he made up for reading, not
for literary interpretation or analysis. I think it was the perfect
way to start a book such as this and I hope that every
reading/literature/english teacher takes a hard look at including this
book in their required reading list.
A moving story with twists, turns, laughs and tears I found it
impossible to put down even when sobbing into my kleenex. I had been
warned that I would cry, I had no idea I would become so connected to
these characters, so richly drawn, that I could become as invested as I
did. I drove my family a bit nuts at first quoting from the book,
setting up the scenes and expecting that they would laugh, cry, be
outraged, connect like I did. But when things stopped being purely clever and
the characters became more real to me I stopped quoting and instead held
them with me, protecting them from the outside world as best I could. They had enough pain to deal with all on their own.
ThePrincess has the book now, she tried to take it before I finished for
rear I would spill the story before she could read it; I held off.
Once she's finished Mr.M. has an interest in reading it as well... That
alone is a shining review, 3 very different readers represented.
Disclosure:
"This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own."
