First I want to day that I have not seen The Fault in Our Stars movie yet. My twelve-year-old cousin leant me her copy of John Green's young adult novel. I have seen a lot of my students reading this book lately. And with a title that alludes to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, how could I resist? After reading The Fault in Our Stars, I look forward to both watching the movie and reading some of Green's other works.
I can see why a lot of young girls enjoy this novel. It is, of course, a teenage love story with a twist: Hazel and Augustus have cancer. It's pretty easy to see that they are stereotypical star-crossed lovers.
The plot is fairly predictable: girl meets boy; they fall in love; conflict occurs; etc. the voice of Hazel is very realistic. I enjoyed her character thoroughly. It's very easy to see why girls identify with Hazel. Augustus is very much a knight in shining armor archetype. He is the type of boy every teenage girl dreams of.
What I enjoyed most about Green's novel is the detail and realism involved in the medical side of the novel. The cancer juxtaposes the love story. In fact, Green was inspired to write this novel while working at a children's hospital. Green has been able to give a voice to an entire culture of people without idealizing their situation. Many sections of the book consist of completely raw emotion.
While I won't give away the ending, the final line of the novel is "I do." The significance in these two tiny words is unimaginable. Reverting back to Shakespeare, Green is able to end his novel as both a Shakespearean comedy and tragedy.
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