There is no fault in The Fault In Our Stars

By Leilah Lockett

“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.”–John Green

John Green’s quote describes his book, The Fault In Our Stars, perfectly. Typical books about cancer patients are sad, depressing, and make the reader feel nothing but infinite pity for anyone with cancer. However, The Fault In Our Stars succeeds in creating characters with depth to their personalities where the usual cancer book lacks rounded characters. It is about a cancer patient, but the book presents more realistic thoughts and emotions of someone with cancer.

Hazel Grace, the main character, is a sixteen year old who has battled stage four thyroid cancer for most of her life. She doesn’t mind her unavoidable fate, but she does care about how her death will affect those around her.  Hazel fears that she is a bomb ready to explode and tries to resist getting close to anyone emotionally besides her parent.

“I’m a grenade and at some point I’m going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties,” says Hazel.

Hazel’s attitude begins to change the day she meets Augustus Waters. Seventeen year old Augustus has had his own struggle with cancer, which led to the amputation of his leg. He has a slightly pessimistic view about life and expresses his thoughts through metaphors. Augustus’s biggest fear is oblivion, that in leaving the world he will not be remembered. This is something that Hazel embraces, and their opposing views bring them together.

“Almost everyone is obsessed with leaving a mark upon the world. We all want to be remembered. I do, too. Hazel is different. She walks lightly upon the earth. Hazel knows the truth: We’re as likely to hurt the universe as we are to help it, and we’re not likely to do either,” says Augustus.

The Fault In Our Stars centers around the romance between Augustus and Hazel as they try to find an answer to their existence and enjoy the small time they have together.

“You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world…but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices,” says Augustus.

Although the ending is tragic, it is beautifully written and will leave a lasting impression on readers. As the characters grow and mature through the book, so does the audience.