that book everyone has read and reviewed

I read the Fault in Our Stars in an afternoon, not because its a short book (though it’s not long by any means) but because it isn’t an easy book to put down. At this point I don’t think there is anyone out there unaware of the plot- Hazel is a smart, cancer ridden 16-year-old who meets Gus, a gorgeous, charismatic boy who is in remission, at a support group.

This has probably been my favorite book I’ve read all year, which admittedly was a low bar, because it was funny in the right places and made me want to cry in the right places too. I’m proud to say I was able to keep it together. I was a bit shocked at the ending because I honestly didn’t see it coming. Although I respect the choice, it made the book all the more real- anything can happen when you’re living on borrowed time.

In the wrong hands I would have been afraid to see Hazel become the Manic Pixie Dream Girl (and since there is a film adaptation coming out soon I suppose I should still fear it…) but instead she is simply a 16-year- old girl. She has cancer the way I have brown hair. It’s mentioned a lot, everyone in the book has cancer or parents a child with cancer, but it’s not all the book is about. It’s about being a teenager and falling in love.

The flying out to Amsterdam seemed a bit far fetched to me, but we live in a world where a little boy can be Batman for a Day so perhaps anything is possible to make the dreams comes true for the too young to die.