|Book Days| The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Photo from Barnes and Nobles

Happy Bookstore Romance Day! To honor the celebration of romance books and our bookstores, this is one of my personal favorite romance novels. Granted, that doesn't say much, since I don't read much romance, maybe two or three books a year.

I do love The Fault in Our Stars both because the story is incredible and because I adore John Green. The story features Hazel, a 16 year-old girl who was diagnosed with lung cancer, and Augustus, the teenage boy who catches Hazel's eye at a support meeting for cancer patients. It's a great book, and while it's been a while since the first time I read it, it's worth a re-read!

Do We Want to Turn the Page?

Turn that page, because this is definitely worth the read. The story is heart-wrenching and ends on a beautiful note, but is also funny and sweet. The whole novel is tied in by the notion of searching for Peter Van Houten, the author of An Imperial Affliction, Hazel's favorite book, who disappeared to Amsterdam after publishing his novel. It turns out that Peter Van Houten, who is tracked down by Augustus, is a drunkard, and is unable to answer Hazel's questions about what happens to his characters after the ending of his book, which is inconclusive. A complete mess, Peter Van Houten was my favorite character, because while this is a romance novel between Hazel and Augustus, it is also a discussion of life, death, and what we leave behind. Peter Van Houten himself is almost like a dead man, almost forgotten by all, and yet he manages to mess up numerous times in the novel, ultimately getting kicked out of a car by Hazel, before later agreeing that he will sober up and write another book. Spoiler alert, we see him later even drunker than ever, no new novel in sight. The ending itself is incredible, and we are delivered a quote from Augustus' eulogy: "Without pain, we couldn't know joy". I'll end my review on that note, but I would of course rate this book a 10/10. If you've read my other reviews, maybe you've noticed, but I tend to give very good ratings to books, because I love them.

The Blurb:

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.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw,

The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green;'s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

The Author:

John Green is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars, and Turtles All the Way Down. He is also the coauthor, with David Levithan, of Will Grayson, Will Grayson. He was the 2006 recipient of the Michael L. Printz Award, a 2009 Edgar Award winner, and has twice been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Green’s books have been published in more than 55 languages and over 24 million copies are in print

(From the bio on Green's website: https://www.johngreenbooks.com)