REVIEW - A Fault In Our Stars

SUMMARY:

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". -- Dutton Children's

Normally I read the occasional book, but for a long time I haven't willingly gone out and brought a book. Only when the 50 Shades of Grey series came out, and also the twilight series. Over the past few months, I have heard a lot about John Green and after discovering him and his brother's YouTube channel, I loved the idea of him being an author just that little bit more. I found the book today in my local Tesco for £4.00 and was so excited to finally be able to read it. I am actually joining my local library tomorrow and they have Looking for Alaska so I am excited to read that too!

For those of you who aren't familiar with The Fault In Our Stars, (published January 2012) it tells the story of Hazel, a teenage girl who got diagnosed with cancer at the age of thirteen but still is living knowing that it's terminal, at her current age of sixteen. Living with cancer, she is feeling how her mother classes as depressed, but things begin to look up when she meets Augustus at a cancer support group meeting. Hazel falls in love with Augustus who also is a Cancer survivor  but later in the book, his cancer returns (Spoiler Alert!)

Honestly, The Fault In Our Stars took my breath away. I read it in one day, six hours to be exact and it has got to be one of the best books I have read in a long time. I think reading about death and Cancer can be difficult for anybody, but when you are living in the same house with somebody who is battling cancer, or even knowing somebody who is suffering, I think you get a different understanding of the book. It really made me think about my dad, and as soon as I had finished reading, I went downstairs and gave him a cuddle, as he is battling Brain Cancer. Although the book is a pretty emotional 'Cancer Book' I personally think the story line is beautiful. I know people judge teenage love as them not really knowing what love is, and I personally feel the love the two characters have for each other, feels so real to me, even thought it is all fictional. 

I could read this book over and over again, I could sit here and type every single thing I enjoyed about it, but I feel we would be here a while, and for my first book review, I didn't want to write a novel myself. Hazel and Augustus were amazing fictional characters, that I will defiantly be remembering. They were complex and interesting having to deal with such a thing at such a young age, but they were also real in a sense that I felt I personally knew them! 

I was actually shocked at the way The Fault In Our Stars affected me. It reached out to me in such an emotional way, but the time I had finished reading I had makeup all over my face and was blubbering for a while! I knew what was coming, from just reading half way through the book but like I said I felt like I knew them and I guess I got upset for the characters. The love story on its own without the illness' involved is very strong, and made me want to speak to my boyfriend afterwards just to tell him I loved him. It really reaches out to you. This book is a tearjerker and If anybody tells you any different they are lying! This book taught me that you can't take things for granted and that life is sacred so spend it doing things you love and cherish others around you. 

I highly recommend this book to anybody that hasn't read it, and let me know what you thought about it too! Also did you enjoy reading this book review, comment below if you think they should be a regular thing?

Thank you.