I have never had someone close to me suffer cancer, but the author John Green made me feel as if I was a part of the bitter-sweet journey Hazel Grace Lancaster was going through in The Fault In Our Stars. Hazel is a sixteen year old girl living a not so ordinary life. She was diagnosed with cancer when she was twelve years old. Her parents make her attend support group every week, which she hates, and where she meets Augustus Waters.

I loved this book because it was not only a romance novel,  it had humor added as well. Hazel is a stubborn girl that speaks whatever is on her mind, and sometimes comes off as a little blunt. Augustus is crazy about her, but he isn’t a very serious guy. He constantly cracks corny little jokes to “declare his love” for Hazel Grace, as he calls her. One of the things Gus says in the book is, “Hazel Grace, I love it when you talk medical to me.”

One day after support group Hazel goes over to Augustus’ house, and he asks Hazel what she likes to do. She responds and says she likes to read, An Imperial Affliction. Augustus decides he must read this book. He comes to find that he has as strong of a love for this book as she does, so he emails the author asking questions about what happens after the book. The author replies and says that if they ever find themselves in Amsterdam, they should pay him a visit to discuss those questions. Hazel was ecstatic.

After a lot of talking with doctors and figuring things out, Hazel is finally able to go to Amsterdam with her mom and Gus. Things don’t go exactly as expected. The famous author is a jerk, Hazel and Gus find more devastating life trials, and nothing is the same when they return from Amsterdam.

This book is very easy and interesting to read. It is told in first person with Hazel narrating.The author’s writing style is clear and you know exactly who is saying what. Some books can be confusing at times and the reader gets lost, but The Fault In Our Stars storyline is easy to follow. The author is also very good at description. The book takes place in Indianapolis and Amsterdam. The major theme of the book is the struggles with life and with cancer. The two main characters struggle with cancer. Hazel deals with her lung cancer, and Gus struggles with his cancer returning. Gus and Hazel are great examples of how to live a positive life. They are both very sick and they still put others before themselves while living life to its fullest. An example of how they make the best of the little time they have left is when Hazel says “You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful.”

John Green has written a lot of books and won many awards. The Fault In Our Stars has been named: TIME Magazine’s #1 Fiction book of the year. He also won the 2006 Printz Award for his novel, Looking For Alaska. Other best selling books by John Green are Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines and Let It Snow.

If you want to find out if Hazel lives, what happens in Amsterdam, or about Hazel and Gus’ love story you will have to read the book!