John Green achieves his break-out moment with his critically acclaimed young-adult novel, The Fault in Our Stars. The story follows the romantic relationship between two adolescent cancer patients.
The novel’s introduction describes the protagonist, Hazel Grace Lancaster, a lung-cancer patient who’s just received the news that she only has a little while longer to live. When her mother encourages her to attend group therapy with other cancer patients to learn how to cope with the news, she meets a charismatic osteosarcoma survivor named Augustus Waters.
The story follows the budding romance between Hazel and Augustus as they help a mutual friend cope through losing his eyesight due to cancer and consequent relationship issues. Further on, the narrative follows Hazel and Augustus on a trip to Amsterdam, where they go to visit the author of their favorite novel.
According to BarnesandNoble.com, the book received a customer review rating of 4.6 stars out of 5. Similarly, the became a #1 New York Times Bestseller, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller, #1 USA Today Bestseller, #1 International Bestseller and #1 Indie Bestseller. According to The Telegraph, a United Kingdom newspaper, the novel has sold approximately 10.7 million copies worldwide.
The Fault in Our Stars is, potentially, the greatest romance story since the late 90’s. The novel will last for decades to come, especially due to its succeeding movie adaptation directed by Robb Sullivan. The film is a great alternative for the people who prefer not to read, but would still appreciate a great romantic story.
Many quotes from the movie have persisted as internet memes; such as lines like, “Okay? Okay,” and, “I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, then all at once.”
This unconventional love story succeeds in pulling at the heartstrings of readers, while also drawing attention to a prevalent, life-threatening disease. Cancer does not only exist as a recurrent motif within the novel, but also as a crucial aspect to the novel’s shocking climax.
Overall, I highly recommend that any person who needs to be reminded that true love actually exists, to read The Fault in our Stars.
