by John Green
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.
Wow.
I have to be honest here and admit that I was afraid to read this book. Though it's gotten rave reviews from just about anyone who has ever read it, I was terrified of how "sad" this book would be... I tend to shy away from books dealing with death, cancer, war, etc.
Am I glad I read this book finally? YES. It was amazing. This book is going to be known as John Green's masterpiece someday. This book deals with teens with cancer in the perfect way. They are not children, they are not adults, they are real teenagers. They play video games, they question life, they fall in love. They egg cars, they meet their favorite author...they die.
While this book deals with the gritty realism of terminal illness, not shying away from the horrific realization that everyone's time comes eventually, it also deals with the subject with the perfect balance of love and hope. Even as I cried through parts of the book, when I turned the last page I was left smiling.
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.
Wow.
I have to be honest here and admit that I was afraid to read this book. Though it's gotten rave reviews from just about anyone who has ever read it, I was terrified of how "sad" this book would be... I tend to shy away from books dealing with death, cancer, war, etc.
Am I glad I read this book finally? YES. It was amazing. This book is going to be known as John Green's masterpiece someday. This book deals with teens with cancer in the perfect way. They are not children, they are not adults, they are real teenagers. They play video games, they question life, they fall in love. They egg cars, they meet their favorite author...they die.
While this book deals with the gritty realism of terminal illness, not shying away from the horrific realization that everyone's time comes eventually, it also deals with the subject with the perfect balance of love and hope. Even as I cried through parts of the book, when I turned the last page I was left smiling.
I am so glad that I finally read this and feel that just about anyone would love this book. It is a novel that really everyone should read. Teens, adults, everyone would get something out of it. I am going to be upfront, though, and say that I probably will not go see the movie. I have a REALLY hard time with this type of movie... I usually end up crying so hard I make myself sick (I mean, come on people, I cry at Christmas commercials - can you imagine me watching this?!) plus this book is perfect as is and I really don't want to ruin that experience.
Just in time for Christmas, we're going to top off this review with a pretty little gold star!
Just in time for Christmas, we're going to top off this review with a pretty little gold star!
Full disclosure: Audio book borrowed from Library, book purchased for my Kindle app
