Lucky Seven Book Review #7: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

This post comes long after all of my other Lucky Seven recommendations, which were inspired by a reading binge that led me to seven excellent books that you definitely should bump to the top of your TBR list.

I think the delay was mostly because I felt like, no matter what I wrote, my review would inadequately describe what I felt about this book and why I wholeheartedly recommend it, but I did my best!

LUCKY SEVEN: RECOMMENDATION #7

The Fault in Our Stars (John Green)

(Dutton - Jan. 2012)

Summary from Goodreads: Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumors in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumors tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS broke my heart and pieced it back together again. I'm a huge John Green fan (I totally geeked out when I learned that I'll see him speak at the BEA Children's Author Breakfast), and his books are part of my reading happy place. I love the way he weaves words together, his wry humor, his too-smart-for-their-own-good characters. I sit down to read his books knowing most of what to expect (in a good way), but he usually ends up surprising me on a few points.

I loved TFIOS. From the start, I was rooting for jaded, frustrated Hazel. Like her, I fell for Gus, and I quickly became immersed in their story, in their lives, as they struggled with the crappy hand they'd been dealt.

Somewhere along the way, I cracked. Nothing particularly bad was happening in the story at that moment, but the general awesome-teens-with-awful-cancer thing got to me, and tears began tracking their way down my cheeks. I had become invested in Hazel and Gus and wanted for them the perfect happy ending that they deserved, but I knew they wouldn't get it. That thought basically made me cry--quietly and steadily--through to the end of the book.

There was no climactic, melodramatic ending (like, no one dies tragically in a mudslide in South America (*cough* NicholasSparks *cough*)), but it fit the book and the characters, which is just about all a reader can ask for.

And that's why I love John Green's writing. If you're a fan of LOOKING FOR ALASKA (and if you're not, seriously, GO READ LOOKING FOR ALASKA), then TFIOS will be your new favorite book.

The verdict? Yes. A million times yes.

Further evidence: Its constant presence the NYT bestseller list shows that I'm far from the only person loving this book.

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Thanks for reading the Lucky Seven book recommendations!

Check out the other books in the Lucky Seven!
Book one: THE GIRLS OF NO RETURN by Erin Saldin
Book two: THE PROBABILITY OF MIRACLES by Wendy Wunder
Book three: UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi
Book four: WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE by Sarah Dessen
Book five: GRAVE MERCY by Robin LaFevers
Book six: JANE by April Lindner