Wow. John Green's writing is so beautiful and matter of fact and realistic. This book is impossible to put down and a joy to read.

2.5 stars

I didn't like this as much as I wanted/hoped to so I probably won't be reading any of his other books.

Update: Upon reflection it doesn't feel like a book that I want to round up so two stars.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars!

I don't even know if I can write a coherent review, because I'm still unsure how I feel about this book. Sure, it was heartbreaking. Sure, it was humorous at times. But so depressing. This book was about two kids who were dealt an unfair hand at life. It was about death. Cancer. Love. Heartache. But it didn't really make me feel. This book was pretty great, but I was expecting something more out of it. I was expecting to cry ugly, fat tears and have my heart be completely wrecked by the end. I was expecting a passionate and epic love story. I was expecting... I don't know! And maybe that's my problem. Maybe, because I had so many expectations going into this, that I found it lacking.

The only time I cried were the moments between Hazel and her parents; they were my favorite parts of this novel. Not the love between Hazel and Gus. Not Issac. Not the secondary story-line with Amsterdam. The moments between parents and child. The tangible love between them. The ups and downs. The fears.

I was also disappointed with the love story. I just... didn't believe it with them. I wanted to, I really did. But they were just two kids trying to find a space all their own in a world that kept throwing them curve balls. It was sweet; but it was, at moments, a little boring.

The plot was a little underwhelming and simple, but it fit the story-line. The Fault in Our Stars is such a hyped-up book that it may be the reason I didn't love this as much as almost everyone else. I think I built it up too much in my head, put so many expectations on it. It was a good book, don't get me wrong. And it's crazy how great John Green is at writing in the voice of a teen girl. It just wasn't my favorite.

Colin Singleton sees a pattern in his life. He’s dated (and been dumped by) 19 Katherines. After his most recent Katherine decides they’re not going to be together anymore, he and his best friend, Hassan, take a road trip. They stop in Gutshot, Tennessee, where Colin (a) finds the grave of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand (whose assassination sparked World War I), (b) works on a theorem that will accurately predict the length and outcome of every relationship and (c) meets a Lindsey.

This is my first John Green book and after hearing Jen rave about his books, I was very excited to finally join the party. (And also excited to get to read the book with her and with Bekki and Steph.)

One of the things that really struck me with this book is Colin’s insecurity. He’s gone his entire life with people telling him how smart he is and he’s really worked to excel in school, but now that he’s out of high school, he’s realizing that he’s really not that special. As he points out, there are a lot of child prodigies and not very many geniuses.

According to the Q&A with the author in the back of the book, this has been optioned for a movie. I hope that ends up happening, because I fell so in love with these characters—Colin and Lindsey, of course, but especially Hassan. We should all be so lucky to have a best friend like him.

A not-so-little sneak peek:

• Hazel is 16. She miraculously survived stage 4 thyroid cancer. However, her lungs ceased to function properly so she has to drag along an oxygen tank wherever she goes in order to breathe. She's kind of a loner and because she shows signs of depression, her mom encourages her to attend a support group center.

• Augustus is 17. He had a leg amputated due to bone cancer. He meets Hazel in a support group meeting and they fall in love at the first sight. He's a show-off guy who acts like Don Juan. His obsession is to leave a legacy and be remembered heroically. He stupidly and indirectly supports and promotes smoking while realizing that it causes cancer by putting an unlit cig in his mouth and metaphorically claiming the following:

"You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing."

Really? I will carry a knife in public and don't give it the power to terrorize passing-by people. Yay I'm a genius! Okay, let's not forget that he's only 17.

People, meet Hazel's father:



Seriously, 99% of what this man does is crying, with AND without a reason. He was annoying.

[b:The Fault in Our Stars|11870085|The Fault in Our Stars|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360206420s/11870085.jpg|16827462] was a fast read (except when I had to stop and look into the dictionary to translate new vocabulary such as: sobriquet, vernacular, etc.)
__________

Dear [a:John Green|1406384|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1353452301p2/1406384.jpg],

When I look at your picture, all I get is a nerdy vibe which is totally awesome. Your nerdiness leaks from your appearance and it's never a bad thing. I love nerds and nerdiness. But those words? C'mon! They were sincerely unnecessary, unnecessary as in over-the-top-esque. I know TFiOS is your book and all, and your characters were philosophizing most of the time (I don't blame them). But, who on earth uses such words in daily life? Let alone teens? English isn't my first language. Nevertheless, I've encountered Victorian novels with easier vocabulary. THANKS for accessorizing your book with fancy words in an attempt to enrich contemporary literature, BUT NO THANKS I didn't enjoy it when I stopped reading to translate so many words in a YA novel. Even though, I like you, dude. I will read your other books because you sound like a very talented author.

Love,
Eman
__________

Back to the review.. The story made me chuckle. It also made me tear up. I consider those two points as a sign that I like the book. John Green is good with words and dialogues. He didn't bore me and I enjoyed turning the pages in the beginning. However, I lost interest and enthusiasm quicker than I'd anticipated and the flame was dimmed. After reaching half of the book I realized that it falls under the "overrated" category. I pushed myself to hurry up and finish it hoping to read another book before 2014 ends.

JG managed to touch my feelings and made me empathize with those kids, not "sympathize" because generally sick people can't stand pity. I didn't pity Hazel and Augustus, I put myself in their shoes and imagined how would I react If I were in their situations. For an ambiguous reason, I tasted tiny faint bits from [a:J.D. Salinger|819789|J.D. Salinger|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1288777679p2/819789.jpg] and [a:F. Scott Fitzgerald|3190|F. Scott Fitzgerald|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1374726364p2/3190.jpg] and it was such an ironical moment of "I knew it!" when I found out that those two are among JG's favorite authors which boosted my faith in my senses.

Many people find it hard to believe how the main characters got so wise at such a little age. I think when you'd faced death several times you must've pondered over and over on the meaning of life. It makes you appreciate how precious life is. Just try to imagine being in a position between hanging on and letting go. Thus, that makes you wiser than normal people of your age who had no threats of death. I'm willing to buy that. Unlike the negative reviewers, I found the characters believable (minus their absurd choice of words sometimes which was like stones, hard to swallow). Their love story is cheesy which makes sense because they ARE teens. They come up with stupid metaphors (such as Augustus's cigarette thingy) and still manage to have deeper thoughts on life.

If there is something to be extracted from this book it would be:
• Cancer sucks and life is so unfair, which is old news.
• Sobriquet means "Nickname" and Vernacular means "Slang". There's more, really, but I didn't keep up.

All of John Green's books will forever have a special place in my heart and I do not think I could ever really pick a favorite. I love his writing style as it makes the characters and the situations they are living in feel so very real. His characters are perfectly imperfect and I feel like I can relate to them all. If John Green writes a book I am guaranteed to read it.

Je me suis enfin décidée à lire ce roman dont tout le monde parle en long, en large et en travers, trois ans après la guerre comme à mon habitude. Bien évidemment, à force d'en entendre parler de tous les côtés, je m'attendais à une histoire époustouflante et qui retourne l'estomac. Et fatalement, ça n'est pas arrivé. J'ai trouvé le livre sympa mais pas de quoi en faire tout un plat.

Je ne sais pas si c'est moi qui suis dans une période où je suis insensible et sinistre mais toujours est-il que je n'ai pas été émue plus que ça. C'est mignon, c'est gentillet mais je n'ai pas eu envie de pleurer comme une madeleine à chaque début de chapitre.

J'ai même trouvé que c'était parfois un peu pompeux et lent. On comprend bien que les deux adolescents sont matures pour leur âge et que c'est leur condition qui les a fait grandir plus vite que la moyenne ; cependant, quand ils partent tous les deux dans de longues déclarations philosophiques sur le sens de la vie et de leur existence sur terre, on a l'impression que c'est forcé et un peu « too much ».
Ça reste très intéressant car ils ont des visions différentes et des avis opposés sur à peu près tous les sujets possibles et imaginables mais c'est assez rébarbatif au bout d'un moment.

J'ai bien aimé le personnage d'Hazel, très lucide quand à sa maladie, ce qu'elle est et qui elle est. Elle a un côté cynique et terre à terre qui m'ont bien plu. Je crois que ce que j'ai préféré, c'est sa relation avec ses parents et notamment avec sa mère. Cette dernière est forte et combative, elle est déterminée et vit avec la maladie de sa fille du mieux qu'elle peut. J'ai adoré son côté énergique et qui fête toutes les occasions qu'elle trouve pour amener un sourire sur le visage d'Hazel.

J'avoue, l'histoire d'amour entre Hazel et Augustus m'a laissée quelque peu de marbre. J'ai trouvé ça assez simple. Pourtant, c'est sûrement cet aspect qui en fait son charme car parmi leur vie régie par les hôpitaux et les yeux remplis de pitié de la moitié des gens qu'ils rencontrent ; cette simplicité, cette évidence doivent être réconfortantes et plaisantes. Ce n'est pas compliqué entre eux, ils leur suffisent juste d'être eux-mêmes et de pouvoir se lancer des piques de temps en temps pour stimuler l'autre. Néanmoins, je n'irais pas jusqu'à dire que je me suis ennuyé en leur compagnie mais disons qu'ils ne m'ont pas fait ressentir toute une palette d'émotions.

En conclusion, je suis un peu déçue parce que j'attendais beaucoup de ce roman. Tout le monde en parle tellement en bien que j'avais hâte d'enfin m'y plonger mais finalement, l'histoire m'a parue un peu palote et trop simple. De plus, je suis restée sur ma faim, ce qui ne m'a clairement pas aidée à finir sur une note positive. La lecture reste sympathique et agréable mais je ne trouve pas que ça vaille tout le tintamarre qu'il y a eu autour.

It's more like 4.5...

I'm a monster... I didn't cry.

This book was ridiculously sad, and brought me near to tears numerous times. But it was also tremendously beautiful, and stands apart from all other offerings in the young adult world right now. Highly recommend.

I AM SOBBING. I never cry but this book will touch your soul and make you feel so many different emotions. It's impossible not to fall for the characters.