The Fault in Our Stars

Article written by Joshua Ehiosun

C2 certified writer.

The novel tells its story from the perspective of its primary character, Hazel, and shows her emotions, thoughts, and perception of life and love. As a young adult fiction novel, the book shows the tragic romance story of a simple girl in a complicated world.

Key Facts about The Fault in Our Stars

• Book Title: ‘The Fault in Our Stars.’
• Author: John Green.
• Genre: Young adult, realistic fiction.
• Book Inspiration: ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ got inspired by a true story. John Green wrote the novel after his friend, Esther Earl, a sixteen-year-old girl, died from thyroid cancer. He became friends with Esther while working as a student chaplain in a children’s hospital. The title for the novel got inspired by a statement made in William Shakespeare’s play ‘Julius Caesar,’ when Cassius says to Brutus: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
• Publication Date: January 10, 2012.
• Number of Pages: 313.
• Estimated Reading Time: Around 5 hours 30 minutes at 250 WPM (Words per Minute).
• Literary Period: Contemporary.
• Point of View: First-person point of view.
• Setting: Indianapolis, Amsterdam.
• Protagonists: Hazel Grace Lancaster, Augustus Waters.

John Green and The Fault in Our Stars

As a student chaplain, John Green met Esther at a children’s hospital, and they became friends. Shortly after her death, he wrote ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ in her honor. On publication, the story became a sensation among young people because of how excellently crafted it was. It became an international bestseller, with more than 23 million copies sold.

Books Related to The Fault in Our Stars

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ shows the thoughts and feelings of a dying teenage girl who falls in love with a dying teenage boy. The story focuses on the thought process of its primary character and shows how her worldview changed when she found love. Here is a list of books related to the novel:

• ‘Divergent’ by Veronica Roth is a book that tells the story of Beatrice, a young girl who finds herself in a dystopian world where there are five different factions of society. With each branch dedicated to a specific virtue, a ceremony gets performed to enable young teenagers who reach sixteen to join the faction of their choice. With the teenagers having to choose from the five options, namely: Candor (the honest), Amity (the peaceful), Dauntless (the brave), Abnegation (the selfless), and Erudite (the intelligent), Beatrice gets torn between staying with her family or choosing a faction to join. She eventually decides to participate in the initiation and discovers that a secret she could never tell anyone about could save those she loved.
• ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ by Jenny Han is a novel that tells the story of Lara Jean, a young woman who never admitted to her feelings for the people she had crushed on in her life. Writing about all her crushes in different letters, Lara hides the letters in a secret box. However, she discovers that all the letters got mailed to the boys. She found herself having to deal with her past crushes face to face.
• ‘The Hunger Games’ by Suzanne Collins is a book that tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen-year-old girl who lives alone with her mother and younger sister. In a world where children between the ages of twelve and eighteen get sent to participate in a deadly event called the hunger games, Katniss realizes her sister will get picked for the brutal event. Knowing her sister would be in grave danger, Katniss steps forwards in place of her sister and goes to the hunger games. With survival being her second nature, Katniss soon becomes a top contender in the game, forcing her to choose between her humanity and survival.
• ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ by E. L. James is a book that tells the story of Anastasia Steele, a young literature student who meets Christian Grey, a young entrepreneur. Anastasia becomes attached to the intimidating Christian and soon finds herself wanting to get closer to him. As Christian and Anastasia become friends, they get intensely attracted to each other. However, Christian opens up a side to him that the innocent Anastasia finds thrilling and a bit scary. With Anastasia learning about Christian’s specific erotic taste, she gets drawn into a web of passion, romance, and love.

The Lasting Impact of The Fault in Our Stars