“The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green eloquently disseminated a heart-wrenching story that showed readers the emotional vulnerability of its characters. The story dived into the ideology of Hazel and revealed how her perception of life, cancer, and death affected her relationships.
A Story of Love and Death
“The Fault in Our Stars” presents a story with a primary character stuck in an inescapable crisis. The novel’s inculcation of love into Hazel’s life alters the plot dynamic as the reader experiences euphoric agitation. Eventually, it forces its reader to reality by revealing that Augustus would inevitably die.
“The Fault in Our Stars” portrays realism by turning Hazel’s romantic infatuation into sorrow. By losing Augustus, she realized her doomed fate. However, though she felt broken and torn, a letter from Augustus told her that their love story was worth every second. The authenticity of the story made it an incredibly relatable tale. Its apt attention to intricate details about the lives of its characters made it a story worth reading.
Themes of Reality
“The Fault in Our Stars” embraced themes that quantified the reality of its characters. The primary themes showed the brutality in Hazel and Augustus’s reality by quantifying their pain and suffering. It showed how cancer altered their view of existence and how it forced them into states of depression and sadness. Besides that, the novel’s intricate expression of Augustus’s death inculcated the pure reality of dying from a terminal illness like cancer. As the story concluded, Hazel noted that Augustus became a former shadow of himself. She knew he was in terrible pain but could do nothing to help; this broke her heart so many times.
Another theme the novel explored was love. The story portrays how beautiful love can be even in the direst circumstances. Even after Augustus began slipping into the hands of death, Hazel remained and comforted him at his darkest hours. She eventually discovered his letter and stated she loved him with all her heart.
Human and Tragic Characters
Hazel’s observations in “The Fault in Our Stars” limited other characters’ actions. Because the story uses the first-person perspective, Hazel’s interactions are the only way to give an insight into everyone’s lives. Though some characters had bubbly personas, Hazel described almost everyone she interacted with as sad people waiting to die.
For the non-terminal characters in the novel, a shadow of sadness clouded them as each had a dreadful personal issue. Peter Van Houten was a mean alcoholic because he felt isolated from his family legacy, and Hazel and Augustus’s parents were unhappy because their children slowly died of cancer. Some characters had a spark in their personality; one was Kaitlyn, Hazel’s friend from her life before cancer.
A Precise Writing Style
“The Fault in Our Stars” used a first-person perspective and past tense. The use of compact sentences with a detailed description of events made the story leave an impression of realism on the mind of its reader. Besides that, John Green also employed a plain writing style using simple sentence structures. As for its tone, the novel employs a humorous atmosphere that shields readers from discovering the severity of the primary characters’ condition. When the story eventually ends, the tone switches to dread and sadness as Augustus’s health deteriorates until his death.
Structure and Pacing
“The Fault in Our Stars” has a good structure. It has 25 chapters, and time moves linearly, though in past tense. The entire narration feels like Hazel is describing a past event. John Green’s eloquent use of one character’s narration gave readers an avenue to deeply explore the psyche of a young adult facing the prospect of death from an incurable illness.
As for its movement, the novel used a pacing that felt just right. Barely any aspects of the story felt dragged or too fast.
Beautiful Dialogues
“The Fault in Our Stars” dialogues were natural and progressive. The story’s fluidity made them intricately definitive. Though the novel is narrated from the first-person perspective, its dialogues were not dependent on the story’s narrator; this increased character authenticity.
Though, for the most part, the conversations in “The Fault in Our Stars” have a sad aura, there were many times when the dialogues were happy and romantic. John Green used precise sentences that ensured the story never lost its emotional grip on the reader.
Setting
“The Fault in Our Stars” setting impacted the story. When Hazel learned Augustus was chatting with Peter Van Houten, she felt overwhelming joy as she finally had a link to a person she admired. When she and Augustus reached Amsterdam to meet Van Houten, she realized he was a drunk. Though Van Houten brushed her and Augustus off, Hazel still explored the beautiful city and visited Anne Frank’s house. If Hazel had not visited Amsterdam, she and Augustus may have never fully expressed their love for one another.
Main Pros and Cons
“The Fault in Our Stars” has some pros and cons that may draw or repel people from it.
As for the pros, the novel features an incredible story. “The Fault in Our Stars” rose to critical acclaim upon publications because of its beautiful story. Many people loved the exciting twists and turns in Hazel’s tale of love, sacrifice, and pain.
Another fantastic aspect of the novel was its characters. People praised John Green for his characters’ realism as he showed how humans behave under immense pressure, love, and pain. John intricately portrayed the ups and downs of teenagers faced with the overwhelming future of losing their lives before they can start living.
“The Fault in Our Stars” also features incredible dialogue. Every conversation in the novel felt fresh and intentional. John also used conversations to propel the story; this made it even better.
As for its cons, “The Fault in Our Stars” featured a heart-wrenching story. It intentionally took readers on a euphoric ride before portraying Augustus’s painful death. For some people, this may be too much.
The novel is also inconclusive about Hazel. John Green intentionally omitted her death, though she had terminal cancer; this left somewhat of a hole as to what happened to her parents and friends like Isaac and Kaitlyn.
The story also featured solemn language of death and sex, which may be slightly unsuitable for younger readers.
Story’s Conclusion
“The Fault in Our Stars” had a great ending because it expressed the essence of tragedy and love. It ended with Hazel stating that Augustus was the choice she never regretted. Though this proved her love for him, it did not dilute the fact that she was dying; this made the ending realistic. Hazel always admired abrupt endings, and her story ended without warning.
Lasting Impact On Reader
Overall, “The Fault in Our Stars” is a beautiful novel that leaves a deep mark on its readers long after the finish. The lovely characters and ending make it one of the best young adult fiction books.
The Fault in Our Stars Review
Book Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Book Description: In 'The Fault in Our Stars' Hazel's life transforms through love and pain after meeting Augustus.
Book Author: John Green
Book Edition: First Edition
Book Format: Hardcover
Publisher - Organization: Dutton Juvenile
Date published: January 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-525-47700-1
Number Of Pages: 313
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Story
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Characters
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Dialogue
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Setting
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Writing Style
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Conclusion
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Lasting Effect on Reader
The Fault in Our Stars Review
‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is a novel that tells the story of a sixteen-year-old girl, Hazel, who meets Augustus Waters. Hazel begins a journey that leads her to meet her hero, fall in love, and experience intense pain.
Pros
- Incredible story
- The novel has great characters
- Dialogues are fluid
- The characters are relatable
Cons
- The ending was inconclusive about Hazel
