‘The Fault in Our Stars’ by John Green tells the story of Hazel, a young sixteen-year-old girl who struggles with thyroid cancer. She meets Augustus and falls for him. However, her life changes when she meets the writer she has always cherished and discovers he is far from the person she imagined.
‘Spoiler-Free’ Summary of The Fault in Our Stars
‘The Fault in Our Stars’ starts with Hazel, a sixteen-year-old with thyroid cancer. With advice from her mother and doctor, she goes to a cancer support group. While in the support group, she meets a seventeen-year-old boy called Augustus. Soon, Hazel and Augustus become friends, and she introduces him to her favorite book. As time passes, Hazel finds herself falling for Augustus as they become close. Augustus decides to help Hazel with her biggest dream and uses his cancer wish. He arranges a journey that would take them to meet Hazel’s idol.
However, on meeting her idol, she gets faced with reality, and she discovers that he is not the person she imagines him to be. Hazel leaves with Augustus and her idol’s assistant to go on a tour. She finally admits her feelings for Augustus, and they become lovers.
On returning home, Augustus tells Hazel about the development discovered concerning his condition, forcing her to admit that she will lose the love of her life. Augustus drifts farther and farther away from her until he fades away. Later, Hazel discovers a letter from Augustus that contains her future obituary.
The Fault in Our Stars Plot Summary
Spoiler alert: important details of the novel are revealed below.
‘The Fault in Our Stars’ tells the story of the main character Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sixteen-year-old with thyroid cancer. With cancer spreading to her lungs, Hazel gets hooked to a machine that enables her to breathe. After visiting her doctor, Maria, she is given a flyer to attend a support group. Initially reluctant to go, she joins the support group. She meets Patrick, a middle-aged man who is the group’s leader. While in the support group, Hazel meets Isaac, a boy who was partially blind from eye cancer.
After attending the support group for a few weeks, Hazel meets Augustus Waters, a seventeen-year-old boy who had his right leg removed because of Osteosarcoma. With Augustus being Isaac’s friend, he and Hazel become close. With them being friends, Hazel introduces Augustus to her favorite novel ‘An Imperial Affliction’ by Peter Van Houten. Augustus receives Hazel’s novel, and in exchange, he gives her his favorite, ‘The Prince of Dawn.’ After reading ‘An Imperial Affliction,’ he calls Hazel and expresses his displeasure with the novel’s ending. Hazels tell him of her plans to try and reach out to Van Houten in search of an answer to his book’s ending. However, she explains to Augustus that Van Houten relocated to Amsterdam.
A week later, Augustus reveals to Hazel that he had managed to contact Van Houten’s assistant, Lidewiji Vliegenthart, and sent a message to Van Houten. He tells her that he received a response from Van Houten and had begun to exchange emails with him. Excited, Hazel asks if Van Houten wants to answer her question. However, he tells her that she should come to Amsterdam. Although she gets excited, Hazel realizes that she can not travel to Amsterdam due to a lack of money and her medical condition.
Augustus surprises Hazel with two tickets to Amsterdam, and they travel to meet Van Houten. On reaching Van Houten’s house, Hazel and Augustus get shocked to meet a drunk hostile Van Houten. Though asking him for an answer to the ending of his novel, Van Houten violently reacts and tells Hazel she was nothing but a flaw in nature. Realizing she would never get an answer from her once favorite writer, Hazel leaves Van Houten’s residence. However, she and Augustus get treated to a tour of Amsterdam by Lidewiji, Van Houten’s assistant.
On visiting Anne Frank’s house, they kiss for the first time. Later that night, they lose their virginity to each other. Augustus reveals to Hazel that his cancer has returned and spread throughout his body.
After returning home, Isaac tells Hazel and Augustus that his surgery was successful, but he lost his eye. Augustus’s health deteriorates as he becomes weaker and weaker. He requests that Hazel write his obituary and read it out to him. Eight days after reading his obituary to him, Augustus dies.
Van Houten tries to apologize to Hazel, but she rejects his apology. She gets contacted by Lidewiji, who tells her about some letters that Augustus sent to Van Houten. She realizes that Augustus had written an obituary for her. Hazel reads the letter from him, and in it, he tells her that getting hurt is a constant, but one can choose who hurts them. He tells her he is glad that she was his choice. The novel ends with Hazel stating that she is happy Augustus is her choice.
FAQs
What happened at the end of The Fault in Our Stars?
In the ending of ‘The Fault in Our Stars,’ Lidewiji sends Hazel a letter Augustus sent to Van Houten. On receiving the letter, she discovers that Augustus had written an obituary for her. His letter states that though one could not prevent getting hurt, one could choose who hurt them. He tells Hazel that he likes that she is his choice.
What is the best age to read The Fault in Our Stars?
Though ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is a young adult novel, it is not suitable for children under 14. The story may be too mature for younger audiences. Hence, the best age to read would be 14 above.
Who is Kaitlyn in The Fault in Our Stars?
Kaitlyn is Hazel’s only friend from life before cancer. After she got diagnosed, Hazel had to stop attending school physically, and it caused her to lose contact with most of her classmates. However, Kaitlyn still remained in touch with her.
Is The Fault in Our Stars sad?
‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is a sad novel that tells the story of Hazel and how she met Augustus, a boy that changed her perception of life and love, which also is one of the main themes in ‘The Fault in Our Stars’. The story took a happy tone when Hazel and Augustus became friends.
