Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

This review contains (very minor) spoilers. John Green really, really doesn't want you to read spoilers. It's, of course, your choice whether or not to read on, but keep that in mind.

My initial goodreads review of The Fault in Our Stars was written almost immediately after I finished the book, before I'd cleaned up the pile of tissues and chocolate that surrounded me. That review read:

Halfway through this, I wasn't impressed, and wondered what I was missing that everyone else was getting. A few pages later, I was crying. Make of that what you will.

I review with my heart. The way a book makes me feel will always be more important to me than how well it is written. The Fault in Our Stars kept me on my couch for hours because I was so invested in Hazel's story that I had to know what happened next, I had to know what to feel next because there were too many emotions to make sense of on my own. Green did a great job of guiding his readers through those emotions.

However, that only happened once Gus and Hazel got to Amsterdam; that was the first moment that made me care about the characters.

Prior to Amsterdam (and after it as well, though to a lesser extent), my biggest problem with The Fault in Or Stars was Augustus, who was as manic-pixie-dream-boy as they come.

But, Hazel's aware of that. She knows that Augustus is putting on a show, that he doesn't always know what he's talking about despite his pretentiousness, and she says it's harder to fall for him when he's like that as opposed to when he's honest. That's realistic, and had Hazel followed through on that, this would review would be much less critical.

The problem is that Hazel's aware that Augustus is fake, and yet she falls in love with him anyway. It was frustrating to read--I really like Hazel and thought she deserved better, frankly--and it was impossible for me to believe in their relationship. Of course, Augustus does have one significant, honest, beautiful moment towards the end of the book, and it's one of my favourite scenes. However, it was too-little-too-late for me; Hazel was already in love with him at that point, and I wanted to see more honesty from Augustus.

My other issue with the first half of The Fault in Our Stars  was that it was simply too slow--at times, it felt like a chore to read on. The encounter with Peter Van Houten was the first moment I was interested in the plot, as well as the first time I became invested in the characters.

Of course, the book had other nice moments. Issac's great, and I almost wish the book had been written from his perspective like Green considered. The scenes with Hazel and her parents are wonderful. The plot-twist actually shocked me (though I appear to be alone on that), which is always nice. Green's prose is funny, poignant, and solid, as it always is.

The Fault in Our Stars is a frustrating read, but a good one. It made me laugh and cry, and at the end of the day, that's what I want from a book.