The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
1. Bibliography
Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars. Grand Haven, MI: Brilliance Audio, 2012. ASIN
B00OHX3KT4.
2. Plot Summary
Hazel
has been struggling as a cancer survivor much of her life. Medical science has found a drug to keep her
cancer at bay but it has still only bought her time not eradicated the
disease. At the insistence of her
mother, Hazel attends a support group where she meets the love of her life,
Gus. Gus makes her feel more alive than
she has ever felt but he is also a cancer survivor. Hazel turns Gus onto her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, and they use his
“Cancer Kid” wish to go to Amsterdam to meet the author. The story tackles the
heavy questions, ‘Does my life and will my death have meaning?”
3. Critical Analysis
The
character of Hazel feels real because she has the same emotions as any teenager
we ever met. She has depression over her
situation in life, elation over her new love, and angst about what others think
about her. The story is about Hazel’s
emotional journey and how other people impact your views about life. Hazel’s
world is small, since she takes classes online, she really only ever sees her
parents and her support group. So, when
she goes to Amsterdam, her world opens up and seems even bigger to her then it
would to a more traveled individual.
The Fault in our Stars explores Life and
Death. The story also explores Family,
Isolation, Love, Religion, Courage, Identity, Consciousness, Existence,
Morality and Coming of Age. Sometimes in life, you may not always get what you
want and what you wish for, so you have to be thankful for what you have while
you have it. John Green says in the Questions and Answers after the audiobook,
that he chose a female lead to show that women can be strong in the face of
adversity. And since the story is told
through Hazel, the reader can feel Hazel’s emotion as she goes from despondent
to hopeful.
I
listened to the unabridged version of the book on CD. The reader of the story was actress and voice
talent Kate Rudd whose narration of a teenage girl is excellent. She is also believable in her narration of
the other myriad of characters. This version of the audiobook also includes a
question and answer session with the author.
4. Review Excerpts
#1 New
York Times Bestseller
TIME Magazine’s #1 Fiction Book
of 2012
From Booklist: Starred review. “Beautifully
conceived and executed, this story artfully examines the largest possible
considerations—life, love, and death—with sensitivity, intelligence, honesty,
and integrity. In its every aspect, The Fault in Our Stars is a triumph.”
From Horn Book Starred review. “Hazel, the most multi-dimensional yet of John Green
Girls, may not be able to change the course of her stars, but she navigates
their heartbreaking directives with humor, honesty, and — while she would
probably deny it — grace.”
From Kirkus
Reviews: Starred
review. “A smartly crafted intellectual explosion of a romance.”
From Publisher’s Weekly:
Starred review. “So
maybe there's not a new formula at work so much as a gender swap. But this
iteration is smart, witty, profoundly sad, and full of questions worth asking,
even those like "Why me?" that have no answer.”
From School Library
Journal: Starred
review. “An achingly beautiful story.”
5. Connections
Gather and use with other John Green
books such as:
Looking for Alaska. ISBN 0142402516Paper Towns. ISBN 014241493X
Gather and use with other #1 Best
Seller in Teen & Young Adult such as:
Forman,
Gayle. If I Stay. ISBN 014241543XYoon, Nicola. Everything, Everything. ISBN 0553496670
Gather and use with other teen books
that explore death and dying such as:
Ness,
Patrick. A Monster Calls. ISBN
0763655597Hesse, Monica. Girl in the Blue Coat. ISBN 0316260630
Niven, Jennifer. All the Bright Places. ISBN 0385755910
Explore the connections between the
story and Romeo and Juliet.
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