Over the long weekend I read John Green's novel, The Fault In Our Stars. The book follows a sixteen year old cancer patient named Hazel Grace Lancaster as she finds love with August Waters, after meeting at a cancer support group.
I was stunned by the use of words and language throughout the book. Considering that both Hazel and Augustus are teenagers their views of the world, their understanding of it, and their use of language are mind blowing and way beyond their years. It led me to the understanding that this was done on purpose. These aren't the "traditional" children that we think of in certain books, like Twilight. Instead these kids have a different outlook on the world and its meaning, and the meaning of life and everyone's purpose here, because of their sickness. Sickness leads the mind to see things in a different way, not necessarily the true way things are, but a different way.
Hazel was okay with that fact that she was going to die. It isn't until she starts falling for Augustus (Gus) that she starts to think of herself as a grenade, something to come into people's lives and leaves nothing but destruction and pain in the wake of her death. Still Augustus pushes for her love and in the end the two have a beautiful love story.
I really enjoyed that it wasn't the "traditional" love story in a sense. It is filled with joy and with heartbreak, but that is what happens when reading a book dealing with real life situations. The author stayed true to the fact that the characters were sick teenagers and didn't have them do things that seemed too extreme or out of the ordinary. In the end I feel like it is a story that people can relate to. It is a love story that you can relate to and a story about family that you can relate to.
I can't wait to see what they do with the movie, out in theaters June 6.
I was stunned by the use of words and language throughout the book. Considering that both Hazel and Augustus are teenagers their views of the world, their understanding of it, and their use of language are mind blowing and way beyond their years. It led me to the understanding that this was done on purpose. These aren't the "traditional" children that we think of in certain books, like Twilight. Instead these kids have a different outlook on the world and its meaning, and the meaning of life and everyone's purpose here, because of their sickness. Sickness leads the mind to see things in a different way, not necessarily the true way things are, but a different way.
Hazel was okay with that fact that she was going to die. It isn't until she starts falling for Augustus (Gus) that she starts to think of herself as a grenade, something to come into people's lives and leaves nothing but destruction and pain in the wake of her death. Still Augustus pushes for her love and in the end the two have a beautiful love story.
I really enjoyed that it wasn't the "traditional" love story in a sense. It is filled with joy and with heartbreak, but that is what happens when reading a book dealing with real life situations. The author stayed true to the fact that the characters were sick teenagers and didn't have them do things that seemed too extreme or out of the ordinary. In the end I feel like it is a story that people can relate to. It is a love story that you can relate to and a story about family that you can relate to.
I can't wait to see what they do with the movie, out in theaters June 6.
