Our Stars Is More Than A Love Story

The Fault in our stars, John Green, Fiction The novel the fault in our stars was written by author John Green and published in 2012. Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar inspired the title of the book. The story is narrated by Hazel Grace, a 16-year-old girl who is diagnosed with cancer. One-day Hazel is obligated by her parents to attend a support group where she can meet new friends who are going through the same situation she is going through. That is where Hazel meets and falls in love with 17-year-oldAugustus Waters. As they become the best of friends Hazel shares her favorite book “An Imperial Affliction” with August. The book ended mid- sentence which led August to find the author. The author invited Hazel to Amsterdam to discuss the ending of the book. This is when their venture begins to truly find the meaning in life.

The Fault in Our Stars is a novel written by John Green mainly about a relationship that develops between two teens known as Hazel and Augustus. The teens met at a support group for kids with cancer, in “the heart of jesus”. There are many side stories to go along with the main one; however, the book does have swearing and a semi-graphic scene (not much different from normal teenage life in a high school). I do not believe that this book should be banned because it is an accurate representation of what high school life in this situation. It also shouldn’t be banned because it is an entertaining book. When the book ends you will notice that it doesn’t end with “happily ever after” or a fairy tale ending, in fact it is realistic.

As life continuously throws obstacles and challenges in life, humans tend to get through it with family members. In fact, most human/ people rely on family members to help them get through obstacles. Sending love to a family member for a hard situation leads to less stress as studies show. Obstacles are a things that happen on a daily basis and love may be the only cure. “Elena” is portraying a huge obstacle taking place, but no help is seeked, Pat Mora knows that this a struggle for others that they face everyday. Challenges vary on size and can have a great or small impact on a person but at the end, the person can overcome the obstacle. In “Elena”, Mora demonstrates love will overcome every obstacle when family is present.

Skeptical about the hype around The Fault in Our Stars? Well I was too. Partially because these coming-of-age novels always manage to poke fun at my comparably uneventful and boy-less life. However this book spread like wildfire, engulfing victim after victim till even the cynical book readers I knew were infected. It imprisoned them, hands cuffed to this book till the turning of pages blurred before my eyes. Soon I became hostage by this book as well. To my surprise, John Green creates a cleverly crafted story that explores the life changing, funny, and tragic effects of being alive and in love.

No matter how old you are, you might know what It feels like to lose a loved one. Hazel Grace has never been anything but terminal, until she meets Augustus Waters, and that’s when her story is about to be completely rewritten. The novel is an emotional roller coaster dealing with first loves, terminal illnesses, secrets, passion and trust. In the novel, The Fault In Our Stars, Hazel Grace must go through what any person with a terminal disease must go through and beyond that: overcoming a terminal disease, love, and fear.

Hazel grace was remarkably negative during her cancer battle. A quote from the book is, on page 99, Hazel says “I’m like. Like. I’m like a grenade, Mom. I’m a grenade and at some point I’m going to blow up. I just want to stay away from people… because there’s nothing I can do about hurting you” She was saying that she is going to die and she wants to stay away from people so they don’t end up being hurt.

Taylor Has been through a lot her grandfather died and so did her uncle, he died at the age of 29. She never had the chance to say how much she loved them. She always thought “What if I had said something, anything, What if I had the chance to change his outcome but I didn’t, I did nothing I just let it happen.” Now she is afraid of losing her grandmother that would be the end of the 4th of July parties, the christmas get-togethers, the Easter parties, and swimming in her lake when it's burning hot in the summer. But what breaks her heart the most is that her father has cancer. Taylor’s father mean the world to her, He means everything.

Last but certainly not least the plot of the story! Hazel Lancaster is depressed but she doesn’t think she is. And she needs a little excitement in her life and she gets it and its name is “Augustus Waters.” He is literally the best thing that has happened to her. It’s kind of like when she went to the support group and sat in the “literal Heart of Jesus” he was answering her parent’s prayers. Because remember Hazel thinks she just fine. But we all know she isn’t. So it all worked out until something bad happened and then her whole life went downhill.

Augustus also says “that’s the thing about pain [...] it demands to be felt” (Green, 63). The author must be a sad person because I could emotionally feel how the characters were feeling, and it appears as if Green provides a lot of insight through Augustus’ perspective about pain and sadness. I was able to connect this story to a movie, My Sister’s Keeper. Hazel is like the character Anna in the movie because they were both affected directly by the illness that is cancer. In Anna’s case, her parents’ conceived her because her older sister had cancer and Anna was to donate her organs. Hazel on the other hand, is a recipient of cancer.

– The author tried to present two separate love stories of different generation, Ira and Ruth: Sophia and Luke. The story begins with Ira Levinson, a ninety-one years old person struggling for life, with the image of his dead wife Ruth in his mind, trying to survive from the deadly car accident. On the other hand, a young couple Sophia and Luke who had just started their married life as a happy couple just few months after they met. On their way back to home, they saw the car and Ira in injured state. They took him to the hospital where Sophia used to read the letters of his Ruth for Ira, as he was not able to read it. Luke was indulged in deadly games to pay the debts of his father. This met changed their life and soon their life changed.

In The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel’s mother pushes her to get out of her comfort zone and attend the support group. That decision later changed her life. The other two books had encouraging roles such as: America’s mother and Shane’s cousin. Some other similarities include the main characters being in the same generation and all having unexpected contingencies. Additionally, all the books included an aspect of falling in love. For example, America competed for Prince Maxon’s love and Shane found love with one of his fans, Anna. Contrastingly, throughout each book the moods and attitudes were vastly different. As showed in Laughing at My Nightmare, Shane often keeps a positive demeanor and a humorous perspective on life. Meanwhile, Hazel has satirical and cynical dispositions; and, America has a rebellious attitude. All the books, had several points that can be discussed in comparing and contrasting. The previously stated examples were quite intriguing compared to the other

Hazel and Augustus first lay eyes on each other at the support group for kids with cancer. Hazel Grace starts to develop strong feelings for Augustus early in the book, even though she tries to suppress these feelings. What starts out as a friendship slowly progresses and develops. Hazel is afraid to let herself fall in love with Augustus because, again, she doesn’t want to hurt anyone else. Augustus and Hazel begin as very close friends, Hazel then falls in love with Augustus she quotes, "I fell in love the way you fall asleep; slowly and then all at once” (pg, 125).

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green portrays a story full of importance and wisdom. Throughout the book, Green alludes to the idea that fatality and illness does not always transpire into a grim subject. Augustus Waters expresses the most important passage in the story when he writes to his and his girlfriend’s favorite author, Van Houten, saying, “[y]ou don’t get to chose if you get hurt in this world…but you do have some say in who hurts you” (Green 313). Waters’ words show that whom one hurts or gets hurt by becomes a determinable thing. The story in itself builds up to this idea and shows it as an incredible, life-changing concept. The Fault in Our Stars tells a love story of two teenagers, Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, that believe in the concept of predestined pain, but it also shows them fighting to love each other despite the realization that one of them will become hurt due to an inevitable thing, death. The idea that pain inescapable becomes somewhat unsettling, but Green puts comfort into the idea by showing its capability of alteration to the point of determining the culprit of the paint. Augustus’ words, “…you do have some say in who hurts you”

Hazel flawlessly describes her pain at multiple points in the book. One definition is, “Even then, it hurt. The pain was always there, pulling me inside of myself, demanding to be felt” (Green 142). Pain is an underlying condition that damages one from the inside out and hides itself until it’s expressed. Pain can represent itself physically, mentally, or psychologically. In this way, it destroys a person; it doesn’t matter how or where the pain started. All humans experience pain and suffering, creating the concept that pain is humanly impossible to avoid. At some point, people must overcome pain to survive which is what Hazel is trying to do with her cancer. Overcoming suffering is a difficult process, especially when it’s always there, however one must cope with pain to live.

The Fault in Our Stars depicts the intertwining lives of two teenagers who suffer from cancer, Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, or Gus. Love blossoms between the two teenagers and deepens as the story progresses, as seen through their touching relationship with each other.