John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars is an extraordinary piece of literature. The book is centered on Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old cancer patient who is terminal. While attending a support group, Hazel meets the love of her life, Augustus Waters.
The mere complexity and plot is that to rival Shakespeare’s. The book is written in a way that teenagers can understand it but not feel as if it condescending. This book, like many others by John Green, allows for young adult fiction to move away from kinky vampires to serious topics and earn the genre more respect.
The characters in the book are very complex, there are no Mary Sues. Almost every character has at least one emotional breakdown. Hazel and Augustus are particularly unique characters. Hazel is very much pretentious, but not in a way that makes you hate her. She is pretentious in a way that just about every teenager is. Augustus is a break in the sarcastic, egotistical, and damn-he-freaking-sexy stereotype set to men in YA fiction. Augustus enjoys metaphors and pondering the philosophical meaning behind everything. Plus he has only one leg.
Green has a wonderful use of symbols in The Fault in Our Stars. The first date between Hazel and Augustus ends with the two exchanging books. While the characters make snide remarks about the books, the meaning behind them is much deeper. The entire character of Peter Van Houten is a symbol. This book is a very deep read, but extremely entertaining.
In conclusion, The Fault in Our Stars is a classic-bound book. The sheer complexity and development of each individual character is unprecedented. The book is gripping and entertaining; once you start there is no going back. The Fault in Our Stars will leave your soul in a different shape than it was before. 5/5 stars.