If you haven't heard about it or seen the movie trailer, The Fault in Our Stars is the story of Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters. They meet at a cancer support group. They fall in love. They experience life together. Maybe you can guess how it ends.
There's no "best thing" about this novel, but one of the great things was how fantastic the characters are. They're the kind of characters you wish desperately were real because they're so much more interesting to talk to than most of the people you actually go to school with. And they're more than their cancer; they don't let their sickness define them and they don't just go around feeling sorry for themselves. I was worried when I started to read this book that the whole thing was just going to be a cancer sob story, but the characters made it far less about the disease than it was about the human experience, which I appreciated.
Another thing I thought really added to the book was the great dialogue. It's very realistic; Green's word choice makes it sound like stuff real people would actually say, which can be difficult to find in a book. It also has a tendency to be quite profound, especially coming from Augustus. Since you can't see the characters' eyes, their dialogue provides a little window into their souls.
Please don't write this book off just because you hate crying; I was actually too sad to cry for most of the book. However, if you hate being sad, are offended by occasional foul language and semi-sacreligious remarks or are intimidated by brilliant and charismatic boys, this book is probably not for you. Also, full disclosure, there's a mild sex scene.
Despite it's few flaws, I loved The Fault in Our Stars and frankly think everyone should make time for the experience of getting to know Hazel Grace and her marvelous cast of supporting characters. A+.
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