The Fault In Our Stars- Review

The book The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green is about a girl named Hazel who has lung cancer. Throughout the first few chapters, you get to know Hazel as a sarcastic girl with a dark sense of humor and a lot of time to think. She seems very tough at a first look, but as the plot of The Fault in Our Stars progresses, we see a tender more thoughtful side of her that is very compassionate and philosophical. I think that this side of Hazel cares more about her friends and family than she first lets on, and seems to be very concerned about how their story will continue once hers ends.

At a glance, Hazel seems to be very unconcerned about the subject of dying. She makes jokes about the topic throughout the book and seems to not care, but deep down, I think she really does care. Maybe not so much about herself, but more about the friends and family around her. Hazel’s softheartedness shows when she becomes very concerned about her favorite book called An Imperial Affliction (also known as AIA). Hazel obsesses over what happens to the main character’s (Anna) family after the book abruptly ends on a cliffhanger. She goes as far as the Netherlands to find the ending to the book, only to find that the author is a low-life drunk who didn’t bother to finish the plot. Upon hearing this news, Hazel is frenetic. She is insistent on getting the ending and she shouts, uses explicates, even slaps the author, but is not told what becomes of the family in her favorite book. I think Hazel was so passionate about the book because she so desperately wanted to find a happy ending for her own friends and family. While reading the book, Hazel felt a very deep connection with Anna, and possibly thought that if she could find out what happened to Anna’s family, then she would discover the fate of her own.

As well, Hazel admits to being worried about her loved ones on page 99 when she says “I’m a grenade and at some point I’m going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties.” Hazel rationalizes not making friends by saying that when she dies she will blow up and leave shrapnel in everybody who cares about her. She has a hard shell, but is very compassionate about the people she loves under that resilient exterior. Hazel really is worried about what her death will do to her friends, and wants to hideaway so she doesn’t hurt anybody. I find this to be a funny way of showing that you care about those close to you, but it is a way nonetheless and more importantly, it’s Hazel’s way.

In the last chapters of the book Hazel cracks and expresses her worry over her mother. On page296 Hazel says “I’m dying, mom. I am going to die and leave you here alone and you won’t have a me to hover around and you won’t be a mother anymore.” Hazel says that when she’s gone she wants them to have a life and not to worry so much over her. This is why she felt like she was a grenade, and why she was so determined to find out what happened to Anna’s family. All along she really just wanted to know that her family would be ok without her. To some extent, they will be. Hazel’s mom and dad will keep on living their lives and working their jobs, but their life will not be the same ever again and that’s natural after people who mean the world to you leave forever.

Towards the end of the book, Hazel’s mom tells her about her own plans to become a type of therapist who meets with groups of cancer patients and leads conversations about their conditions, worries, wins and losses. This knowledge makes Hazel contented, and she seems to be glad that her mom will be helping out other people like her. I felt that throughout the book Hazel showed great consideration towards her family and friends and although she worried about hurting them, she found that they would probably end up alright, and although they would miss her, that might not be such a bad thing.