SPOIL ALERT !

First things first. Don’t expect to cry while reading this novel….Actually I didn’t even shed one single tear !

This is one of the few young adult books that I’ve read since I’ve learnt English..simply because I’m not interested in this sort of books. Anyway, I decided to read this novel after the big fuss about the film that is based on it. The novel is about a young teenage girl, Hazel, who has been diagnosed with lung cancer and attends a cancer support group wherein she mets a recovered patient from cancer, Augustus. Typically, they fall in love and go through the typical scenario of “I won’t fall in love with you to save you the misery after my death” bla bla. The novel then recounts their adventure when they travel together and the love they share. At the end of the novel, Augustus dies after the cancer strikes him again. And Hazel who is very sick survives. “The fault in our stars” is the ugly imitation of Nicholas Sparks’ “A walk to remember,” which is far better than this novel.

The novel is not romantic, though i’m sure the film will shot it as one of the greatest romantic films ! Honestly I felt bored while reading it, which I rarely feel while reading a novel ! The characters are flat. Even the main characters are not round and don’t develop throughout the novel! I found Hazel is rather stupid girl ! And her boyfriend is depicted as Aristotle…know everything..duh ! The dialogue is boring and contains exaggerated responses and actions. What I like most about the novel is the reference to many poets and poems.  What also makes the author brilliant is that he does  not define Hazel and Augustus as cancer patients, but instead as  two characters which only happen to be stroke by cancer. This is the message of the book which I found fascinating: Don’t allow your tragedy to define, or control your life. Or as the poet Maya Angelou best expressed it: “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them”

Bottom line is …I don’t recommend reading it. Expected plot, boring dialogue and flat characters. Read Dr. Seuss’s children book is much better 🙂