Publishing Date: January 10th, 2012
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 318 pgs
ISBN: 9780525478812
My Rating: 5 stars
Summary from Goodreads:
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.
Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.
Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.
My Review:
Wow! I think that is all that is really needed to describe this book. Before this year I had never read any John Green but I stumbled upon his YouTube channel Vlogbrothers, that he does with his brother Hank, and I knew from that moment that I would really enjoy his novels. This book has been described as a cancer book but I think that it brings so much more to the reader than just that. Yes, it makes you question your own mortality and it does have the sob factor but it also has so many quirks. I found myself giggling more than crying in this book and, to me, this means Green has done an amazing job of not just focusing on the sadness of death. He focuses most of his energy on the lives of his characters rather than their deaths. I loved all the references to books and the fact that most of the characters would be huge nerds in real life. I am a proud nerd/geek (whichever you prefer)and I love that the characters in this book would rather travel to meet an author for their "Make a Wish" wish rather than go to some overly hyped place like Disney. I don't want to give too much of this book away so I will end by saying that if you haven't read any John Green, you should pick up his work, including this book. Overall I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.
This was my first John Green book and it made me a fan. Mostly because I loved Augustus Waters - why can't I find a guy like that? I tried not to cry, but the ending did me in, anyway. So sad.
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