The Fault In Our Stars

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."

I woke up on January 10 feeling normal - much calmer than the night previous when I had a minor breakdown after calculating how much it would cost to get me to LeakyCon this year, and said number being far too large for me to obtain. Then I checked Twitter. And I realized with more excitement than I can quite convey here that January 10 was TFIOS Day. The more I read tweets from Nerdfighteria exploding with excitement, the more excited I got. I checked my Amazon order, and realizing that it wouldn't be shipped unti January 19, cancelled the order and decided to go get my copy at my local Chapters. After class, of course.

Which mean that I had to sit through class, nearly bouncing with excitement, until I could go get my beautiful green j-scribbled copy of The Fault in Our Stars. I started reading it that night, and devoured it. I took it to school and read it during my free time. I stayed up until 1:30 last night finishing the book.

I loved the book right from the start. It has John's typical flair to it - fun writing, quirky characters - so I just ate it up. I loved Hazel and how she looked at the world. I loved Augustus Water's constant metaphors. I loved their interactions. I even grew to love Isaac and Lidewij. I cursed at Van Houten (right in the middle of the Arts Centre hallway, mind you). I fell in love with Hazel and Gus' Amsterdam. But nothing affected me more than the ending. I have never weeped more openly, or felt more pain, from a book. Not even Harry Potter. I was just sad during Harry Potter. In The Fault in Our Stars, I felt Hazel's distraught. I put myself in her position. I can honestly say I have never identified that closely with a character, or felt what they were feeling that strongly. During the last 100 pages or so, I texted my boyfriend "I love you" repeatedly because I just couldn't stand what was happening. It was both amazing and horrifying, and kudos to John Green for being able to put that emotion into Hazel and her story.

Even with the distraught, I would read The Fault in Our Stars again in a heartbeat. John's writing has a way of capturing me that no one else's does, he pulls me right in, and I can't wait to reread The Fault in Our Stars (after I finish some other books in my ever-growing pile of "to read" books).