The Fault in Our Stars Book Review

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I know the low rating is going to freak some people out but to each their own I guess.

Let's start by me mentioning that I didn't hate the book. Although I didn't love it either, I didn't really hate it so much as I'm glad it's over and I'll probably never read it again. I've watched the Vlog Brothers on Youtube and I generally considered John Green to be a fairly intelligent guy. I make this point because I think he delved too much into research for the book and forgot to give the characters believable and relatable personalities that we could love, grow to love, or care about enough to get emotional after their death. I wish I could say I'm just a cold hearted person but after all this time, I still cry when Sirius, Dumbledore, and Snape die. I just didn't feel that emotionally attached to any of the characters in this book. I think the most interesting person in the entire book is Peter Van Houten. His history could've been a standalone book and it might have been more interesting than this.

Now let's talk about the writing. This was the first book I've read of John Green's so I don't have anything to compare it to. Knowing that this book is meant for teenagers boggles my mind. Most of the dialogue between Augustus and the main character (that I've already forgotten her name) and almost everything coming out of Peter Van Houten is far beyond the comprehension and understanding of today's teenagers. Actually, now that I'm thinking of it, this might be the reason it is so popular with teenagers. It is possible that their love of the book comes from glossing over anything that they don't understand (or paragraphs where Van Houten is actually spewing some really good lines) and being apathetic about character development.

I think this book could've been a really good look into the life of a kid dying of cancer but instead had to focus on a love interest that popped up with a love at first sight cliché. It makes for an okay read if you don't care about investing in the characters. You might like the book while you read it but once it's finished, you will probably never think about it again.

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