The Fault In Our Stars By John Green

Series: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction 
Release Date: January 10th 2012
Source: Bought
Overall Rating: 5/5 Stars
Cover Rating: 3/5 Stars
Synopsis: Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumors 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 tumors 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.

First Line: “Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent quite a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death.”

I've put off reviewing this book for a long time because I don't know how to do it justice without sounding like an obsessed fan girl. This book is surrounded by a huge hype which at first I found slightly threatening. You know how it is, every time a book is so highly acclaimed you can't go into it without huge expectations. I was almost positive that my expectations were much to high for me to properly enjoy this book but you know what? I was wrong. I absolutely loved it! The book has a very different tone to any illness books I've ever read, instead of focusing on death as many do it focused more on life and relationships. The illness was always there but the characters were so expertly that you forgot at times.

I always love John Green's characters but these ones beat nearly every character I've read about. Hazel was a very real character to read about; everything about her was relate able and she wasn't one of those whiny female characters that YA lit is so fond of. I may have even forgiven her if she was whiny given her circumstances but she reflected what so many of us want to be; brave even when facing almost certain death. I don't know where to begin with Augustus... He was so charming and charismatic but at the same time he had a real depth to him that you don't often see in bookish pretty boys. I also admired his bravery as I did Hazel's but his seemed different in a way, he wasn't brave for himself but for other people. I also enjoyed the lesser characters such as Isaac, one of the things I love about John Green is even the smallest character has lots of depth.

This book is a raw and accurate portrayal of how cancer can affect not only the sufferers but the people around them. This book made me laugh almost as much as it made me cry and I don't believe I will ever read another one like it. The writing was flawless and filled to the seams with emotion. The Fault in our Stars is a contemporary masterpiece that I would recommend to absolutely everyone! If I could, I would have given it more than 5 stars as it by far superior to many of the books I have given that rating.

My Favorite Quotes:

“That's the thing about pain," Augustus said, and then glanced back at me. "It demands to be felt” 

“The marks humans leave are too often scars.” 

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” 

Email me at: confessionsofabookaholic@LIVE.CO.UK

Looking For Alaska By John Green

Series: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
Release Date: January 1st 2005
Source: Bought
Overall Rating: 5/5 Stars
Cover Rating: 2/5 Stars
Synopsis: Miles has a quirky interest in famous people's last words, especially François Rabelais's final statement, "I go to seek a Great Perhaps." Determined not to wait for death to begin a similar quest, Miles convinces his parents to let him leave home. Once settled at Culver Creek Preparatory School, he befriends a couple of equally gifted outcasts: his roommate Chip―commonly known as the Colonel—who has a predilection for memorizing long, alphabetical lists for fun; and the beautiful and unpredictable Alaska, whom Miles comes to adore. The kids grow closer as they make their way through a school year filled with contraband, tests, pranks, breakups, and revelations about family and life. 

First Line: The week before I left my family and Florida and the rest of my minor life to go to boarding school in Alabama, my mother insisted on throwing me a going- away party.

This was the first John Green book I ever read and it will not be the last. I have heard great things about the legendary John Green so I went into this book with the highest expectations. Exceptionally, this book exceeded them. Looking for Alaska was completely different than what I thought it was going to be like,. Actually, I didn't have much clue what it was about, only that it was amazing and that it was. Looking for Alaska follows Miles who convinces his parents to let him attend his Dad's old boarding school in search of 'a Great Perhaps'. Once there he finds himself with an unlikely group of friends including the self destructive, bold and beautiful Alaska. But as time progresses Miles is led to new conclusions about the value of his beloved 'Great Perhaps'.

I heard from someone that the point of John Green's characters were not necessarily to be liked but to be truthful and I think that is an amazing approach to character building because to like a character you have to be able to relate to them. I both loved and hated all of the characters in Looking For Alaska. I loved them because they were so real and I think I hated them for the same reason. It's not often you come across characters that you can relate to so completely and when you do the effect they have on you is momentousness. Miles is just like any teenage boy you'd meet. He's awkward, kind and smart and although I don't hate characters who are described as witty, chiseled by angels and romantic (at all) this was a refreshing change. I also loved Alaska, she has such a convincing personality that it isn't difficult to think of at least one person you know like her. The Colonel was also a great secondary character in the book, he was totally loyal and surprisingly smart which made me like him even more.

One thing that's individual about John Green's books is that the characters always have something about them that separates them from the crowd. In Mile's case it was last words, one of the best parts of the book was reading all of the last words he's collected, I loved the idea. Looking For Alaska is about as realistic as books come and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone. This book put me through so many different emotions, I went from laughing one second to nearly crying in the next. It has very mature themes for a YA book which has caused much controversy so when I say anyone I mean older young adults. John Green is a genius and I will be reading every one of his books, he has officially been put on my automatic buy list.

My Favorite Quotes:

“When adults say, "Teenagers think they are invincible" with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don't know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail.”

“Sometimes I don't get you,' I said. 
She didn't even glance at me. She just smiled toward the television and said, 'You never get me. That's the whole point.”

Email me at: confessionsofabookaholic@LIVE.CO.UK