The Fault in Our Stars

First of all, I love John Green. His writing might be YA fiction that has no scholarly significance, but it has wit and heart. His characters stick with me forever. His book called Looking for Alaska was one of my favorite in high school. I remember reading it on a flight to Arizona and the flight was much too short. I continued to read all of his other works, but none of them spoke to me quite like that one, until now. I am reading The Fault in Our Stars now. It is about two teens with cancer who meet at support group. Cancer books and movies, from what I have experienced, are almost always melodramatic and weepy. But this book isn't. It is smart and sometimes funny.
I really connect to Hazel, because she is an avid reader. One very interesting topic that they talked about since it was a book about mortality was the idea of keeping people alive in books. I have heard from writers a lot that they are trying to capture someone in their writing. But people remember the authors, they don't remember the people they base their books on. In a letter from Hazel's favorite author, he says, "You do not immortalize the lost by writing about them. Language buries, but does not resurrect." It can help survivors cope, but you have to know the person to remember them. They live on in minds and hearts, not words.
The title of the book comes from Shakespeare from Julius Caesar, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/ But in ourselves." I haven't read that particular play, so I don't know what Shakespeare is talking about in this instance, but I think it speaks about fate vs. free will, a very controversial subject. I think these characters must face a fate that isn't fair at all, like life often is. The fault is in our stars. But these characters choose how they deal with their fate. Some times are hard, but most of the time, they choose happiness. They choose love. And that's powerful.
So that's what I have been thinking about this week. I haven't finished the book, because I've been busy, but I still recommend it already. Hopefully it doesn't end disastrously. I'll leave you with my favorite quote of the book so far. Have a great weekend!
 
"As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once."