The Fault in Our Stars - Book and Audiobook Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Green, John. 2012. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. New York, NY: Dutton Books, a Member of Penguin Group, Inc. ISBN 9780525478812.

AND

The unabridged Audiobook, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, by John Green, CD (7 discs, 2013), read by Kate Rudd, ISBN 9781455869916.

2. PLOT SUMMARY

According to Hazel Grace Lancaster, "depression is a side effect of dying." As a 16 year old terminal cancer patient, suffering from thyroid and lung cancer, she would know. Though she does not live a normal teenage life, Hazel experiences normal teenage moments, and even craves the ability to "slam the door" on her parents once in a while. Constantly tethering to one of her oxygen tanks, attending support group meetings, and waking up in the hospital; all are ordinary experiences for Hazel. One day, Augustus Waters strolls into support group, expressing an intense and obvious interest in Hazel, and so begins the true, aching, tragic reality of teenage love in a fleeting lifetime.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Audio book:

For the first half of this book, I listened to the audiobook. The listening experience was engaging at first, and mostly absorbing. As I continued, however, I found that the different voices used to highlight each character seemed a bit strange, a little forced, and almost hokey, a trait that removed me from the excitement of the book and was distracting to the story. The "men" in the book received a husky, not-quite-believable voice treatment, while Hazel's and her mother's voices were normal and more believable. 

The character of Hazel also seemed to take on a condescending, snarky, and ironic tone, which did not feel quite right either (even though she is a girl suffering from immense challenges at a young age), so I chose to change to the print book, where I could form the mental picture of all of the characters on my own. The emotional element of the text was also being influenced by the audiobook narrator, and I did not experience the equivalent of what I should be feeling by listening to someone else's interpretation of the action. I could allow myself to move at a faster, more natural pace through the print book. For this book, I preferred the book to the audiobook.

Print Book:

Once we meet most of the characters in this book, they have already weathered some extreme circumstances in their short lifetimes, either being children with cancer, or the parents of those children. The dialogue style is mostly fresh and authentic, with the exception of several cases of the author choosing to use "these" and "this," instead of "a" or "some" or "the," as in "these kids" instead of "some kids" or "this tunnel" instead of "a tunnel." While some teenagers probably speak this way, and it seems that this inclusion in the speech pattern was supposed to feel authentic from the mouth of a sixteen-year-old girl, it seems, at times, to be trying too hard. The story would not be lacking with a few less of "these."

The plot in THE FAULT IN OUR STARS is fabulous, taking the reader through the day-to-day experience of a teenager living in Indiana with terminal cancer. There are references to art and books, one book in particular that Hazel is obsessed with, a fictional book called AN IMPERIAL AFFLICTION, by Peter Van Houten, which is also a book about a girl with terminal cancer. With unexpected turns and surprises, the reader soars along with Hazel on her journey to experience a semi-normal teen life, including watching reruns of America's Next Top Model, comforting a friend going through a break-up, and going to the mall.

The ever-present theme of mortality/death is a constant, but as necessity compels, Augustus shows Hazel how to laugh in the face of imminent death; he carries an unlit cigarette in his mouth, explaining: "it's a metaphor... you put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing" (since he never lights it). Hazel also battles with the choice of whether or not to become romantically involved, since she characterizes herself as a "grenade," a death bomb ready to go off and leave the other party hanging at any moment. Most people crave a loving relationship, especially teenagers experiencing it for the first time, but Hazel's medical hangups give her pause to consider the consequences of becoming involved.

Green's choice of language and use of descriptive language is excellent, especially such phrases as: Hazel's dad's "hiccuping cry," "a clunky gray Fiat with an engine that sounded like an excited four-year-old girl," and "It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you." There is great depth of thought throughout the dialogue, internal to Hazel, and external, from the other characters. One such recurring theme originated from Hazel's father: "Sometimes it seems the universe wants to be noticed."

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

*Starred review from BOOKLIST: "Writing about kids with cancer is an invitation to sentimentality and pathos- or worse, in unskilled hands, bathos. Happily, Green is able to transcend such pitfalls in his best and most ambitious novel to date. Beautifully conceived and executed, this story artfully examines the largest possible considerations- life, love, and death- with sensitivity, intelligence, honesty, and integrity."

5. CONNECTIONS

*Readers may also enjoy other angst-ridden books about teenagers who must weigh the consequences of romantic relationships, such as THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, by Stephen Chbosky, ISBN 9781451696196.