Bianca Harkless
Editor-In-Chief
If you are like me, you spent the last six years since 2014 nose deep in books and over your head in fandoms on Youtube or TV shows. One author who was big during this time, and remains popular to this day, was John Green. During that year he had a major book and movie hit. On June 6th of 2014, The Fault in Our Stars came out and 11 year old me and my 17 year old sister had read the book and were anxious to see the movie.
For those who are unaware, The Fault In Our Stars, TFIOS, follows Hazel Grace, a 16 year old girl with thyroid cancer which has made its way to her lungs, who is forced into going to a cancer support group where she meets 17 year old Agustas ‘Gus’ Waters. After the two trade their favorite books, Hazel gives Gus the fictional book The Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten. After making fun of Hazel’s Make-A-Wish, which she used to go to Disney World, Gus uses his wish to take Hazel to Amsterdam to meet her favorite author. Right before the trip is supposed to take place, Hazel’s lungs are filled with fluid and she is put into an intensive Care Unit. Gus sits in the waiting room because he is unable to go into the room and see her.
Once Hazel is out of the hospital, and has the okay to go, they head off to Amsterdam. While there, they visit a number of places like the Anne Frank Museum, a very fancy restaurant, named Orangjee, and finally the home of Peter Van Houten. While at his home, Peter Van Houten is a complete jerk, playing music over them, as well as talking and yelling at the duo while they were there. This does not hinder their trip though as the two spend the next day enjoying the beautiful center of the town, until Gus and Hazel find themselves sitting on a bench, and Gus tells Hazel that his cancer has returned. In the words of Gus, “ lit up like a Christmas tree”.
Once they return to America, they have a series of adventures which includes egging a girl’s car with a blind friend, countless picnics to a sculpture called ‘Funky Bones’ , and time spent together in Gus’ home due to him not being able to leave. There is also a horrifically sad chapter of the book where Agustaus calls Hazel from a gas station crying and Hazel recites the poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos to him while they wait for him to be loaded into an ambulance.. From there it all goes downhill, as Hazel and Gus spend his last few weeks together. During his last days, Hazel and Issac, the aforementioned blind friendr, go to the church where they all met in order to read Gus the eulogies they have written for him. When Gus inevitably dies, Hazel ends up at his funeral and so does Peter Van Houten. During the funeral, Hazel puts a pack of cigarettes on the coffin, due to him always having one in his mouth but never actually smoking it, and says “you can light these, I won’t mind.”
After the funeral takes place, Hazel finds out that Gus wrote her a eulogy and sent it to Peter in order for him to make it cohesive and organized. Hazel reads it and that is where the book ends, leaving the reader to question what actually happens to Hazel, her parents, Issac and Gus’ parents.
Although this does not fit my normal layout for Book Buzz I still wanted the chance to talk about one of my favorite books. I have read this book at least once a year for the past 6 and have watched the movie more times than I can count, yet I still cry whenever I read it. I would highly recommend reading The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. The characters are great and you grow deeply attached in the 313 pages that you read about them. From the side character who you love or hate, to Hazel and Gus’ caring parents, to the amazingly tragic plot, there is something for everyone in the book.
Image Credit: Glen Noble on Unsplash
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