The Fault in Our Stars (John Green)

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Released: 2012

Rating: 4/6

Basic Plot: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.
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Humor in Dark Places
This book does deal with cancer so it's a dark and depressing subject. However, the narrator (aka Hazel Grace) does make jokes here and there. She is making the best of her situation and that's really what a person in such a bad situation can do. If you can't have a perfect life, joke about the bad parts of it. The dark humor was really great and it was one of the most enjoyable things in the book.

Pompous Augustus
I didn't really like this character for the most part. He just put on an act for a large portion of the book which was beyond annoying and then Hazel liked him partially because he was hot. The redeeming factors for the character were the fact that he truly loved Hazel and the moments where his act crumbled so you could see the real Augustus.

The Love Story
This book is a love story about two teenagers with cancer. So how does that part hold up? The cutest part of it is Hazel figuring out if she should let herself feel love for the boy. She knows that she will die so why burden someone else? Meanwhile Augustus knows he is in love with Hazel and doesn't seem to have that type of debate in his head. He might and we would never know as the novel is told from Hazel's point of view. But if he was debating it wasn't as big of a thing as Hazel's debate.

Final Thoughts
I was recommended this book by a few people and so I decided to check it out. If you like a combination of happy and sad this is a good pick. Augustus can be very grating, but Hazel does make up for him. Plus Augustus does have some very good moments. How sad is this book? It made me tear up a bunch but it didn't make me cry outright. Deaths that are hinted at tend not to make me as sad as deaths that surprise me.