Cassius:
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
This quote is from the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. John Green has contracted it to “The fault in our stars” his new Young Adult novel. It concerns a young woman names Hazel, whom we come to know as Hazel Grace. It just so happens Hazel has a problem with her lungs [attributed to a cancer, she is currently in remission from]. She goes to a cancer support group [which she hates, but goes to anyway, to please her Mother], where she meets Augustus. There is instant chemistry. I just love the way these people talk to each other. There is so much about this book that I loved. To me it seems that there are no cardboard characters. Even small characters have something to add. This book makes you care about the characters so much. It even makes you care about another novel that doesn’t even exist. This book An Imperial Affliction [known to our characters as AIA] actually becomes a character itself.
“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. And then there are books which you can’t tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal.”
That is how Hazel feels about AIA and if you have ever loved a book that much, you know exactly how she feels.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Augustus “You are so busy being you, that you have no idea how utterly unprecedented you are” said to Hazel Grace. This is a book to savor, and in the fashion of every good book…You never want it to end, but of course all good things must end. Look for it in the YA [Young Adult] section. [Of course after my sister brings it back, because I made her read it].
Posted by Estel.