The Fault in Our Stars

Bibliography

Green, J. (2014). The fault in our stars. Penguin Books.

Plot Summary

The Fault in Our Stars follows Hazel Grace, a teenage girl diagnosed with Thyroid cancer. Hazel makes an instant connection when she meets Augustus at a cancer support group. We follow Hazel and Gus as they use his Wish to take her to Amsterdam in search of her favorite author. We eventually learn that Gus has been hiding something from Hazel. While she was determined not to fall in love, she soon learns that loving someone is worth it, even if it doesn’t end the way we hope.

Critical Analysis

Green’s Fault in Our Stars introduces themes such as, love, grief, loss, and pain to today’s society. The main characters are accurate depictions of today’s young people. Hazel has a strong personality that is present throughout the book. We follow their story through Hazel’s perspective. Throughout the book, we find recurring metaphors. Water is symbolic of death and the stars are symbolic of hope. Green’s writing allows readers to feel or imagine what it is like to have cancer. We are able to empathize with the main characters through Green’s words.

Review Excerpts

From Booklist online:

“Beautifully conceived and executed, this story artfully examines the largest possible considerations—life, love, and death—with sensitivity, intelligence, honesty, and integrity. In the process, Green shows his readers what it is like to live with cancer, sometimes no more than a breath or a heartbeat away from death. But it is life that Green spiritedly celebrates here, even while acknowledging its pain. In its every aspect, this novel is a triumph.” -Michael Cart

From Kirkus Reviews:

“Green seamlessly bridges the gap between the present and the existential, and readers will need more than one box of tissues to make it through Hazel and Gus’ poignant journey.”

Awards and Honors

TIME Magazine’s #1 Fiction Book of 2012

#1 New York Times bestseller

#1 Wall Street Journal bestseller

#1 Indie bestseller

#1 USA Today Bestseller

#1 International Bestseller

Connections

Educators can use this book as a way for students to make connections between the main characters and themselves. Students can also make connections with the experiences that the main characters are facing.