![]() Hazel reads and re-reads her favorite book, “An Imperial Affliction”, which abruptly ends when a character dies mid sentence. When Augustus realizes he is going to die without fulfilling his dreams of being someone extraordinary, it is Hazel who furiously argues that he should be satisfied with the life he has, a life with family who love him and with her.Ĥ) Hazel is obsessed with the fate of others after a death. Hazel, on the other hand, is satisfied with her intimate relationships and meaningful connections. Throughout the film Augustus is focused on having an extraordinary life, one that will be remembered. There is an underlying philosophical debate throughout the book/movie about life’s meaning. Augustus’s contrasting optimism and confidence at times seems over-the-top, but endearingly so.ģ) The teenage existential debate is refreshing. A good mocking of inspirational quotes, poking fun at the support group that is held “literally in the heart of Jesus”, Hazel is as perfectly jaded as you imagine cancer might make a teen. Who doesn’t love teenage flirting enmeshed with teenage sarcasm and cynicism? I, for one, love both. If this turns into a trend it will give me hope that the teens of today may someday be better equipped to talk about illness, death and grief.Ģ) The teenage cynicism is spot on. Real issues are addressed, real philosophic debates are considered, and there is no happy ending. After fretting for several years that YA fiction was soon all going to be found in the “teen vampire romance” section, a book and movie tackling two teens with cancer was a refreshing change. Boy eventually dies when his cancer comes back with a vengeance.ġ) TFIOS tackles real issues AND manages to be frighteningly popular. Charming former high school basketball star Augustus Waters is in remission from cancer that caused him to lose his leg. If you aren’t familiar with this John Green YA classic, here is the quick and dirty plot: Hazel Grace Lancaster has stage 4 cancer, relies on oxygen to breathe, but is in treatment with an experimental drug that is keeping the cancer in check. If you haven’t read the book/seen the movie and plan to, stop reading this post!! WARNING: from this point on spoilers abound. Not to mention the casting for Hazel was perfect – I can’t imagine anyone doing the character justice better than Shailene Woodley. Hazel Graze Lancaster is smart and witty and the heroine you want a 13 year old girl to love. August Waters is perfectly charming, perhaps to a fault. TFIOS is a quintessential teenage love story, chock full of flirting, banter, hormones, text messages and teenage angst. As waves of laughs, tears, and squeals rose from the teens around me throughout the movie I felt a little more tolerant, as I would far prefer they squeal about Hazel and Augustus than Edward and Jacob. ![]() That being said, The Fault In Our Stars did a pretty good job of capturing the spirit of the book, and renewing my faith that teens can, and do, love more than just trashy vampire novels. You can’t cram all the crucial details and nuances of 313 pages into a movie, even if it is a young adult book. While so-called “sick lit” has in recent years faced criticism for romanticizing terminal illness and death, The Fault in Our Stars is an undeniable juggernaut of YA literature, offering a heart-wrenching portrait of the intensity of young love.I should probably start by saying that I have a strong belief that movies never live up to books. The cultural fanfare surrounding Green’s electric story continued when a movie adaptation starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort hit theaters in 2014. 1 best seller, and the book went on to spend 78 consecutive weeks on the New York Times best-seller list and sell more than 23 million copies worldwide. The 2012 release of the highly anticipated teen drama, Green’s fifth, made it an instant No. His most-beloved book takes inspiration for its title from a famous line in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” The Fault in Our Stars charts the love story of Hazel Grace Lancaster, a 16-year-old with stage IV thyroid cancer, and Augustus Waters, a 17-year-old in remission from osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that caused him to lose a leg, after they meet in a cancer support group. As one of the most popular young-adult writers of the 21st century, internationally best-selling author John Green has become an entry point to the genre for many readers.
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