“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” ― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
About The Author
John Micheal Green is an American author as well as you tuber. He has won Printz Prize for his novel Looking for Alaska in 2006. The Fault in Our Stars is his fourth novel. He is also awarded the title of 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time’s Magazine. This book The Fault in Our Stars is turned into a movie in 2014.
Summary
The story starts with a 16-year-old girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster suffering from thyroid cancer that spread into her lungs. She attended a cancer patient support group at her mother’s behest. There she met a 17-year-old boy named Augustus Waters who had osteosarcoma (a type of bone cancer) was there to accompany a friend named Issac, who was suffering from eye cancer.
After the meeting was over, they met outside and Augustus told her that she looks like Natalie Portman in Vendetta. There they felt a spark between them and Augustus invited her to his house.
In Augustus’s house, they watched a movie and hanged out. There she revealed that she had thyroid cancer that spread to her lungs and Augustus had osteosarcoma but he was cured after his leg was amputated. There they agreed on a deal that they would read each other’s favorite novel. Augustus gave her The Price of Dawn and Hazel gave An Imperial Affliction, written by Peter Van Houten. Peter lived in Amsterdam. The story tells about a girl named Anna who was diagnosed with cancer. Actually Hazel could relate her own life with Anna so much. The novel ended in a very inconclusive manner. Anna either died or became too sick to tell her story. This made Hazel very impatient. So, when she inquired about the author to the publishers, they said that they never heard from him since then. This made Hazel very upset.
About a week later, Augustus surprised Hazel by saying that he had tracked down the assistant of Peter Van Houten, Lidewij. Augustus already started to exchange email with Van Houten through Lidewij. When Augustus told Hazel about this, she made a list of question that she would ask Van Houten about the novel. Most of her questions were about Anna’s mother. She was concerned about her (Anna’s mother) because she was very curious about what happened to her when Anna died. She felt that if Anna’s mother survived that then maybe her mother (Hazel’s mother) would survive her death too. But when she mailed Van Houten these questions, he e-mailed that those questions need some answers that he could only do in person. So, he invited her to his house in Amsterdam if she ever is there, she could stop by.
A few days later Augustus invited Hazel to a picnic where he told her that there is a charitable foundation which grants wishes of those kids who are fighting with cancer. Luckily they granted Augustus’s wish. Then he surprised Hazel that the foundation agreed to send the two of them to a trip to Amsterdam. This news made Hazel happy and realized that she liked Augustus a lot but if she falls for him, it would hurt him more than the pain of death itself. She compared herself with a grenade.
In the meantime, Hazel had an episode where her lungs were filled with fluids and she had to go to ICU. When she came back to since she came to know that Augustus never left the hospital’s waiting room.When she was released Augustus gave him another letter from Van Houten and this one was more personal. This letter made Hazel more determined to go to Amsterdam. Actually Hazel was having some issues with her parents. Her parents were not allowing her to go to Amsterdam. But her doctor Dr.Maria, who was an oncologist, knew the pros and cons that a patient has to face at a moment like Hazel was facing. So, she convinced Hazel’s parents by telling her that Hazel had to live her life to the fullest. It doesn’t matter how much she has left what matters is she must live her life whatever the way she wants to.
So, the plans were ready to execute. Tickets were booked for Augustus, Hazel and Hazel’s mother. But when they arrived at Van Houten’s place in Amsterdam, they were extremely disappointed by the behavior of Van Houten. They found him to be a drunk and mean person. He even refused to answer the questions of Hazel. Then they left the house and went to Anne-Frank’s house. After that, they went to Augustus Hotel where they made love to each other and Augustus confessed his feelings for her. Next day, Augustus told Hazel that when she was in ICU he had a full body scan which revealed some disastrous things. The cancer had returned again to Augustus and this time it spread into his whole body. Their return to Indianapolis made Augustus’s condition worsened and he was admitted to ICU. This made Hazel realized that now Augustus had become the grenade. Cancer made Augustus lose his confidence and charm. He was just a scared little boy. But to Hazel, he was still a sweet boy who made her feel better every time she became upset and made her smile no matter what. Realizing that she stopped calling him”Augustus” instead she started calling him “Gus” as his parents did.
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Fearing death Augustus called Hazel and Issac for his pre-funeral where they gave him their tribute. A few days later he died leaving Hazel heartbroken. Hazel was surprised to see Van Houten in his funeral. Van Houten asked her to forgive him but she couldn’t. Later she came to know that Augustus was not writing a sequel to An Imperial Affliction. He was writing an obituary where he wrote that getting hurt in this world is inevitable, we do get to choose whom we allow to hurt us. He was happy with the choice that he made and hoped that she (Hazel) was happy too with her choice. The book ends with a happy smile on her face.
