Kavinethere Sureshvasan

This book came out in 2012 and I'm so glad that I read it before I saw the movie. I remember that I didn't read this book in my own accord. It was a friend who made me read it, she told me it was a romance and being a teen at that time I was totally on board. One look at the cover and I was definitely sure I wasn't going to get a happy ending. So the story is about a 16 year old girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster who has thyroid cancer and it had spread to her lungs. She was home schooled because of her condition she reluctantly joins a support group and meets Augustus there.   A young strapping man with a cheerful personality and wits. He has a rare form of bone cancer (osteosarcoma). But now he's cancer free. Together they embark on a rollercoaster of emotions. Both of them are on a mission to find their favorite author and demand a proper ending for his book. As they meet him they are met with disappointment , that he was just an alcoholic who didn't put much thought to it. Later Augustus finds out that his cancer has spread throughout his body. Slowly his personality begins to dim and he becomes a shell of a person he used to be. This made Hazel realize that she loves him more than she ever did. This book also shows how the world treats cancer patients. And how those who suffer from it perceive the world. The crushing depression, anxiety and suffering that they go through ultimately just amounts to the luck you're born with. And to the people around them they're a "ticking time bomb". The author John Green portrays their life in a complex yet subtle way. His points are strong enough to make an impact. My take on this is that if we were to face the hardships, heartbreak and challenges that these characters went through, I'm pretty sure we would not have enough strength to get through it. And Hazel makes a random comment (in the book) "cancer patients measure their life in days and hours rather than years". This made me think a lot. Since we think our time is infinite we never question the way our life moves. Most of us really don't care what we do with our lives, and waste away. And others just year for a chance to live normally. Green's writing is very realistic, and that's the only thing I hated about the book. I really wish they would have gotten their happily ever after. Sometimes, I wish I could forget what happened in the book so I can read it again. Warning: This book will make you cry, laugh (enough to get stares from random ppl), curse and also blame the fault in our stars.