The Fault In Our Stars: By John Green

Hazel Grace is a teenage girl living with Cancer.  She wakes up every day knowing that she is slowly dying.  On a seemingly ordinary day, Hazel meets a boy names Augustus.  He makes her question the seeming monotony of her life and helps her see the beauty within herself.  Hazel is a true heroine with whom we learn to love ourselves a bit more.  She also shows how hard it is to love yourself.  But after learning to love yourself, she can truly learn what it means to love someone else. Her story is about learning to be loved, even though life sometimes can end with tragedy.

The Fault in Our Stars has an extensive array of literary references that range from Shakespeare and on-wards.  This novel can really bring home the issues of facing mortality, living with a chronic and catastrophic illness like Cancer, fate, life, and death.

Honestly, this is one of the best books I have read in a long time.  I would still not let my children (if I had any) read this book until they were MUCH older that 6th grade (maybe even older than middle school!) There is mature language and romantic scenes that are not appropriate for children.

Please don't get me wrong; John Green is amazingly talented writer. I would just be a little cautions if I were giving his novels to any student not yet in high school (or older, maybe college would be best!) 

Grade Level: 5.5