Hazel Grace Lancaster is sixteen years old and slowly dying of thyroid cancer. Because of her circumstances and actions she has effectively isolated herself from her peers and spends a great deal of her time contemplating existence and its end. But then she meets with Augustus Waters who genuinely wants to be friends with her, and is extremely persistent. At first she is wary of investing herself in a relationship when she knows it will be short lived, but Augustus continues to tell her that he appreciates her for who she is and doesn't want to miss his chance to spend time with her.

I tend to find teenage romance novels thoroughly unconvincing. But The Fault In Our Stars didn't fall into any of the traps that the genre seems to be full of. Not only was there a plot, it was engaging and brilliantly resolved. The characters were endearing, and easy to relate to despite my having nearly nothing in common with them. Perhaps best of all, the book answered larger questions than just, "Will she go to prom with her crush?" and actually faced up to some painful ideas about life and how life is just slow death.

I recommend this to anyone who likes thinking and is able to take interesting perspectives and questions from the guise of a teenage romance novel without losing it. You really cannot judge this book by its cover. The Fault In Our Stars might make you cry, but it isn't a shameless tearjerker. It will, I guarantee you, make you think. Probably about death. But in a hopeful way.

Clara, 15

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