Rachael Syme's The Fault in Our Stars

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Recommended: Discuss the aspects of literature as a mirror of human life

The Fault in Our Stars, a book about a little girl with cancer? No, it is a story of love, courage, family, coming of age, consciousness, existence, and mortality; it tells the story of two star-crossed teens and their adventure though their fleeting life. It is the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster. Hazel is not your average sixteen year old girl. For starters, she was diagnosed with stage 4 thyroid cancer when she was only thirteen. She says her “lungs weren’t very good at being lungs.” Hazel’s mother forces Hazel to participate in a support group for teenagers with cancer because she believes Hazel is beginning to show signs of depression. There she meets Augustus Waters. He catches her eye -well- they catch one another's eyes. After a few days of constant texting and late night phone calls, Hazel and Augustus (Gus) become flirtatious friends. They talk to each other every day about everything. Augustus and Hazel's good friend Isaac is losing his eye (the only one he has left) so that he can be cancer-free. In the process though, he also loses his girlfriend Monica, who can't "deal" with having a blind boyfriend. Hazel and Augustus are constantly spending time with Isaac. The time they spent brought Hazel and Augustus closer, but it also brought Isaac comfort. Hazel has kept her favorite book a secret, but after some thought Hazel decides to share the book, An Imperial Affliction, with Gus, He reads it and becomes just as passionate about the book as Hazel is, they obsess and share ideas about the unsolved ending together. Augustus somehow gets in touch with Peter Van Houten (the author of An Imperial Affliction) through e-mail. Gus discovers that Houten is living in Amsterdam and convinces Houten to see Hazel and himself. He u... ... middle of paper ... ... Hope Standiford, Natalie. January 13,2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/books/review/the-tenacity-of-hope.html?pagewanted=all&_r=o • The Controversy of “Sick-Lit” Little, Dena. January 24,2013 www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2013/01/24/the-controversy-over-sick-lit/ • How John Green Won The Internet (And Tens Of Thousands Of Screaming Fans) Miranda, Anna February 29,2012 www.thestranger.com/seattle/how-john-green-won-the-internet/content?0id=12832873 • Fault In Our Stars (Green) – Author Bio, Summary www.litlovers.com/reading.guides/15-young-adult-fiction/8711-fault-in-our-stars-green?start=1 • Hazel Grace Lancaster www.shmoop.com/fault-in-our-stars/Hazel-grace-lancaster.html • The Fault in Our Stars Themes (Little Words Big Ideas) www.shmoop.com/fault-in-our-stars/themes.html • An Imperial Affliction http://theorderofthelibrary.wikiai.com/wiki/an_imperial_affliction

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