TFIOS (In General)

First off, I just to say that I think that it's sweet that Esther Earls inspired this amazing book. Earls was a 16 year old girl who died of thyroid cancer (like Hazel does) in 2011 but before, she met John Green at a Harry Potter convention and built a friendship with him. I don’t really want to expand into this too much but I did want to point it out.

I think that The Fault in Our Stars is an interesting and unique story. It’s not one of those typical love stories about a vampire risking his life because he fell in love with a human or a man fighting for the woman he loves, even though they met two days ago. It’s simply about two different teenagers, with cancer, who builds a friendship based off of a book that they both like and falls in love.

I really like Green uses creativity in his story. On the acknowledgments page, it mentions that the diseases that were used in this story were fictionally treated. One of the pills that Hazel was taking was called Phalanxifor… it’s not real and the fact that I can’t pronounce it means that it’s very non-existent!  I’ve never come across a book as unique and creative as The Fault in Our Stars.

Honestly, the reason that I think that this story has been written is because John Green wanted to make teenage girls and women and (possibly) men cry. For me, he has succeeded. This story was very romantic and I really can’t wait to see how it ends.

If Mr. Green were to ever come across my blog, I would ask him to make a sequel about Hazel’s life afterwards so I would have something to look forwards to in the end.

IT'S FAKE! (: 

Eulogy for Augustus Waters

Hi. My name is Tyler Denae and I was friend of Augustus from high school. I will admit that we weren’t exactly close but from the time that we did spend together, I know or knew that he was a really great guy. Losing him is tragic but I believe that we should not sit and wallow but celebrate his life.

One day, I realized that Augustus was gone. I didn’t know how long he was gone but when he came back, I remember him wearing shorts and he had a prosthetic leg. He was just strolling through the halls, with this really huge smile on his face. People were whispering but he didn’t care. He’s always told me that he would do something big someday and that he was going to be remembered. I don’t know if that was him doing something big but it sure did work because I will always remember him and all of us who are here today will also remember him.

Gus was always an interesting person. He’d know how to make a person when they are feeling down. He knows how to make a girl feel special by just smiling at them. He was always there for his friends they need him most. I don’t know how many phone conversations I’ve had with him and I’ve heard Isaac yelling in the background loudly but it was quite enjoyable.  

As we all leave here today, let’s remember all of the good times that Augustus Waters has had. Let’s never forget his laugh, or his smile… or him as a person, no matter how much time has passed. Let him be your guardian angel.

We all love you, Gus and may you rest in peace.  

I do not agree..... (SPOILER ALERT)

This doesn't count as a post BUT I just wanted to say that I do not agree with John Green killing Augustus Waters. He was so sweet and Ansel Elgort is sooooooo cute! I mean LOOK:











I just do not agree....





Okay, I apologize for the fangirl moment. It comes and goes.

Most "Interesting" Character

In the Fault in Our Stars, I think that Peter Van Houten, author of Hazel and Gus’ favorite book, is the most interesting character in the story. When he’s first mentioned, Hazel thought so highly of him, as if he was the greatest man in the world and adores his book, An Imperial Affliction. She recommends it to her friend (later boyfriend), Augustus Waters and he soon becomes a fan of Van Houten too.

Later on in the story, Augustus uses his cancer wish so he and Hazel can visit Van Houten in Amsterdam. When his character is first introduced, I immediately noticed that he is a jerk. The reason he moved to Amsterdam was to get away from Americans, even though he is one himself, and wants Hazel and Gus to leave, which I thought was very rude. Not only did Gus use his wish to go to Amsterdam and meet him, him and a sick Hazel (who is also not well enough to be so far away from home) traveled all the way from Indiana just to be disappointed.

Since his book was based on his deceased daughter, I assume that he is still grieving from her death. From the way the story described him and how William Dafoe played his character in the movie version, he’s an alcoholic who has no self-control and absolutely no filter. He was very disrespectful to his assistant, Hazel and Gus during their meeting.

I should actually re-word this statement. I don’t think Peter Van Houten is the most interesting person in the book. I find his story to be the most interesting because John Green only gave bits and pieces throughout The Fault in Our Stars and in the end, it all comes together. I think in ways, he has brought Hazel and Gus together, which is what the entire story is based off of. Their relationship. Both of the main characters bond over this book. They share their love for it, which makes them closer and makes them who they are.

“We pour Scotch into a glass and then call to mind thoughts of water, and then we mix the actual scotch with the abstracted idea of water.”

I think that Peter Van Houten is a very intelligent man who is very stupid.

 

Meeting Augustus Waters

Dear Diary,
To say that today was interesting was an understatement. My mom and dad made me go to that cancer support group... again but I'm glad that I went. My friend, Issac (he has  eye cancer.... poor kid) brought a guy with him to the meeting. We bumped into each other before it started. Literally. His name was Augustus Waters and even though I didn't want to admit it, he was really cute. Just as everyone was sitting down, he kept staring at me. I would look away, then look back to stare back into his eyes. He was smiling, finding this staring contest (that I didn't want to be apart of) amusing. At the time, I thought it was for no reason. I thought he was messing with me... but that wasn't the case. He introduced himself to the group, said he's been in remission for the past year and a half. He showed us his prosthetic leg, which was the result of him having osteosarcoma - I think that's how you spell it.
Anyways, after he was done with his little introduction he talked about how he wanted to be remembered after he was gone. He didn't quite get the meaning of oblivion so of course, me being me, I explained it to him. He didn't seem offended after I was done talking, we went back to our staring contest and the rest of the meeting went by in a flash.
Augustus came up to me, as I was waiting for my mom. He was entertained by the fact that the support group was held in the "Heart of Jesus." I, honestly, didn't believe that but that's what Patrick said but who cares?
I caught him staring at me again. I asked him why, the one question that has been on my mind since he started that. Augustus told I was beautiful and he likes to stare at beautiful people. What I wanted to say was that he shouldn't do that because it could creep said beautiful people out but I was too flattered to.
 I heard the word always and Issac was still making out with his girlfriend, across the parking lot and saying 'always' back and forth. I probably shouldn't mention the fact that he was grabbing her boob... really really hard, like he was trying to squeeze the life out of it. I didn't understand how she wasn't screaming OW from the pain. I don't know. What I do know is that I wouldn't want someone grabbing my boob like that or at all.
Out of the blue, Augustus Waters invited me to go watch a movie with him. I didn't feel completely comfortable going to anywhere with him. I just met him no a little over an hour ago. For all I know he could be an ax murderer!!!
Just as I was about to think about Augustus' offer, he pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth, ruining the moment. The fact that even though he had cancer, he was willing to give money to some corporation to basically get cancer again was disgusting to me and I told him that. I didn't understand how he would think smoking was cool. When I was done with my rant, he explained to me that it was just a metaphor. He told me that he never lit one and not giving it the power to kill him.
From the that point out, I risked my life by getting into a car with Augustus, who is a very very very reckless driver. He took me to his house and I met his parents. Instead of watching that movie he promised, we got to know each other. I learned that he was a basketball player who hated basketball. I introduced him to my favorite novel, An Imperial Affliction and he introduced me to Counterinsurgency 2: The Price of Dawn, which is his favorite. So, that was my afternoon adventure and I must say it was the best fun I've had in a long time!

Love,
Hazel Grace

Why did I choose this book and what do I think so far?

"Some infinities are bigger than other infinities."

This quote is not only one of my favorites but it's also one of most famous ones from the book. 

This month is Fiction February in my English class and I must say that I'm very excited about this unit! For Fiction February, I've chosen the famous book 'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green. I've been reading  I've gotten the book and was trying to get done with it before the movie version came out but that didn't happen so I've decided to just finish it for this assignment!

I can't say The Fault in Our Stars is my favorite book, simply because Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is my favorite, but this comes in a close second and I'm only halfway done. When I told a couple of people that I was getting this book, they told me not to get it because it was really bad. Of course I didn't listen because I really don't listen to people but in this particular case, I'm glad I didn't listen. I think that this story is really sweet and so romantic in a cheesy way! I don't understand how people could not like it... unless your a guy and likes to read books about zombies. Then, that's different! 

I'm really looking forward to see how the story ends.... even though I've seen the movie five times at this point. When it comes to books and the movie versions, I believe that the books give more depth and more details that the movie could not give because of the time length. 

"Okay? Okay."