By John Green
John Green’s ‘The Fault in Our Stars’
(Dutton Juvenile) - \"The Fault in Our Stars\" by John Green (Dutton. $17.99. Ages 14 and up).
Dutton. $17.99. Ages 14 and up
Hazel Lancaster and Augustus Waters are very different: She’s a sensitive poetry aficionado; he’s a hunky ex-basketball player. But their paths (and stars) cross in a cancer support group for teens. Unlike the sudden passion of Romeo and Juliet, their Shakespearian counterparts, the love between Augustus and Hazel is tentative and tender, thwarted not by feuding families but by the warring cells in their own bodies. Hazel yearns to travel to Amsterdam to meet her favorite author, and Augustus leaps to help even as their respective cancers threaten to derail her dream.
What makes this novel compelling is not a thrill-a-minute plot but the authenticity of characters deeply engaged in trying to live “forever within the numbered days.” Cranky, funny, sad and scared, Hazel and Augustus buck society’s desire to type them as models of heroic suffering, an “Inspiration to Us All.” They remain fiercely, distinctly themselves. As he did with his Printz-winning “Looking for Alaska,” John Green deftly mixes the profound and the quotidian in this tough, touching valentine to the human spirit. Green neither romanticizes illness nor sentimentalizes loss but brings readers into the hearts and minds of two teens pondering life, death, love and the strange beauty of a universe that includes orange tulips, sweet-pea sorbet and an oxygen tank named Philip.
— Mary Quattlebaum
-
article_story
Book World: ‘The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls’
Anton DiSclafani’s first novel is a 20th-century gothic tale that reads like a lusty cousin of “Jane Eyre.”
1371590136000 -
article_story
Books: ‘Legends of the Blues’
William Stout’s illustrations, accompanied by text, capture the spirit of the artists and their music.
1371586439000 -
BlogStory
One Teen Story gets one new editor
Patrick Ryan, formerly of Granta magazine, will take over the monthly magazine of short fiction for young people.
1371561851000 -
article_story
Book review: ‘Lost,’ by S.J. Bolton is another nail-biting thriller
Detective Constable Lacey Flint must stop a serial killer who’s draining the blood from young boys in London.
1371504540000 -
BlogStory
Hay-Adams Author Series begins its second chapter
John Taliaferro will discuss his biography of John Hay on June 27.
1371476780000 -
article_story
Neil Gaiman’s nostalgic new masterpiece
“The Ocean at the End of the Lane” is a beautifully crafted novel about the longing for home.
1371422825000 -
article_story
Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli author, dies at 83
Mr. Kaniuk was a member of Israel’s founding generation who abhorred religion’s influence over the state.
1371417840000 -
article_story
Foreign affairs: Navigating China-U.S. relations
In “Cool War,” Noah Feldman assesses the power struggle between China and the United States.
1371246719000 -
article_story
Washington Post Bestsellers June 16
The books Washington has been reading.
1371246484000 -
article_story
Marathon man
In “Marathon Man” Bill Rodgers recounts his running life and winning the 1975 Boston Marathon
1371246291000 -
article_story
Medicine: Saving lives, one eye at a time
In “Second Suns,” David Oliver Relin describes two doctors’ efforts to treat cataracts in Nepal.
1371245944000 -
article_story
FDR, Lindbergh, Wilkie and the election of 1940
Susan Dunn looks at what may be the most consequential election of the 20th Century
1371245774000 -
article_story
Two books on caddying
Two caddies reflect on their experiences on the golf course
1371245697000 -
article_story
Fiction: ‘The Powers,’ by Valerie Sayers
A Brooklyn grandmother and die-hard Yankees fan rules this novel about Joe DiMaggio.
1371243900000
- Spam
- Obscene
- Duplicate
The Post Most: EntertainmentMost-viewed stories,videos, and galleries in the past two hours
Loading...
Comments