Recently, I have read the famous “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. I’ll warn you now that my opinion on the novel is an unpopular one: The Fault in Our Stars did not deserve all the hype it got. In all honesty, it just disappointed me. 

    My review of the book is going to be negative and it’s probable that it will inflame the fans and praisers of the supposed ‘best’ novel. If you absolutely love this book and think no one should detest it, then please ever so kindly steer clear of this review. 

    The thing that bothered me the most about this book would have to be the fact that it didn’t seem like it was written in the perspective of a teenager suffering from cancer. For example, “you know what sucks? Cancer. You know what else sucks? Dying.” Was this supposed to make the audience of readers laugh? There’s no real emotion or interest in the book. It lacks to be genuine. 

   First off, I felt that the characters didn’t have a personality. The main characters, Hazel and Augustus (Those names? Really John Greene?! Really?), had the same boring character traits and it felt… old. They were both know-it-alls and simply too wise, even if they were facing death. They constantly were saying extremely philosophical things that Dumbledore or a middle aged renaissance man would say. They said things most modern teenager could be able to fathom. For this reason, it didn’t seem to be written in the perspective of a teenager, it was written by a novelist trying too hard to connect with a teenage audience.

   Hazel did not think before she acted or spoke. She agrees to go to Augustus’ house within minutes after meeting him. What if he was some serial killer? You can’t just go and do that when you don’t know the person. Well, unless you are already dying and are truly wanting to live life on the edge. I mean what could possibly go wrong, right?!

   Hazel is a very flat character who lacks true development. You never learn much about her other than the fact that she hates Support Groups and loves Augustus.

   For example, on page 15, “He was hot. A nonhot boy stares at you relentlessly and it is at best, awkward, and, at worst, a form of assault.” She seems to be a very shallow character that I just could not bring myself to connect with. 

 In a way, the writing of the book was cheesy and there was a lot of metaphors that aren’t necessary to tell this story. For instance, “My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.” I felt that this quote was only in the book because of the title and that was about it. It really didn’t have a purpose in the novel.

   Despite being the most predictable thing in the novel, the romance that develops between Hazel and Augustus came out of nowhere and is completely underdeveloped considering it is the centerpoint of the novel. They basically fell in love at first sight, out of nowhere within minutes of meeting one another. 

    The plot was super predictable and I could tell what the next move of every character would be almost every single time. I had to force myself to finish the book. In all honesty, it was just tiring to read. Overall, The Fault in Our Stars is a really shallow novel where I felt the cancer was in a way put in the backseat. I’m pretty disappointed that the novel did not live up to its reputation because I wanted to love and connect with it.