Unpopular Opinion : I hate the Fault in Our Stars by John Green


Hello Bookworms, today I will be reviewing the Fault in Our Stars. I know this post is very late, considering the book was published in 2014, but I will finally be expressing my opinion on this book. When I initially read this book many years ago, I was confused by all the rave and excitement surrounding its release. I had also seen the movie, and was not at all impressed. Keep reading to find out what else I think!

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Romance

Rating: ⭐(1/5 stars)

Publisher: Published January 10th 2012 by Dutton Books

Length: Hardcover, 313 pages

Summary: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.(Goodreads)

Recommendation : Let me just warn you, I have a LOT of opinions about this book.

To start, the character’s personality is paper-thin and easily detestable. The plot is not much better, as it has the same boring and overused plot used in YA fiction. To be honest, I am not quite sure why this novel aggravated me so much, to the point that I can still rant about it years later. I truly cannot comprehend why so many people adore this book… what’s the appeal? I find none of the elements in the book captivating, or interesting.

One thing that I hate about Hazel and Augustus’ relationship is how sped up their feelings are. Their love for each other is portrayed as unoriginal and irresponsible. Other than that…… I didn’t even cry. I saw Augustus’ death coming from the start of the book, and when it finally happened it was underwhelming.

Basically, I would not recommend this book to anyone, unless you have absolutely NOTHING to do. After detesting this book for so many years, it probably has something to do with how loved, hyped up and obsessed it’s followers are. On top of that horrid book, the movie made me want to throw up. Although it isn’t the worst adaptation i’ve seen(let’s not go there….) it just put into visuals everything that had triggered me in the text.

A little about the author: John Green’s first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award presented by the American Library Association. His second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Paper Towns, is a New York Times bestseller and won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best YA Mystery. In January 2012, his most recent novel, The Fault in Our Stars, was met with wide critical acclaim, unprecedented in Green’s career. The praise included rave reviews in Time Magazine and The New York Times, on NPR, and from award-winning author Markus Zusak. The book also topped the New York Times Children’s Paperback Bestseller list for several weeks. Green has also coauthored a book with David Levithan called Will Grayson, Will Grayson, published in 2010. The film rights for all his books, with the exception of Will Grayson Will Grayson, have been optioned to major Hollywood Studios.(Goodreads)

Fun Fact :  The title was inspired by Act 1, Scene 2 of Julius Caeser in which Cassius says to Brutus: “The Fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / but in ourselves, that we are underling.

Thanks for reading!📚

-Erin



4 responses to “Unpopular Opinion : I hate the Fault in Our Stars by John Green”

  1. Hey! I really enjoyed reading your post and learning about your take on the book. I personally used to dislike the book myself too, but it’s sort of grown on me.

    I think many people like this book because of its comforting qualities rather than intellectual or entertainment value. When I say comforting qualities, I’m thinking about the way the story settles upon a few rather general, but occasionally quite insightful observations; for instance, it taught me I shouldn’t shy away from my pain, or that focusing so much on helping others can be a form of self-sabotage to myself, etc…

    These might not seem like world-shattering literary nuance, but rather small nuggets of wisdom we often overlook or take for granted. However trivial they may appear, do not let yourself fooled by the importance of such mundane wisdom. After all, why do we go to therapy if not to ponder and develop similar insights about ourselves and our relationships to the people we care about? Most people don’t read for niche intellectual key points, but rather because they’re looking for answers as to how they can improve their quality of life — and sometimes, these answers are so simple they can induce discomfort to the point of ‘cringing’.

    I’d say TFIOS is abundant with such moments, if you allow yourself the patience and openness to find them. Basic truths can sometimes be surprisingly profound.

    I remember I used to find ‘cringe-inducing’ the seemingly overt confidence of the male lead… he just seemed like a cardboard cut-out, 2D manic pixie dream boy. But see? Here’s another little nugget I used to find awfully uncomfortable when I was a teenager suffering from confidence issues: In the face of adversity, as dumb and counterintuitive as it may sound — sometimes the best thing you can sometimes do is put a dumb, dorky smile on your face and go out there. Have a bit of fun, including at yourself. Otherwise, you might just as well give up.

    Well either way, I think overall it’s quite an uplifting tale. It’s about stuff like resilience and finding power to go on even when it feels meaningless. There’s two takes, the cynical one and the earnest one: you either find it stupid or uplifting. What do you think?

    Cheers!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I love your take on the book! Mind you, I have always been a bit of a hasty stance taker (if that even makes sense). I read this when I was quite young and don’t think I ever did reread it, as I do tend to also prefer moving on to new tales. I am certain I would most likely have a bit more of a positive review if I read it today, and I really love the points you laid out about it. Sometimes a bit of cringe, is the only way to embrace life’s adversities; I totally agree and love the way you described him. Not everything (trust me!!) has to be all deep and insightful, as well as reach every audience in the world. There is validity in that the book has reached such a broad audience, although that was partially due to the movie as well. Either way, I do think any book that reaches a level of popularity will face both fair and unfair criticism, and have it’s fair share of haters and fans. Those tend to be within context I think, in terms of when or why you read the book. I always feel that my reviews are often influenced by so many minute factors, it’s just our innate bias, of being human. Thank you for the comment!!

      Like

  2. […] Fault in Our Stars. THAT BOOK OH NO NO NO! I hate that book with every cell in my body. I have a review here, but I will warn you that I was pretty […]

    Like

  3. i agree! i don’t dislike it, i thought it was an okay read and i find john green’s writing enjoyable, but i don’t think the book is extremely good and it definitely didn’t live up to the hype, imo.

    Like

Leave a reply to Andrei Lukács Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.