Finished: "The Fault in Our Stars"

I can't even begin to say how wonderful this book is.

I could actually write an entire thesis on the awesomeness of this book, the symbolism, the resonant metaphors and many themes explored in the pages of this story about kids who are in love and who happen to have cancer. I could even then go on to write fan fiction to speculate about the continued futures of the characters I met listening to the audio recording.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is truly beautiful. There is nothing that isn't in the book for a reason. Even more exciting for me is that I have always wanted to find a book that had a character that I truly understood and felt a kinship to, and I did in Hazel Grace.

I've never been seriously ill, but I don't need to be to understand Hazel. I feel like John Green wrote Hazel as a character who feels so real and as a person who seems so cool and wonderful that I wish I'd known her when I was a teen. I wish I could have had a friend like her. I wish I could have met someone like Augustus. I wish I could know Isaac. But, as Hazel and Gus say, "The universe is not a wish-granting factory."

John Green made me remember that looking at the world and noticing the things around is so important. So much depends on us being able to notice the patterns of shadows cast by trees in the springtime. It is so essential that the taste of something rare be recognized and celebrated. The small, the insignificant, the overlooked is so important because it is a part of our small infinity of time. Hazel sees this. Hazel reminds me to look again to not forget to look and appreciate and be glad.

This book was not schmaltzy, overdone, melodramatic or weepy. It twisted and turned and surprised me. It's made me think about the story within a story, An Imperial Affliction, and I think I know how that fictional novel ends. I'd love to tell Hazel, but I suspect she figured it out, too.

This story makes me think how authors like John Green are so privileged to have characters like Hazel and Gus living inside of them. If Hazel and Gus are creations of Mr. Green and are a part of who he is, I think that he must be a truly amazing and very interesting person. His thoughts and ideas seem so engaging and I wonder if all of us have characters inside of us. What would happen if we brought them to life? What would they say about us?

PS: This audiobook won the 2013 Odyssey Award.

Audiobook: The Fault in Our Stars

Okay.. this story about a girl with terminal cancer and a boy she meets who has lost his leg to cancer is, so far, simply hilarious. I'm enjoying Hazel's narration of her life and about the day she meets Augustus at a youth cancer support group so much that I actually laughed out loud in my car where I'm listening to the recording. The voice actress is simply excellent and the story is so good so far that I can't even begin to start with the awesomeness. I mean, I ordered awesome and got a side of awesome to go with it.

Can't wait to hear more! I'm currently on chapter 3. Get this audiobook now!

Booktalk: Wonder

** Note: I've also released this post for the El Paso Public Library to use for its blogs**

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Wonder is a very interesting read—it zips along and you’ll find yourself rooting for all of the characters who have a voice in the book.  In Wonder, we meet August “Auggie” Pullman who was born with a very serious health issue and face deformity. When he’s 10, he goes to school for the first time and even attends a 3 day camp away from home with his class-mates. Auggie’s experiences are both familiar and unusual. Many people have been teased or treated as an outcast like Auggie is in the book, but Auggie’s problems are made even worse because of his facial deformity which is very serious.  He looks very different from other people and it takes some special kids to allow themselves to see past Auggie’s looks and become friends with him.

Auggie’s family is very interesting and we get to know them very well. In fact, many of the characters—even characters that seem minor—in the story are fully developed and we get to know them better through their own narration. Via’s part of the story fleshes out the experiences of siblings of children with special needs. Via is a great character: strong, but not perfect.

This book is an excellent read for all ages. The reader comes to understand a lot about how kids feel embarrassed being friends with someone who is different and how it feels to be bullied and singled out. I think the story will also especially appeal to kids that are reluctant to read. The chapters are very short and the characters are easy to identify with—many of us have felt the way they felt at one time or another!

After reading the story, which follows Auggie’s first year at Middle School, I really felt different. That’s the part of the story that is really a “wonder.” I felt like Auggie was real and the people who loved and supported him were real, too.  I also felt more hopeful about other people. The story really shows how we can all help make differences through small (and big) acts of kindness and bravery in our everyday lives.

Very much recommended!