The Fault in Our Stars

The Book:

The Fault in Our Stars
By John Green
Dutton Juvenile
Published January 10, 2012

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.

The Review

After reading all the fantastic reviews of The Fault in Our Stars, John Green’s eagerly anticipated fourth novel, I have been struggling to decide what I could possibly add to all the wonderful insights. First, I have to concur with a great majority of the reviewers: this is not a “cancer book” or is it even necessarily a book about cancer. Certainly Hazel thinks about cancer: her cancer Augustus Waters’s cancer, her friend Isaac’s cancer, and even the protagonist from her favorite (and purely fictional) novel, Anna’s, cancer. But trying to pigeonhole this novel with the label “Cancer Book” is akin to calling a child with cancer a “Cancer Kid” (or even, as Hazel would say, ”An Inspiration to Us All”). The truth is far more complex and thought-provoking than any label would allow.

And complexity is one of the most fabulous things about this novel–mostly because, at first glance, the novel doesn’t appear all that complicated. Hazel’s narration of events is very straightforward, almost no-nonsense, though she still retains a very sharp sense of humor. She states the facts of life as she sees them, no matter if they are pleasant or sad or inconvenient. She is also upfront with her emotions, especially romantic ones regarding Augustus Waters. Readers will no doubt find her candidness a nice change from the usual hemming and hawing plaguing female protagonists in the teen lit scene.

However, Hazel’s forthright manner is not an indication of simplicity of thought. Anyone familiar with Green’s work knows that his characters tend to wax a little philosophical, and Hazel is no exception. Drawing on a very high level of vocabulary and grammar (and a few references to philosophers like Kierkegaard), Hazel confronts readers with some very profound questions about life, death, family, and what it means to interact with a world that soon won’t have you in it.

My only complaint? Every so often Hazel’s thoughts, as brilliant and deep as they are, felt a bit masculine. This may be solely from the fact that I was aware that the author was male, but it was disruptive nonetheless.

The Rating

Readability:         
Originality:           
Believability:        
Thematic Quality:
Connectability:     

Overall Rating:

The Recommendation

Although written for teens, this book will be appreciated by an adult readership too. Be prepared for nerdy moments and some tears.

Librarian determines most popular YA of today

A new article from School Library Journal lays out the most popular series and individual novels on the market today, as determined by Karen McCoy’s survey of 100 public and school libraries (conducted from July to December of 2011). Since I’m such a sucker for all things lists, I thought I’d share her findings here. Those up with YA book scene will recognize some familiar faces, but others may come as a bit of a surprise.

McCoy also attempts to identify the new and upcoming trends in YA fiction, talking specifically of the emergence of “hybrids, or the blurring of the lines between genres,” and “character-driven novels, such as Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall (HarperCollins, 2010).” Like many others, she notes the decreased interest in the vampire-centric novel made popular by the Twilight series.

You can read her entire article here.

Most popular series

    

1. The Hunger Games (Scholastic) by Suzanne Collins

2. Twilight (Little, Brown) by Stephenie Meyer

3. Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Hyperion) by Rick Riordan

4. Wolves of Mercy Falls (Scholastic) by Maggie Stiefvater

5. The Maze Runner (Delacorte) by James Dashner

6. The Kane Chronicles (Hyperion) by Rick Riordan

7. Mortal Instruments (S & S) by Cassandra Clare

8. House of Night (St. Martin’s) by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Abrams) by Jeff Kinney

10. Heroes of Olympus (Hyperion) by Rick Riordan

11. Matched (Dutton) by Ally Condie

12. Infernal Devices (S & S) by Cassandra Clare

13. Harry Potter (Scholastic) by J. K. Rowling

14. Dark Visions (S & S) by L. J. Smith

15. The Vampire Diaries (HarperTeen) by L. J. Smith

16. The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (Delacorte) by Michael Scott

17. The Leviathan Trilogy (S & S) by Scott Westerfeld

18. Conspiracy 365 (Kane/Miller) by Gabrielle Lord

19. Maximum Ride (Little, Brown) by James Patterson

20. Septimus Heap (HarperCollins) by Angie Sage

Most popular titles

1. Along for the Ride (Viking) by Sarah Dessen

2. Thirteen Reasons Why (Penguin) by Jay Asher

3. Burned (St. Martin’s) by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

4. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Quirk Bks.) by Ransom Riggs

5. Lock and Key (Viking) by Sarah Dessen

6. Crank (S & S) by Ellen Hopkins

7. The Book Thief (Knopf) by Markus Zusak

8. Looking for Alaska (Dutton) by John Green

9. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (Little, Brown) by Stephenie Meyer

10. Monster (HarperCollins) by Walter Dean Myers

11. Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Little, Brown) by Laini Taylor

12. Story of a Girl (Little, Brown) by Sara Zarr

13. Beautiful Creatures (Little, Brown) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

14. Identical (S & S) by Ellen Hopkins

15. Fallout (S & S) by Ellen Hopkins

16. Snitch (S & S) by Allison van Diepen

17. Num8ers (Scholastic) by Rachel Ward

18. After (Viking) by Amy Efaw

19. Legend (Putnam) by Marie Lu

20. L.A. Candy (HarperCollins) by Lauren Conrad

Shipping Errors and John Green reads ‘The Fault in Our Stars’

I am feeling pretty frustrated today, after spending an hour on hold with customer services trying to get my copy of John Green’s new book, The Fault in Our Stars, shipped to me (hurray for unexplained mix-ups). So, in order to cheer myself up, I decided to re-watch these two videos of John Green reading the first two chapters of the book.

For those of you unfamiliar with the premise, here’s a brief synopsis:

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.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

John Green is a Printz medal winner, and is best-selling author of the books Looking For Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and (my personal favorite) Paper Towns.

On to the clips!

Zero, by Tom Leveen

The Book:

Zero
By Tom Leveen
Random House Books
Due out April 24, 2011

 

     For aspiring artist Amanda Walsh, who only half-jokingly goes by the nickname Zero, the summer before college was supposed to be fun—plain and simple. Hanging out with her best friend Jenn, going to clubs, painting, and counting down the days until her escape. But when must-have scholarship money doesn’t materialize, and she has a falling out with Jenn that can only be described as majorly awkward, and Zero’s parents relationship goes from tense to relentless fighting, her prospects start looking as bleak and surreal as a painting by her idol Salvador Dali. Will life truly imitate art? Will her new, unexpected relationship with a punk skater boy who seems too good to be real and support from the unlikeliest of sources show Zero that she’s so much more than a name.

The Review

As you can gather from the description, Tom Leveen’s second foray into the adolescent teenage mind (his first book, Party, came out in 2010) is all about the awkwardness of first love and the arduous journey of discovering one’s own worth. The main protagonist, who goes by Zero–an obvious indicator of her own selfworth–has angsty issues aplenty. She hates her body, her art, her family, and now her bestfriend. And, like all teenagers, she simultaneous craves and fears the spotlight. After plucking up the courage to talk to a skater boy who also happens to be the drummer in an up-and-coming band, Zero falls head first into a relationship that makes her take a hard look at how she treats herself and what it is she wants out of life.

Tom Leveen does an excellent job capturing the voice of a teenage girl, especially considering he was never one himself. Zero feels authentic in a way that is both interesting and familiar. She is smart, creative, and funny, if you don’t mind 13-year-old-boy humor. Her relationships with her parents and boyfriend are believable, and not overdramatized. In short, she is a character many readers will relate to.

The book deals with a lot of  heavy issues without feeling too depressing. Zero worries constantly about her body image, choosing to view herself only through the reflection of the glass framing her Salvador Dali reprints collection–the distorted image obviously mirroring (hehe, pun) the twisted way in which she views herself. Her relationship with her parents is on the rocks. Her father is a heavy drinker spiraling out of control, and Zero places the blame firmly at her mothers feet. She also has had a falling out with her bestfriend–perhaps the most evocative relationship in the entire book, and something, I’m sad to say, that wasn’t as fully explored as it could have been.

The text itself is paired down to the basics. Simple sentences (sorry, no flowery verbosity here), firmly bring about Zero’s viewpoint and also make the book a quick read (I finished it in under five hours).

However, this book does have one major drawback: the plot. A whole lot of nothing goes on during the book. The characters and interactions Leveen has built are fantastic, but they accomplish next to zilch. The biggest achievement for the main character–giving up her moniker, Zero, for her real name, Amanda–is something that goes unremarked upon, Leveen choosing instead to build up Zero’s indecision whether to follow her rocker boyfriend to LA. When at last Zero makes her decision, it still feels like more like an afterthought than a declaration of selfworth. This feeling carries through to the other, quickly hashed out resolutions concerning Zero’s parents’ marital strife and the conflict with bestfriend Jenn. At the end of the book, everybody–characters and readers alike–are left with the feeling that more could have been said and done, but regrettably was not.

The Rating

Readability:         
Originality:           
Believability:        
Thematic Quality:
Connectability:     

Overall Rating:

The Recommendation

Read it if you like character-driven books. People who enjoy Ellen Hopkins’ Crank will find it lighter, but still probing. People who enjoy John Green’s Paper Towns will find it a less philosophical, but quicker read.