This review summarizes the novel The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It describes the story of Hazel and Gus, two teenagers who meet at a cancer support group and fall in love. Though the novel deals with themes of pain, death, and sadness, the reviewer argues it is best categorized as adolescent literature due to its reading level and approach. The reviewer praises how Green writes intelligently for young adult readers, giving them credit for being able to understand complex themes. While some argue it should not be in school libraries, the reviewer believes the novel effectively conveys important life lessons for both wise and average teenagers.

1. Kathleen Blough
Professional Writing 1:00-1:50
Professor Marissa Landrigan
Review
February 4, 2014
The Fault in Our Stars: A Review
“As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.” This quote from
The Fault in Our Stars perfectly describes my feelings towards the novel by author John Green.
This novel, published in 2012, has skyrocketed in popularity since its release, including a movie
adaptation due out this June. It would be very easy to categorize The Fault in Our Stars as an
adult novel due to the descriptions of pain, death, and sheer sadness; however it is a better fit in
the adolescent literature category due to the reading level and approach to the story.
John Green explains to us the story of Hazel and Gus, two teenagers who met at a cancer support
group and fell in love. Hazel and Gus are old spirits trapped in young and tragically dying
bodies. Throughout their seemingly sad story, they find a type of love that most people cannot
even fathom and it is one of the most beautiful romances I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
Between experimental medications, unexpected weeks in the hospital, and the family’s
dwindling hope there is no arguing that this story is a drama, which is relatable to teenagers and
adults alike. That being said, the intended audience was originally young adults and that is still
where it is meant to be. John Green is just targeting them in a different way compared to other
authors as he writes to them knowing that they are educated and aware of the negativity that
people experience.
For example, John Green does not dumb down the language he uses. There are many popular
titles such as Divergent by Veronica Roth where the language chosen is clearly used to adhere to
adolescent readers. John Green, on the other hand, gives young adult readers some credit. He

2. wrote Hazel and Gus with educated voices. They have voices that have been well read from
comic books to philosophical novels such as An Imperial Affliction. For instance, Hazel uses the
following words to describe her favorite novel, “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with
this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put
back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”. He wrote them in this manner
not only because that was how he had pictured the characters, but also because he knows that
there are many teens that have the same voice. This is important because it makes the adolescent
readers who do speak in such a way feel like they are not odd compared to others who might not
find such a thing as meaningful.
This idea pertains to the themes in the novel as well, which was what made me love this book
even more. This is a story of two teenagers who have been in and out of the hospital their whole
lives. They have seen their friends with the same illness pass away and they have seen the pain
that strikes their families both personally and financially every time the news gets a little bit
worse. Young adults are not oblivious to the idea of death. It is not just an idea that is found in a
book. You do not have to be seventy-years-old to know what pain is. You do not need to be
married for twenty plus years to know what it feels like to truly be in love. You do not need a
college degree to understand the phrase evangelical zeal. John Green wrote this book knowing
that you can be sixteen and understand the world.
Since the books popularity rose it has been argued relentlessly that it is an adult novel that should
not be in school libraries and should be kept off the “Young Adult” shelves. If John Green had
intended this piece of work to be solely read by adults, then perhaps the language used would be
even more pretentious. Maybe there would be more metaphors pertaining to enjoying the
memories you were able to make during the time you were given. Perhaps Hazel would be

3. twenty-six and Gus twenty-seven instead of sixteen and seventeen. If John Green had wanted to
write a book about a couple in love battling terminal illnesses to relate to adults, then he would
have, but he did not.
It would be easy to argue that the teenagers are too cliché with their memorized lines of poetry
and their forwardness towards one another as if they are supposed to be adult characters,
however I believe that was the point. This novel relates to teens that are wise beyond their years
as well as the teens who just decided to pick up a book because the cable was out. As John Green
wrote, “The marks humans leave are too often scars” which I believe is the most important
lesson a person could ever learn throughout their teenage years making this one of the most
effective adolescent novels I have read.