The Fault in Our Stars: Review and the Truth Behind It
IMAGE SOURCE: James Bridges—2013 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Many people who are fans of young adult and teen fiction have read The Fault in our Stars, a very moving book by author John Green. This book has shook and saddened many readers, as the main character Hazel struggles through her battle with cancer and her dream to visit the author of her favourite book, An Imperial Affliction. However, what most people don’t know is that TFIOS was based on a true story.
John Green was inspired by Esther Earl, a girl who died at the age of 16 in 2010 from thyroid cancer. Esther was as normal a teenager as you could get, a big Harry Potter fan and Nerdighter (a member of the online community built up by Green and his brother Hank around their Youtube channel, Vlogbrothers). She was diagnosed when she was 12, and became an instant celebrity as she posted blogs and YouTube videos to update people on her everyday life.
John Green described Esther Earl as “a very outwardly focused person, very conscious of and attentive to her friends and family. But she was also silly and funny and totally normal.” Green also said that he was surprised by her teenager-ness and empathy.
Esther was a good friend of John Green and without her, the book would not have existed. The main character Hazel’s favourite book, An Imperial Affliction, was based on the fictional author’s daughter, Anna, and her battle with cancer. The fact that John Green connects the book so close with reality, is really what makes it so heartbreaking.
I first heard of TFIOS through YouTube, while watching a bookshelf tour/book review. The YouTuber in question and I have a very similar taste in books, and when I kept hearing about it through YouTube and Bookstagram accounts on Instagram, I decided to give it a go and was hooked straight away, finishing it in only a couple of hours. I then gave it to my mum to read, who told me that she found it moving because of all the young lives being cut short by cancer.
One reader told me: “I thought that The Fault In Our Stars was a beautiful, really thought-provoking book. Not only was it a beautiful love story, but it also made you realise what it must be like to have so little time left in the world, and to make the most of what you have. It also shows you that love of your family and close friends is so important. I found the idea of reading about how children with cancer deal with such unimaginable difficulties very moving.”
To discover that such a beautiful story about love, hope, and determination is almost true was shocking. At first I was surprised, but then I realised that I probably loved it so much because of the harsh reality that made it so heartbreaking.
I thoroughly recommended this book to anyone who enjoys young adult and teenage fiction, as I was definitely not disappointed with it. I have also recently finished reading Paper Towns, which is by the same author, and I am hoping to read more of his work soon.