Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

 Goodreads

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumors in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumors tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

So, like many other people, I absolutely loved this book. It truly touched my heart and the characters are unforgettable. Where to begin with the compliments...

I really loved the protagonist, Hazel, I just liked her personality and how she had this love for AIA, which kind of reminded me of my obsessive love forTHG. Her situation was pretty bad, with the cancer and her problems with it and trying to have it treated and all, but she never sympathized herself and made you feel all bad and stuff. She basically lived with it, I mean, she kind of didn't have a choice, but you know. So Hazel meets Augustus Waters at the support group, and let me just say, Augustus is an incredibly likable character right off the bat. I just loved him and his personality, a truly amazing character.

Which is how the the tears come streaming out of my eyes while reading, because of how incredibly likable these characters are. I mean, I cry very easily in books, but I was full out sobbing and I had to put the book down for awhile. After finishing the book, I felt a pain in my heart that was demanding to be felt(AWW!), and I was just truly broken. 

The Fault in Our Stars is a truly amazing book I really absolutely loved and understand now what all the hype was about. An amazing and wonderful heartwarming and heartbreaking read.

Favorite Quote:

  "You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices. I hope she likes hers."

                                                              -Augustus

*Note: I went through a billion quotes before writing this review, and I love almost all of them. This was an incredibly hard choice, but I gave a quote that doesn't give too much away and that I love.

Overall Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

                                                                                             

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

 Goodreads

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen year- old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...  

A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make -and the ultimate choice Mia commands. 

Okay, first of all, I need to point out that I overestimated this book. I kept hearing great things about it from my friends, online reviews, teachers, everyone. I felt like this was going to be such a great book because of this, but with my high expectations, I ended up liking it, but not loving it.

 I thought the characters were great, and even though this book was short, I felt like Forman did a great job of developing them. I really liked the relationship Mia and Adam had, they were happy with each other, but they also had their arguments and difficulties, which made it realistic.

 You basically follow Mia's "spirit" as she sees what's going on around her while she's in the coma, yet we also see past memories which have to do with those present events. It took me awhile to get used to that, but eventually, I actually ended up liking it.

 Throughout the book, the events in the present are very tragic and there is suspense and sorrow. I felt like it really got to me in the last few pages, it was just amazing and breathtaking.  It will make you cry, as I heard everyone say before reading it, but again, I expected to be sobbing uncontrollably for awhile, but it wasn't that extreme. Overall a great book and a satisfying read.


Favorite Quote: 
  "Please, Mia," he implores. "Don't make me write a song."

                                                      -Adam

Overall Rating: ♥♥♥♥