Tähtiin kirjoitettu virhe (2012)

Nice ( )

Spoiler alert! Very, very, very sad. I should have known better, but once I started reading I could not stop. The book is tragic. I am not sure if Hazel and Gus finding love in their short lives is a relief or incredible unjust. I cried (ugly cried) through at least the last four chapters and woke up heartbroken the next day. The story is well crafted and the characters are resonant, but make no mistake this is a story about dying (far too young) and there really is no escaping that. Okay. ( )

I was very reluctant to read this book, I have to admit. I have loved every John Green novel I've read thus far, but this one is about cancer. Kids with cancer, in point of fact. I've already spent enough of my life thinking about cancer, so I was reluctant to read this. I didn't want to think about cancer, and I really didn't want to dislike John Green if he happened to do the stereotypical cancer novel. Usually it's either inspirational cancer books where the hero with cancer is brave and kind until the end, or it's the kind of cancer novel that spends far too much time dwelling on the pain and the anger and the anguish. None of them get it quite right, so it's a genre that I avoid.

I'm happy to say that John Green got it right. He didn't make the heroes out to be mythologically brave and kind. Nor did he write his characters so that they were in a constant state of pain and anguish. No, he made them human. He gave them good days, and bad days, and boring days, and exhilarating days. The people around them reacted the way people react when someone they know has cancer. Some left altogether, not knowing what to say, or not wanting to intrude, but nonetheless sending the message that they didn't care enough to deal with the discomfort of not having the right words or the right deeds to make it better. Some clung to inspirational platitudes, and to a hope that not everyone had could share. Some cried, a lot. Some bent over backwards to make their lives special, and others were resentful.

But mostly, I was struck by the humor, and by the way the other characters variably reacted to it. The main characters are each funny in their own right, not making light of their plight, but coping with it. The reactions that people had to this humor were honest, and familiar. The way friendships dissolve and form in reaction to the health of the main characters was interesting and felt realistic. I felt like much of this aspect of the novel could easily apply to kids who have a family member with cancer as well. It's easier to push away the people we care about because they just don't get it, or because we want to save them the pain of dealing with our drama. It's easier to crack jokes about it sometimes, than it is to face it head on. And sometimes there is no facing it head on, because all you can do is wait, so you crack jokes mostly to keep yourself sane.

There's so much more to say about this novel, but this review is already too long.

Yes, I'm glad I read this one, and I'm glad it's out there in the world and being read. ( )

*SPOILER*

There isn't much I have to say about this book except of...Okay! I am truly heartbroken because of this book, but the fact that it doesn't "end good" is what makes this book so dear to my heart. ( )

I give this book 3.5 stars and feel kind of bad about it... I feel like the book was way overhyped by the time I got to it which is never a good thing. Obviously going into it I knew someone was going to die - this is a cancer book after all so unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I was neither surprised nor deeply upset when it happened. I made sure not to become too invested in the characters because I knew it was coming. so no, I did not cry... Maybe got choked up when first finding out Gus was terminal again.

so with that said, the book still deserves the 4 stars because John Green is a fabulous writer and I would love to read more books of his - hopefully ones with lighter subjects. I don't usually go for books like this to read so the change of pace was good but overall, I'm underwhelmed after all the ridiculous hype this book received and continues to receive. ( )