The Fault in Our Stars

So much for my hope to review one book a week. I promise to be better. (That is probably a lie.) This week's book was The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I love a good work of fiction. This particular work of fiction was fantastic. It gently touches your heart, and then moves on to rip it out of your chest Temple of Doom style. Kalima... Kalima...

I didn't expect to be able to relate to the characters in the book. They were teenagers and I am pushing thirty. I had the unfortunate experience of being able to relate to the teenagers and the parents in this book. When you start a book centered around children that have cancer, you do so with the knowledge that at least one or possibly most of them are going to die. The title is indicative of a Shakespearean tragedy of star crossed lovers. It is so much more.

I suppose it is the fault of human nature that makes you hope for a happy ending. You wish the best for people, even if they are fictional. I kept thinking it would end happily. I kept hoping it would end happily. The truth, and maybe even part of the point of the book, is that not everyone gets a happy ending. Parents lose children every day. Love is lost and gained. There are some, the lucky ones, that get to experience life to its fullest. There are some that slide through life on autopilot. There are some that hope for one more day.

The book makes you think. Unfortunately, many new works of fiction don't inspire this experience. When I finished (at about one in the morning), I laid there with tears running down my face. Suddenly, I was so grateful for the time I have. Be it through a work of fate or God, I am blessed with a family and the time to enjoy them. My children are healthy, and I pray they will stay this way. Statistically, the odds aren't in my favor. I can only hope there isn't a fault somewhere in their stars, as every mother does.

The Fault in Our Stars touched me in a way a book hasn't for a long time. It is one of those books I don't think I will ever recover from.  Never before has a book touched me so deeply nor have I ever felt the loss of a character so keenly. It is a truly wonderful read. Just make sure you are prepared for some serious emotional trauma, and have the tissues ready.