"The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green

I'll be honest, I wasn't sure how this book was going to go. I mean, John Green writing about kids with cancer??? John Green, by his very nature, is supposed to make me laugh, not cry! (If you have not been exposed to the brilliance that is John Green, please stop reading this immediately, go to Youtube and type in his name. Indulge yourself for no less than 30 minutes before coming back to this post.) So I picked up the book with some trepidation, and though I'm not generally a gambler I decided to give it a go and take a risk with the next few hours of my life.

Before long, I found myself pleasantly surprised with how such an utterly depressing plot could still be so "John Greenesque." Basically, The Fault in Our Stars is the story of two kids with cancer who fall in love. I know, sounds rather cliche and sappy doesn't it? But the beauty of the story is that it is not. The main characters are these brilliantly precocious teens named Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters. They are intelligent, sarcastic, witty, and unique among teenagers in their penchant to not take themselves too seriously. This attitude is in part due to a book they've read entitled an An Imperial Affliction written by an author who is, to quote Hazel and Augustus, quite a bit of a "douchebag." Their love for this book and for one another catapults them into a rather intense existential crisis that takes them all the way to Holland and back. In the process, they deal with the prospects of their own deaths and the fact that separation will come sooner that they would like. Somehow, in the midst of this ridiculously sad book about kids with cancer you find yourself actually laughing. It's not like a "haha, cancer is fun" kind of laughter, but more of a dark humor that pervades the story through the incredibly well-developed characterization of Hazel and Augustus. As a high school teacher, I must admit that I find the main characters a little hard to believe. I mean, my kids are funny every so often, but never as eloquently sardonic as these two! Clearly, John Green is behind this. But then again, it's not totally unbelievable. I suppose if you were a fairly intelligent teenager who'd been staring death in the face for the last five years you'd have to develop a satirical sense of humor as well. 

So in short, this is not a Jodi Piccoult or a Nicolas Sparks kind of book. And it won't be a Lifetime movie. It is truly John Greenian. It makes you laugh, but it'll also make you think. It is not about two perfect, sweet cancer kids fighting courageously in the face of death. There are moments of smashing basketball trophies, taking advantage of "cancer perks,"  fighting with parents, and crying tears of frustration and hopelessness. They make fun of Disneyworld, other kids with cancer, their nurses, and their depression counselor. There is some egging of cars, a whole lot of eye rolling, and even a bit of "scoodlypooping" as John Green is apt to say. Essentially it's a book about  kids who realize that they've lost the lottery. Cancer is not the problem. Dying is the problem. They are just a "side effect." In a world infected by Death, cancer is just one of the many side effects. 

For a young adult novel, I found this book pleasantly challenging and delightfully philosophical. At some points I had to reread certain conversations just to fully process the weight of their thoughts: What is our purpose here? Are we here to change the universe, or just to observe and leave it undisturbed? Does our existence make the world a better place, or does it just produce scars when we die? And are those scars worth it? Are the scars of loss worth the joy that preceded it? 

These are all questions that are not easily answerable and certainly cannot be fully dissected in a 300 page young adult novel. I didn't really come away with any new understandings about life or existence, but I did come away with a deeper appreciation for the art of humor. Some use humor is used rather unartistically and for no purpose but to disgust and entertain (i.e. Daniel Tosh). That is cheap humor. Others, like John Green, Stephan Colbert, and John Oliver, know how to use humor appropriately and intellectually. That is a talent and an art that I can truly admire.