“I am not a mathematician, but I know this: There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. There’s .1 and .12 and .112 and an infinite collection of others. Of course, there is a bigger infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2, or between 0 and a million. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I’m likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I’m grateful.”
The Fault in our Stars by John Green is a contemporary YA novel that ponders the meaning of life, death, and everything in between in a remarkably relatable manner. Hazel Grace Lancaster is a 16-year-old who was diagnosed with stage IV thyroid cancer three years before the start of the novel. Currently hooked to an oxygen tank she can’t really live without and proclaimed to have chronic depression, Hazel starts attending a Support Group for young people with cancer to appease her mother’s worries. There, she meets 17-year-old Augustus Waters, a new boy with one leg and an unusual interest in Hazel. Augustus is whimsical, philosophical, and not at all what Hazel expected to show up in her dull life, if you could even call it that. Before Augustus, Hazel was just existing; simply there. After Augustus, Hazel finds someone to confide in, someone to argue and confer with about nothing and everything, from popular movies to the intricacies of metaphors. They grow closer together, and along the way, Hazel grows and flourishes into a woman, not a new one exactly, but a better one.
“Much of my life had been devoted to trying not to cry in front of people who loved me, so I knew what Augustus was doing. You clench your teeth. You look up. You tell yourself that if they see you cry, it will hurt them, and you will be nothing but a Sadness in their lives, and you must not become a mere sadness, so you will not cry, and you say all of this to yourself while looking up at the ceiling, and then you swallow even though your throat does not want to close and you look at the person who loves you and smile.”
This novel is written in a beautifully poignant script. Green brings to you dark comedy, satire, and teenage woes through Hazel’s story. At the same time, you learn deep messages about true love, unjust death, and the bittersweetness of life. Hazel’s vitriol and realistic view of life is met and challenged by Augustus’ enthusiasm and profound thoughts. The writing is all-encompassing and huge, making you feel like you’re reading about something bigger than yourself, and yet the main story and themes remain simple and grounded throughout the book. With references to Hazel’s favourite novel, a story of sadness and the truth of life, the two teens learn to accept and move on from pain and loss, and recognize that there is still good to appreciate in this life. They still have the ability to laugh, to smile, and to love, no matter what may come.
“As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.”
