I am
so embarassed.
When I wrote my recently read book list last night I forgot to add the most recent book that I have finished. And now I feel really bad, like I've disappointed the book and its characters. Because the truth is that it is one of the best books I have ever read. It's currently ranking right up there in my top, mmmmm, maybe seven. Heck, it might even be in my top five.
The Fault in Our Stars is another "Young Adult" book, although I hate the "YA" label, because it makes books seem dumber and like they can't be enjoyed by intelligent adults.
The story is narrated by a sixteen-year-old cancer patient named Hazel, who is forced by her parents to attend a support group, where she meets and falls in love with seventeen-year-old Augustus, an ex-basketball player, osteosarcoma survivor and amputee.
Perhaps I forgot to add it to my list because I have been emotionally traumatized by reading it. Be forwarned, it's a real punch in the gut. I read it in two days. On night number two (the night I finished it at 1:00 am) I was laying in bed reading on my kindle and crying like a baby. Like wiping tears and gasping for breath crying.
I think one of the things that I found to be interesting about the book is how I was able to relate to both the teens and their parents, simultaneously and equally. I remember, like it was yesterday, being a 16-year-old girl and liking a boy. And I know what it is like to be a parent and to love a child so much you feel like your chest will rip open and your heart will explode if anything (like cancer) happens to them.
The characters in this book are well written and the plot is fully formed. I loved every page and every word of it. Do not take my leaving it off my list as my not being completely enamored by it. We will just blame it on being tired after an exceptionally busy weekend.
Oh, and this book is also being turned into a movie. It comes out in early June. I saw a trailer for it today and as I was wiping tears from my face remembered that I had left it off my list. Then I told Michael that we're packing 14 boxes of kleenex and going on its opening day.
3 comments:
Sigh. I could not agree more about this one. I don't know that I'll be able to see this one brought to life since the book is so intense. Crazy that we love the exact same books!!! Man, we are awesome.
I don't like the term "Young Adult" either since most of my favorite books seem to fall into this genre, and they can be pretty emotionally mature. I know this one is a tear jerker, but it has been on my must-read list for a while. Yes, my list is growing. Sigh.
A girl in my dance class just read this book. She said she stayed up too late finishing it and then bawled at the end.
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