The Fault in Our Stars Movie Review

-Contains spoilers-  

The screen adaptation of John Green's 2012 young-adult bestseller about star-crossed teens came out on the 5th of June in Australia and recently I just watched it.  The book and movie follow Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters who meet at a cancer support group. I was a big of the novel so I was going to be a harsh critic. One of the reasons my friends don’t like watching movie with me because if the movie was a book I’ll point out every different scene from the book. When popular books or books that you love get adapted into movies, there’s always the fear that you’re about to watch your favourite story get brutally abused.  I was so happy the movie stayed true to the book though so they only time I was actually talking was to reassure my friends that I was alright.  Before watching and reading the Fault in Our Stars I was so oblivious to cancer. I have never had never had any close relatives with cancer, so the book and movie were very insightful for me.

In the introductory voice-over, we are promised by the heroine Hazel Grace Lancaster that it won't be a typical terminal illness story that “sugar coats” the characters' afflictions. I feel like that movie is a mixture of both. It slightly romanticises cancer and terminal illness, but also shows the real reality of living with one. The heroine at the heart of the story is Hazel Grace Lancaster, a terminally ill teenager whose thyroid cancer has spread to her lungs. To please her she attends a local support group in ‘the literal heart of Jesus’, where she meets the charming Augustus Waters, who had lost part of his leg to osteosarcoma. Hazel doesn’t want to have a relationship with Augustus at first stating that she’s a grenade, but the inevitable happened and they shared a kissed in the Anne Frank house. Though they both acknowledge the painful realisation that their days together are numbered, they refuse to be defined by the disease. This is a beautiful movie about adolescents forced to make every moment count.

I am by far one of the biggest fans of the Fault in Our Stars in my group of friends. At every sad part of the movie my friends turned and looked at me. They all expected me to ball my eyes out and they were right. At the end of the movie one of my friends came and gave me a big comfortable hug. She later said to me, “I was worried, you were violently sobbing’. All of my friends thought that I was crying because Augustus had died, but honestly I did let a few tears slip due to his death, but at the end I cried so much because this book and movie really opened my eyes. Anna, Van Houten's daughter, which he said died of cancer at eight years of age, was a big tear jerker for me. At the end of the movie I cried because my sister is eight years old and I was so grateful that my sister, mum and I don’t have cancer. I also cried because of the unfairness of cancer, but no one ever said life is fair. I’m not a very religious person, so I won’t call it praying, but after the movie I found myself hoping for the best of all cancer patients. After watching the movie of the Fault in Our Stars I felt a mixture of gratefulness and sadness.

The Fault in Our Stars has been giving nothing but positive vibes to its fans, with the trailer being one of the most liked videos on YouTube. A lot of the dialogue is word-for-word from the novel. My friends and I found that we were mouthing the words to our favourite quotes.  I’ve never seen a more faithful book-to-film adaptation. The dialogue that isn’t directly taken from the book remains true to the characters. Some story is trimmed and condensed, but hardly anything is cut altogether. In my review of the book I have already stated that some of the speech is very farfetched for teenagers and I still stand by that statement, but Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley make it look so natural. Some of Hazel’s narration is turned into voiceovers so that her inner observations about cancer aren’t lost. Though, Isaac’s story is a little more light-hearted in the film than in the book. The whole cast are amazing and portray their characters so well. Nat Wolff also brought so much humour. His acting in the trophy breaking scene and in the egging scene made me laugh so hard. (Also Nat Wolff followed me on Instagram once, but his account got hacked and now he has a different accountL) Laura Dern and Sam Trammell were wonderful as Hazel’s parents. Sometimes in movies and books the parents seem to disappear, but in this story the parents are very involved. I was particularly anticipated to see the scene where Hazel’s mum says she’s not a mum any more. It was a very short scene, but I love it. My favourite quote from the movie is “See we may not like much. But between the 3 of us we have 5 legs, 4 eyes, 2 1/2 working pairs of lungs, and 2 dozen eggs.” That quote wasn’t in the book, but it was only in movie, but I’m so glad they included it. I'm still so shocked that the movie is so much like the book. 

Shailene Woodley brings Hazel to life, making the audience empathise with her without ever asking us to pity her. Before the role of Augustus was cast, there were talks about Zac Efron being cast the role of Augustus Waters. I’m glad that they went against casting him, because during the whole movie I would have seen Zac Efron playing Augustus Waters. Ansel Elgort for me was Augustus Waters. He played the role how I saw everything in my head. His performance in the plane scene was particularly noteworthy. He is just an amazing actor. There was talk before the movie about Shailene and Ansel playing siblings in Diveregnt and now lovers. That’s the beauty of acting. You can live a thousand lives within a single life. When watching the movie I was so engaged that I couldn’t think about anything else besides from the movie. Also Shailene Woodley with long hair and short hair look very different as well; so that wasn’t a problem for me. The movie doesn’t live up to the full tragedy of their love story, but it does tell it in a beautiful and filmic way, though that’s needed to make a popular movie. After watching the movie I doubt that any fans of the book will leave disappointed, or with dry eyes.
-The girl with her head in the clouds

This star won’t go out book review:

-I don't recommend reading this if you haven't read the book, but it doesn't have any major spoiler or anything-

This Star Won't Go Out is an encouraging and inspirational read about Esther Earl’s life, which ended in August 25th 2010, when she was 16 years old. She was focussed on a daily mission to comfort and care for others, and no matter what pain and agony she might have been going through, she refused to abandon her family and friends. The whole book is like memoir, with pages of her journals, sketches, letters, photos, updates from Esther’s website, and an introduction by John Green. John Green is an award winning author, who dedicated his international bestseller The Fault in Our Stars to her. There are also photographs and essays by family and friends which help to tell Esther’s story along with an introduction by award-winning author John Green who dedicated his bestselling novel The Fault in Our Stars to her. The Fault in our Stars is a book about a girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster who is 16 and has the same kind of cancer as Esther. John Green has stated that Esther inspired the story but that the story isn’t about Esther.

I had heard of this book through John Green who mentioned it in one of his vlogs on YouTube. I was going to buy the book when I saw the book in my school library. Thank goodness for the library or I’ll be broke, well more broke then I am now. I was very excited to be able to get my hands on this book, but I was not prepared for the emotional roller-coaster I was about to go on while reading this wonderful book. At certain points of the book I was laughing at Esther funny and witty jokes while other parts of the book I was in tears. I have never personally known anyone with cancer, though I have had distant family who have died from cancer, but I have never met them before. Whenever my mum tell tells me about their death I feel this sense of sadness and this sense of guilt that I haven’t taken the time know them while they were still alive. I always have imagined them as bedridden people who are too sick to go outside. Sometimes society has his perception of people with cancer. This book was so insightful for me to see that just because they’re sick doesn’t mean they’re less whole then those who aren’t; also that a short life can be a whole one.

This Star Won't Go Out is a rare look into the life of a young person living with and dying of cancer. It reveals Esther’s indomitable spirit, her thoughts and fears about death, her goofy sense of humour and, reminds us that “cancer kids” aren’t these gleaming beacons of Hope and Inspiration for us all. They are kids who happen to have cancer and have to learn to cope with that to the best with what life has given them. That includes moments of great courage, but it also includes moments of sadness, anger and frustration at the physical restrictions ofcancer. My favourite part of the book is the sections that included Esther’s journal. One of the reasons the fault in our stars was so successful was because it was so different to read such an emotionally raw account about having cancer. I loved this book so much because unlike The Fault in Our Stars, the main writer did have cancer so it showed through the snippets of her journal. While reading the journal entries seem so much more authentic and not romanticised. Esther Earl was an amazing and extraordinary writer and her journal was very insightful.

There is a beautiful and heartfelt introduction to the book by John Green:

"Esther's story belonged to her, and fortunately for us she was an extraordinary writer, who in these pages tells that story beautifully. I find comfort in that, but make no mistake: I am still pissed off that she died. I still miss her. I still find her loss an intolerable injustice. And I wish she'd read The Fault in Our Stars. I am astonished that the book has found such a broad audience, but the person I most want to read it never will."

In This Star Won’t Go Out did not only include insights in Esther Earl’s life, but also into her parents and siblings. It was interesting to see how Esther’s sickness didn’t just affect her life, but also those around her. Like I have stated before I haven’t have any personal experiences with cancer and reading about it is very astute for me. I moderately feel bad for analysing this book and finding it interesting, when it’s so sad and laced with sorrow. This is a real person I was reading about, not just a made up story; I believe that’s what struck me most.

In her journal entries, Esther was insistent about being seen as a complete human being. When the Make-A-Wish Foundation approaches her, she can’t think of anything she would want from them. She writes, “I literally have all I want and that sounds very ‘oh what a cute cancer kid I’ve got watery eyes’ but really it’s just ‘I already own things of interest.’” When she becomes famous to the nerdfighter community, she worries that what John Green and her other friends say about her makes her sound more exceptional than she thinks she is. She writes, “I feel like I’m fooling you all, because I’m not always amazing, and I’m not always awesome, and I’m not always strong, and I’m not always brave, and you guys should know that, you know? I mean, I’m not always this perfect person. I get pissed…I do stupid things. I get angsty. I cry. I hate my cancer. I judge people. I yell at my parents.” Esther’s humility in these kinds moments reminds the reader that she is very much a human being, but also goes further to remind the reader of her self-awareness and humility. The book itself is beautifully organized (color-coded!), so it was easy to distinguish the different sections. My usual problem with biographies is how impersonal they can feel. This book isn’t just sentence after sentence of facts about Esther’s life. It’s all the emotions and experiences of her, her family, and her friends.

Esther Earl was an awesome person who did awesome things. She was a Star who shone her light on all she met. Even after death she is still inspiring and shining her bright light them. It was a privilege to be able read this book and get to have a look into her life; to celebrate her life and legacy.
This star won’t go out and I won’t let it.

-The girl with head in the clouds

"Just… just be happy.  And if you can’t be happy, do things that make you happy.  Or do nothing with people that make you happy."    -Esther Earl

After her death the This Star Won't Go Out foundation was created by her family in her honour to financially help other young people struggling with cancer. Additionally, every year on Esther's birthday, August 3rd, people across the world participate in Esther day, a celebration of Esther's life and, as Esther requested, love and family. The Volgbrothers also make a video with the theme of love, due to Esther's request.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  The link to the site http://tswgo.org/

While just randomly searching around the internet I am across this: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/my-sister-esther-inspired-the-fault-in-our-stars-the-movie-is-her-sequel/2014/06/12/504c2ca4-efef-11e3-914c-1fbd0614e2d4_story.html?tid=pm_pop                      It’s worth having a look at J

Why is the Fault in Our Stars so good?

The Fault in Our Stars

-Contains Spoilers-

The fault in our stars by John Green has been an international hit. With the movie adaption of popular young adult novel ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ released last week I’m going to discuss possible reasons why ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is so popular among readers in my age group and why it is just so good. (For those who have not read the Fault in our Stars you shouldn’t be reading this since it contains many spoilers about the story line, but I know some of you will read on anyway so I’m going to write a quick synopsis of the story line.

Synopsis                                                                 
The story takes place in Indianapolis, Indiana, where sixteen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster reluctantly attends a cancer patients' support group due to her mother’s insistence. In one of the meetings she catches the eye of a teenage boy, and through the course of the meeting she learns the boy's name is Augustus Waters. He's there to support their mutual friend, Isaac. Isaac had a tumour in one eye that he had removed, and now he has to have his other eye taken out as well. Before Augustus takes Hazel home, they agree to read each other's favourite novels. Augustus gives Hazel The Price of Dawn, and Hazel recommends An Imperial Affliction. Hazel explains the magnificence of An Imperial Affliction how it's the only account she's read of living with cancer that matches her experience. She describes how the novel ends mid-sentence leaving the reader in suspense. A week after Hazel and Augustus discuss the literary meaning of An Imperial Affliction, Augustus miraculously reveals he tracked down Van Houten's assistant, Lidewij, and through her he's managed to start an email correspondence with the reclusive author. Van Houten eventually replies, saying he could only answer Hazel's questions in person. He invites her to stop by if she is ever in Amsterdam. Shortly after, Augustus invites Hazel on a picnic. It turns out he's planned an elaborate Dutch-themed picnic where he reveals that a foundation that grants the wishes of kids with cancer has agreed to grant his. She knows she'll hurt him when she dies since she is terminal. She compares herself to a grenade. In the midst of her struggle over what to do about Augustus, Hazel suffers a serious episode in which her lungs fill with fluid and she goes to the ICU. Augustus delivers Hazel another letter from Van Houten, this one more personal than the last. After reading the letter, Hazel is more determined than ever to go to Amsterdam. There is a problem though: her parents and her team of doctors don't think Hazel is strong enough to travel. However Dr. Maria convinces Hazel's parents that Hazel must travel because she needs to live her life. The plans are made for Augustus, Hazel and Hazel's mother to go to Amsterdam, but when Hazel and Augustus meet Van Houten they find that instend of the genius they expected him to be, he is a dream crushing drunk who claims he cannot answer any of Hazel's questions. The following day, Augustus confesses that while Hazel was in the ICU he had a body scan which revealed his cancer has returned and ‘I lit up like a Christmas tree’. They return to Indianapolis, and Hazel realizes Augustus is now the grenade. In his final days Augustus arranges a pre-funeral for himself, and Isaac and Hazel give eulogies. She says how much she loves Augustus, and that she would not trade their short time together for anything in the world. Augustus dies eight days later. Hazel is astonished to find Van Houten at the funeral. Van Houten explains that he and Gus continued correspondence and that Augustus demanded Van Houten make up for ruining their trip to Amsterdam by coming to his funeral to see Hazel. A few days later, Isaac informs Hazel that Augustus was writing something for her. As Hazel tries to locate the pages she encounters Van Houten once more. He drunkenly reveals that Anna was the name of his daughter. An Imperial Affliction was his literary attempt at reconciling himself with her death. Hazel tells Van Houten to sober up and write another book. Eventually Hazel learns that Augustus sent the pages to Van Houten because he wanted Van Houten to use the pages to compose a well-written eulogy about Hazel. Lidewij forces Van Houten to read the pages and sends them straight off to Hazel. The novel concludes with Hazel reading Augustus' words. He says getting hurt in this world is inevitable, but we do get to choose who we allow to hurt us, and that he is happy with his choice. He hopes she likes her choice too.

I know I said a short synopsis but I couldn’t bring myself to shorten it any more. You really should read the book if you haven’t yet.)

One of the main reasons I believe ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is so popular among us teenagers is because the majority of us have never experience anything life frightening in lives. The preponderance of us young adults take bounteous things for granted, so we do not realise how lucky we are.  ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ opens a window for its teenage readers to see what it is like to be a young adult with a life freighting disease in this time and age. It just shows how everyday aspects of life that we take for granted can be very difficult for other people our age. After reading the book I actually felt very ashamed of myself, I had so much in life to be grateful but most of the time I wallow in self-pity. John Green has stated that the first inspiration for The Fault in Our Stars came from when he worked as a student chaplain at a children's hospital. He found the children to be as human as healthy people, and wanted to capture the feeling that "the stories that I was reading sort of oversimplified and sometimes even dehumanized them. And I think generally we have a habit of imagining the very sick or the dying as being kind of fundamentally other. I guess I wanted to argue for their humanity, their complete humanity." The novel was also influenced by Esther Earl who was a nerdfighter (for those who don’t know what or rather who a nerdfighter is, they are people made up entirely out of awesomeness not cells) and friend of his with who died when she was 16 years old of thyroid cancer. He credits Esther Earl for inspiring him to finally write the book, as she demonstrated how a short life could also be a full one.

Another reason why I believe that ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ is so successful is because it has a tragic romance theme. I believe it is a modern day Romeo and Juliet. It has a beautiful love story but a tragic plot twist, that the two main characters, Hazel and Augustus, both have cancer. I think we like the tragic romance theme because it reminds us that even if things are bad there is always a chance something positive to come out of it. Entertainment Weekly wrote, "[Augustus and Hazel's] love story is as real as it is doomed, and the gut-busting laughs that come early in the novel make the luminous final pages all the more heartbreaking", and gave the novel an overall A− grade. I believe that most people enjoy a good love story despite Augustus (even with Augustus dying) The Fault in Our Stars is a beautiful love story and I’m a complete sucker for a good love story especially when it doesn’t show that love is always going to be easy and romanticise being in a relationship.

For Christmas I received a singed copy of TFiOS 

One of the main reasons my friends and I love the fault in our stars is because of the amazing quotes in it. “Were she better or you sicker, then the stars would not be so terribly crossed but it is the nature of our stars to cross. There is no shortage of faults to be found amid our stars.” Though some of it I feel is never going to happen. For example, "I’m in love with you, and I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasures of saying true things. I’m in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout out into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable and that we’re all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labour is returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we’ll ever have, and I’m in love with you.” -Augustus, pg. 153  A 17-year-old boy in modern-day America who went to public school who doesn’t show much interest in either poetry nor classic literature just said this out loud on a plane to a girl he has only known for a couple weeks.  I’m a teenager myself and have never heard any teenager speak with that level of intellect, but in saying that this this a fiction novel and anything can happen in fiction and I love these sorts of quotes in this book so much. These quotes make me feel this bubbliness and giddiness whenever I read it and just make me feel happy. These quotes also make the book so much more fun to read sound more intellectual and deep.

The Fault in Our Stars in all honesty is an amazing book and is there with my top 20 books, with Harry Potter (of course duhh!) and The beautiful forevers (although I haven’t finished reading The Beautiful Forevers I’m really enjoying it and I’m grateful John Green put it in the Nerdfighter bookclub.) My friends all think I’m weird for having such a strong connection with it and the boys in my class think I only like it because Augustus Waters is my dream guy, but they don’t know the truth and even if I told them, they wouldn’t be able to understand. It’s like with Harry Potter, I got sucked into the book and I was going on adventures with Harry, Ron and Hermione. While reading this book I got sucked into a story once again and I believe I would have eventually gotten over it if I had not discovered John Green has a YouTube channel with his brother, Hank Green. Due to the Fault in Our Stars I’m now a proud nerdfighter. The Fault in our stars has opened new doors to me. John Green, even though we have never met, has taught me to embrace my nerdiness and geekiness. I now accept that I’m not popular but I’m surrounded by geek friends who like me for who I am. Just last weekend I was proudly wearing my Pizza John shirt even though my sister said it was weird that I was wearing a shirt with a 36 year old man whom I have never met on it. The Fault in Our Stars is a fantastic book that is now somehow apart of my identity according to friends but I don’t care. This book truly taught me not to fear death because it’s inevitable and just live life and embrace whatever comes my way.
-The girl with her head in the clouds

P.S I’m going to watch the movie in 2 days I’m so excited!

Also I’m EXTREMELY not okay with Augustus’ death, but I’ve accepted it. Death is inevitable and I’m just glad John Green gave him a good, short life then a long, bad (sorry my vocabulary is so limited) life.

“Do not pity the dead Harry.  Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.” 
“It’s the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.” – Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore                                                                                                                                                 
These two quotes written by J.K Rowling kept on jumping into my head when I was reading the aftermath of Augustus’ death, so I thought I might include them somewhere. J