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