john green Archives - Diary of Difference

★★★★★

This year, I had the opportunity to re-read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. It was a favorite of mine when I was in high-school, and I read it again to see whether I still enjoyed it.

John Green’s writing is one that I can always come back to. It’s very easy to enter the world he builds, and I remember vividly how much I enjoyed Looking For Alaska as well.

Hazel is suffering from terminal cancer. And even though her tumor shrunk by some miracle and bought her a few years, Hazel knows not to be hopeful. She is lonely and depressed, and she feels like a burden to her family. She goes to Cancer Kid Support Group, quite frankly, just to make her mum happy.

But then one day, a gorgeous Augustus Waters suddenly appears, and Hazel’s story is about to change. He is immediately intrigued by her, and he wants to get to know her. Before they know it, they spend all their days together and get closer to each other.

And Augustus’s story is also not a fairytale. He has been battling cancer and won, and now he’s supporting his friend Isaac with his eye cancer too. Which is also how he ends up to the support group meeting.

I loved their instant connection, and I loved their love.

Their bond was something special and for the short time they were together they manage to have so many adventures and learn so much about each other. And when the tragedy strikes, which I won’t mention, even though most of you probably know how it ends, it’s very sad. It’s devastating and heartbreaking. That part made me cry the first time I read it, it made me cry on my re-read and I am quite sure it will keep making me cry every time I read it.

I loved Hazel and Augustus’s love for books, and the whole part about Hazel’s favourite book and their trip to Amsterdam. Not only because they do it, but because of how selfless Augustus is with his last wish, and his letters, to try and make this happen – just for her. You can see that the only thing he cares about is Hazel. And it’s such a beautiful thing to see.

But something I noticed, that many of you might disagree with, is that I wasn’t too fussed about their love this time. It was cute, but maybe because they were teenagers, it felt not as deep. I think that if they happened to stay together and marry, that after 10 years they wouldn’t be happy. There were little things in the book that made me feel like this. And I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but I’ll just put it out there.

What I loved most about The Fault in Our Stars is how real this book is. Especially about the cancer part.

I have had the luck to not ever be ill myself or have any family close to me, but I have had friends and long distance relatives suffer from cancer, and I could feel the suffering and heartache it causes. Especially when a person you love so much doesn’t make it. And the process of treatment is such a hard battle, ongoing struggle and fighting the odds. It must be so hard to keep fighting and to stay positive. I can understand why some people feel like they just want to give up. Even Hazel does a few times, especially at the beginning of the book. The pressure you feel from the family as well, they want you to keep fighting, and you just can’t imagine another day of suffering, it must be devastating. And John Green explains this part so well – and it hurts my feelings every time.

The Fault in Our Stars is a one of a kind.

Still an all-time favourite, and I think it will always stay that way. Happy and sad story of two teens in love, trying to fight cancer against all odds and just be happy, when destiny has other plans. I definitely recommend it!

Purchase Links:
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★★★★

Miles is moving to Alabama to attend a boarding school. And while he is a quiet boy that happens to remember famous people’s last words, he is also looking to stay out of trouble. He meets, incidentally, the most troublesome people that are about to change his life forever.

”So, I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bun, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.”

One of these people is Alaska Young, and believe me when I say, she is trouble. She is also clever and beautiful, but most of all screwed up, and she steals Miles’s heart straight away.

”Looking for Alaska” reminded me so much of ”The Perks of Being a Wallflower”. There was definitely the same vibe of boy goes to new school, boy is quiet, boy meets loud friends and boy falls in love.

And even though I got really annoyed at the beginning due to the fact that Miles barely talks to his friends and does whatever he is told to do, his character does develop throughout the book and he manages to find his voice and his purpose which I believe made this book way more meaningful.

”That is the fear. I have lost something important, and I cannot find it, and I need it. It is fear like if someone lost his glasses and went to the glasses store and they told him that the world had run out of glasses and he would just have to do without.”

On the subject of his feelings towards Alaska, the love he feels, it is very hard to actually notice the big impact she has on Miles. Yes, we might agree that she didn’t really care about him as we would’ve wanted her to do. She didn’t have big feelings for him, but she did have an enormous influence on him. While she was there thinking about her boyfriend, Miles was constantly thinking about her, memorising every opinion she has, learning all her favourite book titles, listening to all of her stories and always wondering whether she maybe, just maybe feels at least a fraction of what he feels for her. And while Alaska might not be aware, Miles will still carry all his emotions in his heart. Even if they have never been returned back.

”What the hell is instant? Nothing is instant. Instant rice takes five minutes, instant pudding an hour. I doubt that an instant of blinding pain feels particularly instantaneous.”

The book perfectly captures a young person’s way of thinking and a young person’s perception of feelings, actions, and responsibility into the unfair thing we call life. I recommend it to all of you!

Purchase Links:
| Amazon UK |Amazon US |