THE FAULT IN OUR STARS: LOVE IN THE TIME OF CANCER

Notes for March 23 Meeting

Positive Comments:

• This likable and well-rounded female character develops in the story.
• The positive family dynamics and relationship offer a refreshing break from much YA literature.
• The moving story causes readers to think about it long after they have finished because of its thought-provoking perspective of teens knowing they will never reach adulthood. 
• The language has an admirable “meatiness” that does not take the reader out of the story.
• Readers wanted to read the fictional book, An Imperial Affliction, that the characters were reading.
• This story takes all teen concerns—sex, love, death, the meaning of life—and blows them up to the “nth degree.”
• The book contains a lot of humor and funny situations despite its seriousness. 
• Hazel’s mom preparing for life after she’s gone is an intriguing inclusion.
• Both teens are smart, even pretentious, which could explain the cigarette metaphor.  It could also be the character’s attempt to control at least one aspect of his life.  His trip to the store where he gets so seriously ill shows how out of control his life actually is.

Observations:

• This story is a good quick read.
• A 17-year-old son who does not usually read YA stayed in room until he was finished with the book.
• At his Politics and Prose event, 950 teens attended; Green has a teen audience that does not mind his vocabulary.
•  

Concerns:

• The annoying metaphoric cigarette makes readers wonder why it was included since it adds nothing to the story. 
• Some of the vocabulary is too intellectual, and struggling adult readers wonder how a teen would respond. Who even talks like that?