The Fault in Our Stars

WOOT WOOT!

Every once in awhile a book comes along that changes you. When you find that book you find yourself thinking about it well after you've finished it. You set it down regretfully while you're reading it because you don't want to put it down. Once it is finished you are sad that it is over. The Fault in Our Stars was one of these books for me. 

For a brief synopsis: The narrator is Hazel, a sixteen-year-old girl who has dealt with cancer all her life. Her form of cancer, once it was eradicated from her body, left her with fluid in her lungs and the fear that she could get it all again. She meets a boy, Augustus Waters, who is another cancer patient. His cancer left him with an amputated leg. An unlikely and, seemingly, doomed romance ensues between the two. 

I loved the symbolism in this book. It's something you don't see very much in popular literature these days. People are up for instant gratification and no longer like to delve into the deeper meaning of what they read. 

John Green said he wanted to create  a story that showed a less glamorous look at the life of cancer. Throughout the story Hazel demeans this when someone from her support group dies and their Facebook wall lights up with posts about how wonderful, brave, and perfect that person was when, in reality, these people never knew the real person. Being a victim of cancer or a cancer survivor or a cancer patient, in and of itself, is enough to raise you to sainthood. This is one of the ideals Hazel remains constant about and I think it's because Green is trying to tell us that it is ok to humanize the dead, the cancer patient, and the victim. Celebrate that they were human and they lived a life that wasn't altogether perfect but they made the most of it. 

Hazel is very grim at first. She goes around thinking she's a walking time bomb. I loved her voice through Green's writing. She is a smart, intelligible and reliable narrator. There are moments of great insight and others of entertaining humor that all make Green's novel entertaining and valuable to any library. 

Augustus is a strong hero. I was uncomfortable when his illness started making him into a whiny, gloomy child, but Green explained that he did that on purpose. He wanted to show that death is not a pretty thing. Cancer is not pretty. 

I cannot gush on enough about this book. It has humor, romance, history, symbolism, allusion, great dialogue, awesome writing, and a fine attention to detail. You can tell the author has worked hard to create a story that is both entertaining and affective. I highly recommend it to anyone, but I also recommend that you have a tissue or two handy for the ending. 

Allegiant

WOOT WOOT!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! If you have not read or finished reading this book, come back when you have finished it. Unless you like spoilers, then be my guest. 

There has been a lot of hullabaloo about how Veronica Roth decided to finish this trilogy, and I have to admit it took some guts. I was shocked, at first, and I thought "No way. There's absolutely no way she has me all rooting for Tris and seeing how badass a character she was only just to kill her. This has to be a joke." No joke. 

However, the more I thought about it, the more I realize how fitting it was. And just how beautiful and poetic Tris' death was. It had to happen. I won't go into detail about all that. I can't spoil everything. But just pay attention or think about how Roth spins it at the end. It would actually be out of character for Tris to survive their final attack. She'd been looking for a way to prove herself and to make an impact in the world since Page 1.  As Tobias says "I suppose a fire that burns that bright is not meant to last." 

Throughout this whole trilogy I was skeptical and iffy about Roth. Her writing just feels so stifling at times. Maybe that's not the right word. Perhaps more along the lines of stilted, held back, limited. But now I see the beauty in it. And maybe she was doing that on purpose to make the reader feel just as stilted, limited, and held back as her characters felt in their factions. You can witness her beautiful prose when Tobias and Tris are together. I looked forward to those moments as much as Tris did because, not only is Tobias a sweet hunk of man, that was where the writing flowed and felt comfortable. Now I know it was all done on purpose. At least I would like to think so. Roth managed to use her writing style to evoke emotion which shows true talent and a sharp mind behind the words. At face value, her writing may not stand up to her peers, but she has won me over. Despite her dirty rotten trick at the end. 

Since I'm on the subject of Tris and Tobias, that's actually what I would prefer to focus on for the rest of this review. I actually had no intention of mentioning Tris dying because I hate spoilers, but I felt like I should pay homage to Roth's badass decision that I'm sure was even more devastating to her. As a writer also, I can't imagine killing off the main character in my book. 

Tris and Tobias have a tumultuous relationship. I'd get annoyed with them fighting all the time and Tris always getting mad that Tobias didn't trust or believe her. Then she'd run off and do something stupid so I'd side with Tobias because, girl, ya nearly got everyone killed. I've said it before, though, I love that Roth did not inject a stupid love triangle. I loved that it was Tobias and Tris out to save the world together. 

Allegiant has some beautiful quotes about love and life. I found the simple and realistic view that Tris had was quite powerful. Mind you, I hated Tris in book one. She was immature and seemed to make decisions because it fit the plot. I just didn't understand her. But by the end of the book and the scene where she sacrifices herself for her friends and the future, you see just how much she has grown and changed. I had to sit and stew with this for awhile because when I first closed the book when I was finally done, I wanted to throw the book. 

Enough of that. I said I wouldn't talk about that anymore. Back to the love thing.

One of my favorite quotes is one that I will probably always remember because it is just so perfect. Here this is Tris talking after she and Tobias have made up after yet another fight:

I used to think that when people fell in love, they just landed where they landed, and they had no choice in the matter afterward. And maybe that's true of beginnings, but it's not true of this, now.

I fell in love with him. But I don't stay with him by default as if there's no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me (372). 

The whole trilogy is about choices. Choices define you. Choices transform you. Choices destroy you. I think Tris' love with Tobias was her saving grace. That she found that love was the choice that defined her, not a faction or anything anybody said she was. 

I'm falling more in love with this trilogy the more I write about it and think about it.