The Fault in Our Stars

I was asked to review the book The Fault in Our Stars recently by the site BlogHer as part of their book club for bloggers.  It was by an author I had not read before, John Green, and yes, he is a Young Adult author.  A bit skeptical about reading it? Maybe.  I was thinking, hmm, another Hunger Games, Twilight young adult phenomenon. Absolutely not!  Once I started this book, let me tell you, I could NOT put it down!

As a mom and counselor, it touched on so many life issues. Mostly, it deals with life, love, loss and grief. The main character, Hazel, is dealing with having a terminal illness as a 16 year old girl and living at home with her parents, with her GED already in place and dealing with life's ups and downs.  She is an amazing character and I loved the way the author made her so real and I felt as though anyone could identify with her, even a 60 year-old male.

The book really makes you think about the meaning of life, goals, and yes, the topic we all hate and avoid, 'death.'  But it's not a sad, tear jerking Terms of Endearment story that I thought it might be.  It really inspires you to appreciate the little things in life and that as rough as life might get, eventually, it really IS going to be o.k.

And the mother element in the book was very moving as you can identify with the main character's mother and how her new full time job is caring for her sick child and wondering if she will still be considered a mom if her daughter does not make it.  I like how it also touched on how parents need to find their own meaning in life and to do things that they enjoy outside of their main role as 'parent.'  We can't forget our own hobbies and interests once we become a mom, which is so easy to do.  Now that I have a toddler and pregnant, I find that my extra activities are now reading parenting magazines, working on baby books, and other mom activities and have neglected some of my old interests like music, baking, crafts and outdoor interests.

I know, you are probably thinking, okay, a book about teens, are you serious? Yes, I am.  As I was reading it, I was thinking of how much I want to recommend this book.  Most people I know would really enjoy reading it and would each gain something different from it.

Okay, enough bragging about how great this book is.  Go out and read it and join us in the discussion at BlogHer here for the next month!  I mean it, you will finish this thing super fast and ready for his next one.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own."