There is something about a book that makes you laugh and cry, and laugh while you cry, and cry while you laugh. Those are the books that I find myself recommending the most because if a book can make me feel so much, the author must have done something right.
Which is why my book of the month for March is a reread for me, and something I've mentioned previously in my blog: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.
This book has become kind of a big deal since it was released in January 2012. I first read it that summer and this month I read it again in one night while my roommate was off on her spring break adventures. I cried just as hard (or harder) the second time around.
The story is narrated by Hazel, a sixteen year old girl with terminal cancer--kept alive by a miracle drug. She meets Augustus Waters at a support group for cancer kids. Augustus lost his leg to cancer and is in remission now. Green has a clever way of writing, with fast-paved dialogue and quirky characters. I love the details he includes--for example, Augustus's parents have what they call "encouragements" (ie, "families are forever" and "we wouldn't know happiness without sadness"), which are so much like the kitsch found in Mormon households that it made me laugh (and wonder if John Green had perchance known a Mormon . . .).
Anyway, this is a book that I recommend to everyone who wants a good book. It's funny, clever, and, yes, desperately sad.
My roommate and I started following this weird YouTube experiment called Brotherhood 2.0 in 2007. Six years later, I feel like I've become good friends with the Green brothers. Weird, right? John Green is an amazing writer. I thought this was his best book yet. Good choice!
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