Best Book of 2013, The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Out of all the amazing books I read in 2013, my favorite was, hands down, The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. It is one of those rare perfect books that combine many different themes and conflicts that make you never want to stop reading. The main character, Hazel, and her boyfriend, Gus, are very complex and interesting characters that made me connect to their lives and get lost in the book.

One of the things I loved about The Fault In Our Stars was its use of metaphors, like the reoccurring grenade. Hazel compared herself to a grenade and tried to avoid people to “minimalize the casualties” of her death. In the end, Gus actually ended up being more of a grenade than Hazel, leaving all his friends and family devastated. The characters lived by their own metaphors as well, like Gus and cigarettes. Gus always had a cigarette between his teeth but never lit it. “They don't kill you unless you light them," he said as Mom arrived at the curb. "And I've never lit one. It's a metaphor, see: You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing.” Gus did this because he felt the need to have power over something in his body, considering the fact that he had no control over his cancer.

Another thing I loved about The Fault In Our Stars was how truthful it was. For example, Hazel and Gus were obsessed with the fictional book An Imperial Affliction, and couldn’t wait to meet the book’s author Peter Van Houten in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, when they finally met him, he turned out to be a rude alcoholic that almost ruined Hazel and Gus’s love and appreciation for An Imperial Affliction. Another example of truthfulness displayed in the book was when Hazel was investigating Gus’s ex-girlfriend, Caroline, who died of cancer. On her social media profiles, she was preserved as a nice girl with a lot of friends, but when Gus spoke truthfully about her, he said she was actually just plain mean. Though these occurrences disappointed the characters and readers, they were realistic and pulled me into the book even more.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green was a phenomenal book, and my favorite book of 2013. This book was intriguing on many levels, ranging from sad one moment to hilarious in the next. It was so thought provoking that I still think about now! If you haven’t read this book yet, I strongly recommend it along with anything else by John Green.