‘You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world…But you do have some say in who hurts you.’ – John Green, The Fault in our Stars

Okay, I know there is a lot of hype around this book, but the first time I read it I honestly loved it. I do know people who do not like it and I think that is fine. But, on speaking to someone who did not finish the book, they said it was too depressing because it is about cancer and Hazel can be negative (which is understandable in her situation), and I just felt they focused on the wrong part of the plot. I do not feel like you are supposed to be thinking ‘they have cancer, it’s so awful, she will never be cured…etc’. I may be wrong but I focused on how Gus changes how Hazel thinks and tries to show her that she is still alive and should be living whilst she can. The book has many sad moments, but the relationships between the characters is lovely. Overall, I just felt moved and I felt that considering the characters have/ have had cancer, I felt surprisingly uplifted by them.