If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been reviewing books that aren’t exactly “new”. Yes, I love reading the latest and greatest. But sometimes the “greatest” are books that have been around for a while. People have either forgotten about them or they never even crossed their reading radar. And some books were just ignored because a movie was made. A movie that, while good, didn’t quite capture the full feel of things. And I like to feel things. Just ask my family…

Anyways.

When The Fault In Our Stars was published in 2012, I didn’t really pay much attention to the book; until I began to see quotes from the novel continually pop up in my Tumblr feed (yes, I was on Tumblr—don’t judge me). Each of these quotes seemed like such perfect one-liners, and I really am a sucker for those. They’re like pick-up lines for books, just begging to be read. But the one that really snagged my attention was this:

“That’s the thing about pain…it demands to be felt.”

And I suddenly needed to read this book that had managed in only ten words, to frame a concept that would take me at least a page to fully convey.

Yes, this is a love story. But it’s the type of love story that explores the realities of life and loss, and all the pain that goes along with it, and it doesn’t exclude teenagers from understanding what that means. I’ve always held distaste for the belief that young people couldn’t possibly know what love is. I rather like to think they do, that they simply jump in with both feet because they haven’t been burned enough times to know better. If every adult relationship we entered into weren’t tainted with the memory of the ones that failed or the heavy understanding of the work that it takes to maintain a good one, wouldn’t we too be blinded by the overwhelming euphoria of undamaged love? But what makes Hazel and Gus so captivating is that there are no delusions of grandeur. They both know that oblivion is inevitable and that one or both of them isn’t going to survive.

One of the many elements that I enjoy about Green’s writing is that he takes these characters and makes them so damn likable that you wonder if they’re even human. And then he throws in a flaw that so firmly roots them in humanity that you can’t help but like them even more for their faults. Gus is brilliant, charming, clever, and in love with our girl; he’s also got a touch of narcissism that rings true of the boy who knows he could have it all—if only he’d live. And while you can’t blame him for wanting a full extraordinary life, you want to tell him to make the most of what’s left, which is exactly what Hazel does,

“This is all you get. You get me, and your family, and this world. This is your life.”

One of the biggest complaints that people have of the book is that the dialogue often seems too sophisticated for teenagers and that it makes the characters unbelievable. But when you consider that these are kids who spend most of their time with parents and doctors, or alone in their rooms with books like ‘An Imperial Affliction’, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to me that they’re using words not usually found in the average teen’s vernacular. I would also argue that the dialogue and language used throughout are one of the reasons why this book is so appealing across the board. And really, let’s not forget the sarcasm and gallows humor that pervades this entire novel. Personally, I believe that any book that can make me laugh out loud and keep me snickering through my tears deserves my recurring attention. Green is the poster child for using language to drive home the impact of a tale.

I’m not in the habit of highlighting quotes in my books, but if I did, these would be in bright, bold neon:

“I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things.”

“Grief does not change you…It reveals you.”

“The marks humans leave are too often scars.”

“And then there are books…which you can’t tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising that affection feels like a betrayal.”

“I was thinking about the word handle, and all the unholdable things that get handled.”

“Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.”

“You gave me a forever within the numbered days.”

“All I know of heaven and all I know of death is in this park: an elegant universe in ceaseless motion, teeming with ruined ruins and screaming children.”

“We’re as likely to hurt the universe as we are to help it, and we’re not likely to do either.”

Oh my god. Just go buy the book.