Why I Chose The Fault in Our Stars

I started reading The Fault in Our Stars recently, and I am about one- fifth of the way through.

I have heard a lot about this book from friends, so I decided to find a summary and get a preview. The book is about a 16 year old girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster who was diagnosed with cancer. She attends a support group, where she meets a boy name Augustus Waters. That's about as far as I have gotten, but I will definitely be finishing this book.

Cancer is a very... touchy topic for many people- including myself. Last year, someone I knew passed away from cancer. Although I was not particularly close with her, I had been with her many times. And looking back on it now, one of my biggest regrets is not getting to know her, or her family better. I saw her a week or two before she was diagnosed, and I never saw her again.

I guess part of me wanted to read this book because I believed there would be a happy ending where everyone survives and celebrates (I mean, it's a book. Lots of happy endings in those, right?). A happy ending to make up for the sad ending in my story, and the sad ending that too many people in the world have gone through already. Unfortunately, the summary I read had some spoilers. Some MAJOR spoilers...

But anyways, this book is fantastic. It offers a heartfelt, realistic viewpoint from a girl who has dealt with more than any teenage girl should have to face. And the more I read, the more addicting it gets. Most of the characters are just a heartbeat away from death at any given time, yet they still manage to have humor, curiosity, and love.

I realize now, after going through my thoughts and typing this post, that I don't care whether or not the ending is happy or sad. I realize that the beginning and the middle are just as important as the ending, because the ending is really only a small part in the journey of life. And what makes the story genuinely happy, is what happens during that journey.