In a Nutshell

Who among us hasn't been plagued with a serious case of angst? For teenagers, it seems par for the course (all those raging hormones, OMG). But it's especially true for the two main characters in John Green's hilarious and heart-breaking cancer-kid novel, The Fault in Our Stars. Brought to us by a master of young adult literature, The Fault in Our Stars will have you laughing, weeping, and perhaps even depressed for a few days after you read it.

Don't say we didn't warn you.

Hazel Grace is just a normal teenager who is bored with life and likes to quote philosophers (no big deal) when she meets Augustus, a grade A hottie. It would be your typical teenage-girl-meets-boy story if it weren't for the particulars of how they meet: Hazel and Augustus first lay eyes on each other at a support group for kids with cancer. Ugh.

This is a love story in the bleakest sense. Usually when teenagers fall for each other, it's all exhilaration and excitement and promises of forever. But even though Hazel Grace and Augustus experience that kind of giddy obsession with each other (and trust us, it's pretty freakin' cute), their relationship is, well, a little complicated by their medical statuses. You see, they live in an era where they've been able to slow the progress of their tumours, but not totally get rid of them. So for kids like Hazel Grace and Augustus, the future is one big question mark.

More than anything, this book is about coming to terms with your own mortality. All the characters in the book handle it in different ways: there are glass-half-full support group kids who try to get in touch with their spirituality and inner strength; there are parents who try to keep their premature grief in check; there are people like Augustus who want to make a mark on the world; and there are people like Hazel Grace who just float along without making a fuss about dying or living either way.

In the end, no way is right or wrong. And no way is easy.

So pick up your own tear-stained, dog-eared copy of The Fault in Our Stars and let's fall in love, cry, and learn from all the trials and tribulations that come with dying... and of course, living.

WHY SHOULD I CARE?

Why should I care? This might as well be a question that's asked by the book's narrator, Hazel Grace. Quite frankly, Hazel doesn't see much of a point in life or leaving a mark on the world. But even if she remains passive, life still happens to her. And that's where all the interesting stuff starts to happen. John Green strives to show us all the messy, wonderful, and utterly surprising things that can happen in a life, even if you're not actively seeking out any adventures. Hazel Grace's life is far from perfect, even when she meets the dreamboat Augustus and falls madly in love with him. It's full of breathing tubes and worried parents and former classmates who treat her like she's fragile glass. But it's still a life, and that's the truly important part.

The book challenges you, the reader, to examine your own life and what you want out of it. After all, even with their obvious limitations, the characters in this book demand control of their lives and try to make the most of the time they have—even if it turns out to be not so much time at all.

That's certainly a thought to chew on.

Summary

Here's the whole sordid tale. Dying girl meets hot boy. Hot boy and dying girl fall in teenage love and go on adventures to Amsterdam together. Dying girl is disappointed by her meeting with a certain author whom she idolizes. Dying girl and hot boy admit their love to each other and have physical relations. In a horrible twist of fate, dying girl lives while hot boy dies. The end.

Confused and a little intrigued? Don't worry about it—we'll go a little slower (and add a little detail) to make the summary just a bit more palatable and easy to follow.

We open up the story with Hazel Grace, who is your average teenager except for the little fact that she's got all sorts of cancer inside her body and her lungs aren't working very well.

Hazel is in Support Group one day when a new boy catches her eye. Well, to be accurate, they catch one another's eyes. Soon enough, she and Augustus (aforementioned hot boy) are flirtatious friends and talk to each other about everything. Hazel shares her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, with Augustus, and together they obsess about the unsolved ending. Augustus manages to somehow get through to the author and when Hazel emails him, he invites her to come to Amsterdam to discuss the ending of the book. A fan's dream come true.

In the meantime, Augustus and Hazel's good friend Isaac is losing his eye (the only one he has left) so that he can be cancer-free at long last. In the process though, he also loses his girlfriend Monica, who can't "deal" with having a blind boyfriend. Yeah, we think she's a little superficial too, but whatever.

So Augustus surprises Hazel by telling her that he still has his wish (the "Wish" that they grant to dying children) from when he had cancer and lost his leg, and he'd happily use it to take her to Amsterdam to meet Peter Van Houten, reclusive author of An Imperial Affliction. Ah, true romance. Hazel of course, is over the moon about the whole idea, but first she has to convince her hovering, worried parents and her skeptical doctors.

Eventually, they manage to get their trip in order and take off into the great unknown with Hazel's mother in tow. They go to Amsterdam and have beautiful and romantic times, but when they meet Peter Van Houten, it doesn't exactly go as planned. First of all, he's a mean drunk. Second of all... well actually, no, that's totally it. He's just a mean drunk and doesn't answer any of Hazel's questions. Hazel is angry and upset, but Van Houten's assistant Lidewij takes her and Augustus out to explore Amsterdam. They see Anne Frank's house, where things are kind of redeemed because she and Augustus finally kiss. Ooh la la. They go back to the hotel room and even steamier things happen. Yowza.

Augustus then drops a bomb: his cancer has returned. This is very, very bad. When they return to Indianapolis, it's clear that Augustus's health is deteriorating and he might not have much time left. In a heartbreaking scene, Hazel and Isaac even share the eulogies that they wrote for him. Throughout it all, Hazel is there with Augustus, until the very end.

When he dies, Hazel is shocked and filled with grief. At his funeral, though, she gives a different eulogy than the one she had written him. Why? Well, she realizes that she needs to deliver something that's tailored to his parents, who are the ones suffering now (not him).

At the funeral, she's shocked to see that Peter Van Houten is there. She talks to him and realizes that he wrote An Imperial Affliction because he had a daughter who died of cancer. She's no closer to liking Van Houten as a person, but she understands a little more why he's so tortured and crotchety. She also learns from Isaac that Augustus was writing something for her before he died. She proceeds to go on a kind of crazy search for what he's written, which she thinks might be the alternate ending to An Imperial Affliction that she wanted so badly. She also learns that her mother is taking classes to become a Support Group leader, and is relieved that there will be life for her parents after she dies.

At the very end, she learns from Lidewij that Augustus wrote her a eulogy that he sent to Van Houten. The book ends with her reading the eulogy, which states that he hopes that she's happy with the choices she made.

Hazel says that yes, she is happy.

Chapter 1

• Hazel Grace opens The Fault in Our Stars with a snide comment about how her mother thinks she's depressed.
• Because of her supposed depression, Hazel has to go to a weekly Support Group, which is held in a church basement by an overenthusiastic group leader named Patrick.
• Support Groups are totally not Hazel's thing and she thinks very sarcastic things about the whole process, which includes introducing oneself and plenty of "sharing."
• Hazel has only one friend in Support Group, a kid named Isaac who has eye cancer and sports a glass eye.
• One Wednesday, however, after "kicking-and-screaming" about having to go to Support Group, Hazel goes and finds that there is a new person in attendance.
• Of course, because this is a story about teenagers and their craaaaazy bodies (both in illness and in hormonal fluctuations), the new kid is a hot boy. They stare at each other in hot, hot eye contact until the boy looks away—meaning that Hazel has won this round of the flirty staring contest. Atta girl.
• Isaac introduces himself to the group and says that he has to get eye surgery in a couple weeks and will be totally blind, but that he's glad he has his girlfriend and his friend, Augustus (hot boy).
• Hot boy Augustus finally introduces himself and says that he is seventeen and had some osteosarcoma a year and a half ago, but that he's here to support Isaac today.
• Hazel also introduces herself and says that she is 16 with thyroid cancer and mets in her lungs.
• All this cancer talk has our heads spinning.
• In Support Group, Augustus says that he fears oblivion and Hazel goes on a rant about oblivion that catches his attention.
• Support Group wraps up.
• Afterward, Augustus makes his way over to Hazel and begins a proper conversation.They chat outside for a little bit with Isaac, who goes off to make out with his curvy girlfriend Monica, who he wants to look at for as long as possible before he loses his sight. Romance!
• Augustus tells Hazel that she's beautiful and it's kind of awkward. But then he compares her to Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta. Nice.
• Hazel has never seen that movie, and she says so. Then in a super slick move, Augustus asks Hazel if she'll come over right now to watch a movie with him.
• Hazel's pretty won over by all of Augustus's charming antics, but when he pulls out a cigarette, she's immediately disgusted.
• But wait. He explains himself and says that it's actually a metaphor, since he never ever lights the cigarette.
• A boy who speaks in metaphor? How could our dear heroine resist?
• She runs up to her mom's car and informs her that she will be watching a movie at Augustus Waters's house tonight.

Chapter 2

• Though Augustus may have many, many charming attributes, his driving isn't necessarily one of them.
• Speed demon Augustus explains to Hazel that getting his driver's license was probably a "Cancer Perk," something that you get because people feel sorry for you.
• That sounds… unsafe.
• Hazel tells Augustus the whole sordid story about her disease and how everyone thought that she was going to die until she took Phalanxifor, which shrank her tumors. She also already got her GED, which impresses Augustus quite a bit.
• Upon entering Augustus's home, she notices a great deal of inspiring phrases sewn onto improbable things—they're Encouragements.
• She meets Augustus's parents, too. Augustus wants to watch a movie with Hazel in the dark, private basement (Ooooo!) but his parents say no way. So they grab the movie from the basement and then go back to the living room to watch.
• They get to know each other a bit, the usual chitter chatter about family and interests.
• It comes out that Hazel loves An Imperial Affliction and is practically evangelical about it.
• Augustus gives her a book that's slightly less literary: The Price of Dawn.
• Settling down, they watch V for Vendetta and Augustus doesn't even try to hold Hazel's hand.
• Hazel drives herself home in Augustus's car with him riding shotgun (having been thoroughly traumatized by his driving).
• When they arrive, they sit in the car and moon at each other for a little bit, until Augustus asks if he can see Hazel again tomorrow. She says she'll call him when she finishes The Price of Dawn.

Chapter 3

• Coy as she may be, Hazel totally wants to hear Augustus's sweet, sweet voice on the phone again, so she hunkers down and reads The Price of Dawn all night.
• Hazel's mom wakes her up and informs her that OMG IT'S HER HALF BIRTHDAY. So Hazel calls up her friend Kaitlyn and they agree to meet at the mall.
• The usual teenage activities of shoe shopping and chit chat occur, but Hazel decides not to mention Augustus... yet. That would make for some pretty juicy gossip, though.
• Awkwardness ensues when Kaitlyn mentions death. Hazel goes off and wanders around by herself in the mall for a little bit and settles down to read the sequel to The Price of Dawn.
• A little girl approaches Hazel and asks her what her cannula (her oxygen tank) is, and Hazel lets her try it.

Chapter 4

• Hazel starts rereading An Imperial Affliction... again.
• The book is apparently about a girl named Anna who lives in California and gets this rare blood cancer.
• There's a lot of drama with her cancer and Anna's mother falls in love with a Dutch Tulip Man.
• The story ends right in the middle of a sentence. 
• An Imperial Affliction is the only book that Peter Van Houten has written and he's apparently extremely reclusive—but Hazel wants to track him down and learn about the ending of the book.
• She texts Augustus to tell him that she's finished The Price of Dawn, and then calls him because he insists upon it.
• They chat and she tells him that he can only see her again when he finishes reading An Imperial Affliction. Ooh, flirting!
• Hazel goes to class at the community college and then goes to see a movie about gerbils with her mom.
• When she gets out of the movie, Augustus has texted her frantically asking her why An Imperial Affliction just ends in the middle of nowhere.
• Upon calling Augustus, she hears violent sobbing in the background and he tells her to come over because Isaac is having a breakdown.
• Isaac and Augustus are in the basement playing video games, and Isaac is not doing well. In fact, he's bawling his eyes out. Why? Because Monica has dumped him and he's about to go blind.
• She watches the boys play video games for a while—very therapeutic.
• Then Isaac goes berserk and starts kicking things until Augustus encourages him to start destroying all the trophies in the basement.

Chapter 5

• Augustus doesn't call for a week and Hazel tries not to wait around too pathetically by the phone.
• On Sunday night, he finally calls and she goes outside to talk to him. They chat about An Imperial Affliction and how they both love it.
• He also spills the beans: he's managed to somehow contact Peter Van Houten via email. What the what?!
• Augustus gives Hazel the email address and she spends the next two hours crafting an email to Van Houten begging him to answer her questions about the book's end.
• Then she stays up talking to Augustus on the phone about everything from books to kisses to Augustus's ex-girlfriend.
• Turns out that Augustus' ex was named Caroline Mathers, and she died of cancer.
• They decide that their couple "thing" will be saying "okay" to each other, kind of like how Isaac and Monica used to say "always" to each other.
• Isaac gets his surgery and there's no evidence of cancer. But he's now blind, of course. Hazel goes to Memorial Hospital to check in on Isaac.
• When she wakes up the next morning, Van Houten has finally responded to her email. Huzzah!
• And crazy stuff: the email notes that if she ever finds herself in Amsterdam, he'd be happy to talk to her.
• She tells her parents and says that she absolutely has to go, but then realizes that they don't have the funds for it.
• Instead, she calls Augustus who suggests using her Wish from The Genie Foundation, the organization that grants sick kids one wish.
• Unfortunately, Hazel already used hers on Disney World and Epcot when she was thirteen.
• On Saturday, when Hazel is at a farmer's market with her parental units, Augustus calls and says that he's at her house and will see her when she gets home.
• True to his word, he's waiting on the driveway with a bouquet of flowers, and he asks Hazel if she'd like to go on a picnic.
• They go to a park behind the museum and eat a bunch of orange foods. Augustus says that orange is the national color of the Netherlands.
• He finally breaks the big news to her: he hasn't used up his Wish yet and is going to use it in order to take them both to Amsterdam!

Chapter 6

• Hazel bounds home and breaks the exciting news to her parents, but they're not convinced that she's up for the travel yet.
• Dr. Maria says it would be okay for her to go to Amsterdam, maybe, but only if her mom goes along.
• Hazel's got some confused teen girl feelings for Augustus, but she's afraid of letting anything at all happen.
• She calls Kaitlyn and they talk through it. Hazel comes to the realization that she's afraid of hurting him... again. Just in the way that Caroline Mathers had hurt him.
• Hazel then commits the cardinal sin of social media and goes online to look at Caroline Mathers's Facebook. Nooo Hazel! No good will come out of this.
• At dinner, she's nervous and a little freaked out by the whole situation with Augustus.
• She finally bursts and tells her parents that she's like a grenade and that at some point she's going to blow up and she doesn't want there to be a lot of casualties.
• She gets all mopey and texts Augustus to tell him that she doesn't want to kiss him because she's afraid of what she'll put him through.
• He texts back that it's okay. Very understanding, that Augustus boy.
• Then Hazel's parents come into her room and tell her how amazing they think she is and that they don't see her as a grenade at all. They even say that she doesn't have to go to Support Group.
• She goes to sleep, but wakes up with this horrible pain in the center of her head.

Chapter 7

• Hazel is rushed to the hospital and passes out along the way.
• She wakes up and is in the ICU alone.
• She learns that she does not have a brain tumor, but that her lungs had a bunch of fluid in them and they had to be drained.
• Augustus has been in the waiting room the whole time.
• She spends a whole six days in the hospital before she is allowed to go home.
• Augustus finally gets to see her and proclaims to her that he missed her.
• He also tells her that they can't go to Amsterdam until she's better, but that Peter Van Houten wrote him a letter.
• Hazel is obviously beyond excited about this missive from Van Houten and she asks her mom right away if she can go to Amsterdam.
• This girl just won't quit.

Chapter 8

• Hazel goes to a big Cancer Team Meeting in which doctors discuss the long term effects of Phalanxifor and assure her that they've seen patients live with her level of tumor penetration for "a long time," whatever that means.
• It pains her to be at these meetings because it makes her think back to all the suffering that she causes for her poor parents.
• At the end of the meeting, she asks if she can go to Amsterdam, and one of the doctors doesn't think it'll be okay.
• That night, Augustus calls and she breaks the news to him that they might not be able to go to Amsterdam.
• He jokes that if he had just taken her, it would have gotten him laid. She's surprised to learn that he's a virgin.
• They talk for a while and then Hazel's parents come in and agree to watch America's Next Top Model with her.
• When Hazel wakes up, she writes Peter Van Houten a letter about how she can't come to Amsterdam. But then she doesn't send it.
• She goes outside and calls Augustus, but he doesn't pick up.
• When he calls her back, she's crying. Why? Because she wants to go to Amsterdam and she's depressed. She also tells him about an old swing set that her dad made for her. Augustus says he'll come over to see the swing set immediately.
• He arrives and sits down to talk to Hazel while she's bumming. They go inside and decide to sell the swing set online.
• Then Augustus reads to Hazel from An Imperial Affliction. 
• As they sit on the couch together, he kisses her on the cheek, claiming that it's totally friendly.
• When Hazel wakes up the following morning, she has an email from Van Houten's assistant Lidewij.
• It says that everything is set up for their trip the next week.
• Hazel tracks down her mother and tells her that they have to tell the wish-granting genies to call the trip off.
• But surprise! The trip is actually on and they are allowed to go.

Chapter 9

• The day before leaving for Amsterdam, Hazel goes back to Support Group.
• Isaac is there, and he's still learning how to be blind.
• Hazel sits around and watches the whole thing proceed depressingly.
• One of the girls says that Hazel is her inspiration and that she wishes she had her strength, but Hazel just says that she wishes she had the girl's remission.
• The girl apologizes but Hazel already feels guilty for saying it.
• Then she goes to Isaac's house to hang out with him.
• They play a video game for blind people that recognizes your voice.
• They talk about how Augustus always wants to save the prisoners in the game even though you always lose the game when you do that.
• Then they talk about how Hazel doesn't want to hook up with Augustus because she doesn't want to hurt him.

Chapter 10

• The trip to Amsterdam has finally arrived, and Hazel goes out into the car after breakfast with her parents.
• Her Dad gives her a mushy gushy farewell, and she and her mother drive over to Augustus's house.
• Inside, someone is crying. Augustus and his mom are apparently fighting.
• Hazel and her mom quickly retreat back to the car.
• Hazel gets a text from Augustus about what to wear, and then he shows up outside the house, smiling as if nothing's happened.
• They drive to the airport and go through all the security checkpoints before arriving at the gate.
• It's a little awkward boarding the plane because everyone's watching them like zoo animals. "Oh look, the sick kids!"
• Augustus is super excited about flying, and Hazel kisses him on the cheek—in a friendly way, of course. Those two are starting to get awful friendly.
• They fly all the way to Detroit to catch their plane to… where else? Amsterdam!
• Hazel and Augustus watch movies and discuss mortality and all that good stuff.
• Then without much fanfare, Augustus tells Hazel that he's in love with her. She doesn't say anything back, but still. Awww moment.

Chapter 11

• When Hazel wakes up from her airplane nap, they're entering the Netherlands.
• They take a cab ride to the Hotel Filasoof and everything is fancy and old and amazing.
• Hazel takes a nap and when she wakes up, her mother tells her that she has dinner reservations with Augustus—alone.
• They go on a date to super fancy restaurant called Oranjee where they have champagne and a delicious meal.
• Then, as is typical of Augustus and Hazel, their conversation turns to more serious topics… like the afterlife.
• Things get a little bit tense when it turns to discussions of living a life worth living.
• They go for a nice walk along the canal, but when Hazel leans against Augustus's body, he winces in pain. What's up with that?
• She asks him about Caroline Mathers. He tells her all about his relationship with her and how she was actually really mean to him. He couldn't tell if it was her real personality or if it was her brain tumor which changed her personality.
• Hazel feels absolutely terrible for Augustus and she says she never wants to do that to him. But he says it would be a privilege to have his heart broken by her.

Chapter 12

• Hazel wakes up in the morning and reads An Imperial Affliction in bed before getting ready.
• She decides to dress like Anna does in the book.
• They get to Van Houten's house and are of course crazy excited.
• They knock on the door, and an old dude opens it before slamming it in their faces.
• From inside, they can hear him talking to his assistant Lidewij, and telling her that she must tell them to leave at once because he doesn't want to meet them.
• The door opens again, and they enter his house, where he proceeds to be a huge drunken jerk to them, only answering Hazel's question about what happens to the hamster (and no one else).
• Hazel gets worked up. She says that even though it's not a literary question, she has to know what becomes of Anna's mother and everyone else after she dies.
• Van Houten dismissively tells Hazel that the Dutch Tulip man is God, and that they're talking about a novel, not a "historical enterprise."
• He says that he had only promised to tell her the ending because he thought that she wasn't well enough for travel and never intended to tell her at all.
• Then he takes his jerkiness a step further and says that she is just a failed experiment in mutation.
• Lidewij quits right there and then as Van Houten and Hazel argue. Hazel is so outraged that she even smacks the glass of brandy from his hands.
• Augustus finally leads Hazel outside, where Hazel Grace starts crying. He comforts her and tells her that he'll write her an epilogue.
• Lidewij comes out to join them, and they all decide to continue with plans to go visit Anne Frank's house. Trip still on! There's a group of troopers if we ever saw one.
• Hazel struggles her way through walking up the narrow, steep steps of the Anne Frank house with her oxygen tank. She makes it all the way to the top, where she sees where the Franks lived. Augustus and Hazel flirt in front of a video of Otto Frank. And finally—finally!—they kiss.
• Because they're caught in the throes of teenage lust, Augustus and Hazel go back to the hotel and to his room, where they do, ahem, some sexy things.
• Afterward, Hazel writes him a love letter in which she draws him a Venn Diagram signifying his loss of virginity. Clever gal.

ChAPTER 13

• The next day, they tell Hazel's mom a funnier version of the Peter Van Houten story.
• Hazel's mom leaves them so that they have time to talk. Seems weirdly ominous, right?
• They walk back to the hotel and Hazel is terrified, obviously, because Augustus has something big to tell her.
• Augustus sits her down and tells her that he recently went in for a PET scan… and it wasn't good. His cancer has returned. They are both utterly devastated—and in love and sad and heartbroken. They are, essentially, feeling all the feelings.
• Many tears are shed and Augustus promises that he'll fight that cancer as hard as he can for her.
• Also, the reason he was fighting with his parents was because they wanted him not to go to Amsterdam so he could keep up with his chemo treatment.
• Augustus is sad that he will never have his epic fight, the thing that will give his life meaning.
• Hazel tells him that he gets to battle cancer.
• Then, after all the serious talk is over, they make out. Duh.

CHAPTER 14

• They fly home and manage to score some champagne from the flight attendant as a cancer-kid perk.
• Augustus's chest starts hurting, so he has to take some pills and falls asleep.
• Hazel gets home and talks to her dad, who says that he read An Imperial Affliction while she was gone.
• They also talk about the universe and how it wants to be noticed.
• The next day, Hazel goes over to Augustus's house and hangs out with him while he's going through all the cancer treatment stuff.
• Isaac comes over and they all hang out together and talk about how freaking messed up it was for Monica to just dump him because he was blind.
• Augustus comes up with the brilliant idea that they're going to go over and egg her car… and of course they go through with it.
• Hazel takes pictures while the boys vandalize freely, and it turns out that it's the last picture she ever takes of Augustus.

CHAPTER 15

• Augustus and Hazel have dinner with both sets of parents a few days later, and they continue to gush about the food that they had at Oranjee in Amsterdam.
• A week later, Augustus is rushed to the ER and Hazel goes over to visit him.
• When she gets there, Augustus's mom says that though she loves her, they want to just be a family right now; she'll tell Augustus that Hazel visited.
• Hazel just goes to the waiting room and sits there, missing Augustus.
• Two weeks later, they go to the art park and drink champagne from Winnie-the-Pooh cups. Classy.

CHAPTER 16

• Things settle into a schedule, with Hazel going over to hang out with Augustus daily.
• He tells her that he still wants to write her a sequel to An Imperial Affliction, but that he's just so tired and can't find the time to do it.
• They go outside sometimes and go back inside when he needs meds and food in his G-tube.
• They play video games and take naps and do all sorts of couple-y things together—except that neither of them is totally well.
• Hazel wishes she could do something that would allow Augustus to save her so that he'd feel like he was making a big heroic difference.
• She goes home every night, but is back there again the next day, like clockwork.

CHAPTER 17

• A month after returning from Amsterdam, Hazel goes over to Augustus's house and discovers that he's wet him himself in the middle of the night.
• Augustus is totally embarrassed when he wakes up and realizes that Hazel was there to witness it all.
• He confides in her that he had always hoped that he would have an exciting life and a special obituary.
• Hazel tells him that she wants him to write an obituary for her.

CHAPTER 18

• Hazel wakes up at 2 a.m. to see that her phone is ringing.
• She's immediately terrified that Augustus has died.
• When she picks up, though, Augustus says he needs her help. He's at the gas station and his G-tube is messed up.
• He doesn't want to go to a hospital and just wants her to come help him.
• So she gets up and takes the car.
• When she gets to the gas station, she sees that Augustus is inside his car, that he has vomited, and that his G-tube looks totally infected.
• Hazel knows what she's gotta do: she calls 911 and waits for an ambulance to come.
• He starts to say that he hates himself, that he hates all of this, and that he just wants to die already.
• Hazel stays with Augustus and recites a poem to him as he loses consciousness.

CHAPTER 19

• Augustus is pretty confined to bed once he comes home from the hospital.
• Hazel spends lots of time over at his house comforting him and getting to know his family, who have gathered to spend his last days with him.
• Augustus wakes up and asks if he can go outside with Hazel.
• They spend time together and Augustus's father whispers to Hazel that he thanks God for her every day.

CHAPTER 20

• Augustus calls Hazel on his last good day and asks her if she'll prepare a eulogy for him and come to the Literal Heart of Jesus that night.
• Hazel's parents tell her that she can't spend all her time with Augustus, but she counters that he has a limited amount of time left.
• She gets into a fight with them, finally leaving even though they don't want her to.
• When they protest, she tells them that Augustus will die any day now, and that totally shuts them up.
• She drives over to the Literal Heart of Jesus and sees Augustus in a wheelchair.
• He says he wanted to arrange a prefuneral for himself.
• Isaac gives a eulogy about how Augustus is an arrogant bastard, and then starts to cry.
• Hazel also gets up and gives her eulogy, and of course, she cries, too.
• Her eulogy is about infinities and how she's glad that she and Augustus got to have their own infinities.

CHAPTER 21

• Augustus dies, and Hazel isn't there to witness it.
• She gets a phone call in the middle of the night from his mother and knows immediately that it's over.
• Her parents are terrified and filled with grief and don't know how to make her feel better at all.
• Hazel calls Augustus's phone. She also goes onto his Facebook page, where she sees all these condolence posts about him.
• She's annoyed by all the people who said that he'd live forever in their hearts.
• She writes a post about how he died of the "universe's need to make and unmake all that is possible." No one responds.
• She goes into the living room to watch TV, and her parents try to make her feel better.

CHAPTER 22

• They go to the funeral. Hazel watches how all these people she doesn't know go up and touch the coffin.
• Augustus's parents look super devastated, so she goes up to pay her condolences.
• She also goes to his coffin and kisses him on the cheek. She even sneaks him some smokes.
• She's sitting there during the service when suddenly someone talks to her. She realizes that Peter Van Houten is at the funeral.
• She listens to Isaac's eulogy and then decides to get up and give a eulogy about the Encouragements.
• For Augustus' parents' sake, because they're suffering so much. She doesn't want to go to the burial, but she goes because she knows it's the right thing to do.
• After the burial, Peter Van Houten hitches a ride home with them. He tells her some cryptic stuff about how every cell is born from a previous cell. She's just over it.
• She says she doesn't want an explanation and that she thinks he's pathetic and an alcoholic.
• When she gets home, she goes into the bathroom and locks herself in there.
• Her dad comes in and tells her that even though the whole thing sucks, it was a privilege to know and love Gus. And that that's how he feels about her.

CHAPTER 23

• Hazel goes over to Isaac's house a few days later and they play his video game.
• Eventually, they talk about how much they miss Augustus and how Hazel is a little angry about the whole thing.
• Isaac asks if Augustus ever gave Hazel that thing he was writing for her. Huh? What thing?!
• Hazel is of course totally excited and goes out into her car to drive over to Augustus's house… when she realizes that Peter Van Houten is in her car. He says that she reminds him of Anna, even though she keeps telling him to get out of her car.
• He says that he's sorry for ruining their trip and cries about Augustus. She then realizes that someone in his family must have died of cancer and that's why he's so sad.
• Peter Van Houten says that he had a daughter who died, and that he was the one who had to tell her that she was going to die.
• Hazel tells him that he should go home, sober up and write another novel, but he just keeps drinking even though he says that she's right.
• She gets to Augustus's house, where she's greeted by his parents.
• She goes into the basement to look for anything he's written, but can't find anything at all.
• Then she crawls into his bed and takes in his scent.

CHAPTER 24

• Augustus's dad calls to tell Hazel that they found a notebook that he could have been writing in, but that a few pages were torn out of it.
• Hazel goes to Support Group in hopes that the pages of the notebook were left there for her to find, but she can't find them anywhere.
• She gets through Support Group and doesn't say much—then she goes home.
• When she arrives at home, she gets into a fight with her mom about eating, and says that she's not healthy and is dying anyway. She even says that she can't do anything about her mom not being a mother anymore after she dies.
• Hazel says that she wants her parents to have a life after she's gone, and her mom admits that she's taking some classes to get her master's in social work. She only hid it from her because she didn't want Hazel to think that she was imagining a life without her.
• Surprisingly, Hazel's totally stoked that her mom wants to be a Support Group leader and starts crying tears of happiness.
• When they're watching TV later, she also makes them swear that they'll stay together even after she's gone.

CHAPTER 25

• The next morning, Hazel wakes up and talks to Kaitlyn on the phone for a little bit.
• While she's talking to her, she suddenly realizes that Augustus may have sent the pages to Van Houten.
• She emails Lidewij right away, and Lidewij writes back saying that she is going over to his house to look for them.
• Hazel waits obsessively to hear back from Lidewij.
• She can't kick the sadness, though—she and Augustus won't have a future together. Hazel's mom comes in and says that they're going out to celebrate Bastille Day.
• They go to the park and have a picnic. Afterward, they go to the cemetery and Hazel sticks a little French flag in Augustus's grave… for Bastille Day and all.
• When she gets home, she has an email from Lidewij… with four attachments.
• When she opens them, she realizes that Augustus hadn't written the ending to An Imperial Affliction for her.
• He'd written her a eulogy. It goes like this: in life, you don't get to choose whether or not you get hurt, but you do get to choose what hurts you. Augustus is happy with his choices, and he hopes Hazel is, too.
• She is.

THEMES, SUBJECTS

FAMILY

The kids in The Fault in Our Stars aren't wasting away in sterile incubators. No, they have parents who love them and are terrified for them. Their parents hover over them at every turn and stitch pillows with religious phrases on them to find solace. Hazel and Augustus are just like other teenagers—annoyed by their overprotective parents—but they also understand. As Hazel so eloquently puts it, "There is only one thing in this world shittier than biting it from cancer when you're sixteen, and that's having a kid who bites it from cancer" (1.28).

Questions About Family

1. Why is Hazel's mom so set on celebrating every little thing? Is she over-celebratory or is it justified?
2. How do Hazel's parents and Augustus's parents react differently to their children's illnesses? How do they react similarly?
3. Why does Hazel's mom hide from her that she's been taking classes? How does Hazel feel about it when she find out? Why?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

At times, Hazel is so intent on keeping her own family from feeling pain that she distances herself rather than embracing the time that she has with them.

In time, Augustus, Hazel, and Isaac come to rely on each other as a family. After all, they are the only ones who really understand what it's like to be young and so close to death.

ISOLATION

We bet most of the teenagers you know don't have cancer, right? We can thank our lucky stars for that, but for Hazel, Augustus, and Isaac in The Fault in Our Stars, that means a whole lot of isolation. Sure, Hazel hangs out with her friend Kaitlyn, and Isaac starts off the book with a lovey dovey girlfriend, but when the going gets tough, their illnesses separate them from most other people. Add that to their physical limitations, and they find themselves in a world that is oftentimes very, very lonely.

Questions About Isolation

1. How has Hazel's interaction with Kaitlyn changed over the years?
2. Does the support group make Hazel feel like she has kindred spirits? Why or why not?
3. Why are Isaac and Augustus different from Hazel's other peers? Why does she get along with them?
4. Do Hazel's and Augustus's parents feel isolated because of their children's illnesses?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

Hazel and Augustus fall deeply in love because they both understand what it's like to be different from other kids, and how awkward and lonely that can be.

A part of Hazel's isolation is self-imposed because she is so intent on not hurting other people.

LOVE

Ah, l'amore! While reading, we get to witness the sweet charms of young love as Hazel and Augustus flirt their way towards getting to know each other. Their attraction is undoubted, their compatibility uncanny, and by the end, we see that their love for each other is undeniable. But this isn't just a story about Hazel and Augustus—it's a story about everyone else in their lives, too. And there's a lot of love coming from all directions. If it weren't such a sad book, The Fault in Our Stars would be a pretty sickening love-fest.

Questions About Love

1. What initially attracts Hazel and Augustus to each other?
2. Do you think that Augustus ever loved his ex-girlfriend? Does it matter?
3. When Hazel and Augustus have sex in Amsterdam, does it have to do with love or lust? Why?
4. What are the different kinds of love in The Fault in Our Stars, and how are they portrayed?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

Though Isaac thinks he has a handle on love at the beginning of the book, he discovers that promises are not what make up true love. Actions are.

Hazel and Augustus are never really in love—they're just feeling desperate and can both understand what the other is going through.

RELIGION

Despite the name, Hazel Grace definitely isn't the religious type. But for many people, religion goes hand-in-hand with dying. Augustus's parents take real comfort in their belief in God; Patrick, who runs Support Group, also encourages the kids to turn to religion as they face down their own deaths. Whether or not the characters in The Fault in Our Stars take comfort in religion, though, its presence clues us in to the many different ways people cope during the toughest times.

Questions About Religion

1. What is the importance of religion to different people in the book?
2. Why is it so important to Patrick that they're in the "literal heart of Jesus"?
3. What is Hazel's take on religion and belief in God?
4. When Augustus says that he believes in an afterlife, does that necessarily make him religious?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

All of the characters in The Fault in Our Stars have a different approach to religion, which is inextricably linked to how they are dealing with their mortality or the mortality of those that they love.

Even though Hazel is not religious and finds it at odds with intellectualism, her perspective changes when she has in-depth conversations with Augustus and her father, who both have their own take on spirituality.

COURAGE

Maybe the characters in The Fault in Our Stars don't have to face down space aliens or drug cartel leaders, but living through cancer takes a daily dose of major courage. These kids (and families) have to deal with hospitals, doctors, and impending death every single day. Yeah, they're tough as nails where it really counts.

Questions About Courage

1. How is the courage that Hazel and Augustus show different than the courage a normal teenager needs to have?
2. How does Hazel show courage in the face of her cancer and in front of her parents?
3. Augustus is always convinced that he's going to have some heroic moment in his life—does it happen?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

Hazel, Augustus, and Isaac use humor as a form of courage.

Dying takes a certain kind of courage in itself, and Augustus manages to display this even if he doesn't have a Disney-fied response to everything.

IDENTIDY

"Who am I?" This is a critical question for just about anyone, but it's especially important to the narrator of The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel Lancaster. After all, Hazel has the added complication of cancer—she doesn't have much time left to answer the question. Hazel's self-discovery is helped along by a boy, a book, and ultimately, herself.

Questions About Identity

1. How is Hazel's identity wrapped up with her illness?
2. Do Augustus and Hazel embrace or reject their cancer kid identities?
3. How does this book tackle adolescents taking on their identity, outside of illness?
4. Do the adults in the book struggle with their identities, too?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

Cancer changes a lot of peoples' identities in the book, including Hazel's and her parents' roles in the family.

Augustus wants so badly to achieve his goal of doing something big or heroic in his lifetime, but he should focus more on what he's already done.

LIFE, CONSISIOUSNESS AND EXCISTENCE

Yowza. We told you The Fault in Our Stars would tackle some pretty heady themes, so here's one for the books. Hazel and Augustus are pretty cerebral kids, and they're constantly going over philosophical ideas about their existence and what place they hold in the world. They feel the need to figure things out, maybe because they're acutely aware that they don't have an endless amount of time left. They are trying to read, learn, and drink up all of life's lessons at once—which leads to some pretty epic adventures over the course of the story.

Questions About Life, Consciousness and Existence

1. Why does Hazel spend so much time thinking about life, anyway?
2. Does Augustus really fear oblivion, or does he just fear death?
3. What kind of insight does Van Houten's book give the characters into the meaning of life?
4. Does Augustus's death bring any clarity to the issues Hazel's been contemplating?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

Hazel's obsession with the ending of An Imperial Affliction has a whole lot to do with her desire to figure out how life works.

Because of their cancer, Augustus and Hazel spend a lot more time thinking about their mortality than typical teenagers.

MORTALITY

We're all going to die, yes. But it's going to happen to Hazel and Augustus much sooner. Death follows these kids wherever they go. Even as they go through the usual teenage activities like playing video games, flirting, and falling in love for the first time, they are majorly aware of their own mortality. It's bleak, but it sure adds another layer of gravity to The Fault in Our Stars.

Questions About Mortality

1. Is Hazel as fixated on her friends' mortality as she is on her own? How does mortality play into the plot of An Imperial Affliction?
2. Are Hazel and Augustus afraid of dying?
3. When Augustus dies, does Hazel see him as a grenade that destroyed her life?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

Hazel is so fixated on her own mortality and how it will hurt others that she doesn't stop to consider that everyone close to her could die and hurt her, too.

Hazel and Augustus come back to the idea of infinities in An Imperial Affliction again and again because it makes it easier for them to deal with the fact that they have limited time.

COMING OF AGE

In true YA lit form, The Fault in Our Stars portrays the main character, Hazel, as she takes her first steps toward adulthood—or something like it. Throughout her relationship with Augustus, we really get to see Hazel blossom as she treads the waters of friendships, flirtations, and romantic relationships for the very first time. Here's the thing, though. As much growing up as she does, Hazel misses out on a lot of the normal experiences that other teens have. And most importantly, she's not sure she has a future to look forward to.

Questions About Coming of Age

1. Is Hazel's development stunted by the fact that she has cancer?
2. Does Hazel have normal teenage interactions with her parents, or are they changed because of her disease?
3. By the end of the book, is Hazel still a kid? Or has she made her way into adulthood?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

Even though Hazel has missed out on some developmental landmarks while growing up, she has still been able to grow by thinking through very adult problems.

When Hazel meets Augustus, they both act as a ticket for the other person into the world of normal adolescent courtship.

Character Analysis – HAZEL GRACE LANCASTER

Hazel has cancer.

Yeah, we know, cancer doesn't define her. But Hazel herself opens the book with that fact, so we figured we should, too. From the beginning, she wastes no time in laying out her situation without any fluff or self-consciousness:

Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever, they always list depression among the side effects of cancer. But in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying. (1.2)

This is a girl who has no illusions about her state of health. Hazel knows that even though she's on a drug that keeps her tumors in check, she'll never be your typical teenage cheerleader. But don't get us wrong. She's also not sitting around feeling sorry for herself. She doesn't talk about her illness in lurid, self-pitying detail at all; instead, she tackles it with a healthy dose of humor:

I didn't tell him that the diagnosis came three months after I got my first period. Like: Congratulations! You're a woman. Now die. (2.13)

What do you think: is she handling her impending death well or is she hiding some deeper sadness? In order to answer that, we should probably get to know her a little better.

Hip to the Max

Hazel's marches to the beat of her own drummer. She's got that short pixie haircut that catches Augustus's attention. Plus, she seriously exists in her own little world, devil-may-care attitude and all. When Augustus first meets her, he's struck by how readerly she is and how she doesn't even go to school with other teenagers.

"A college girl," he said, nodding. "That explains the aura of sophistication." (2.21)

On top of that, Hazel seriously doesn't care what's in and cool anymore—she just knows what she likes. What she likes may be sitting around and watching reality TV shows with her parents, but at least she's being true to herself. As she says to her mother: "I take quite a lot of pride in not knowing what's cool" (3.28).

Add to that her witty commentary and dry humor, and it's a treat to have her as the narrator. Augustus puts it best:

"Goddamn," Augustus said quietly. "Aren't you something else." (1.66)

Yes, Augustus. She certainly is something else.

A Passive Fighter

Hazel's parents, for one, think their daughter is just too passive. They're afraid that she's not seizing life by the horns, that she's depressed, and that she shouldn't just want to watch America's Next Top Model in solitude all the time. (Apparently they don't know how tough it is to smize.)

Basically, they don't think Hazel is fighting hard enough for her life.

But is that true? Hazel sure puts a lot of stock into trying not to hurt other people. Sure, she's a total eye-rolling teenager. But she tries to make things easier for her parents because she's afraid of hurting them.

There is only one thing in this world shittier than biting it from cancer when you're sixteen, and that's having a kid who bites it from cancer. (1.28) 

Excuse her language, but this is a really considerate girl here. Maybe she's not super gung ho about living life to the fullest, but she does her best to minimize the hurt or damage she could cause. She even quite selflessly (and misguidedly) tries to say nay to her feelings for Augustus, just because she's so afraid of hurting him if she dies:

I realized while listening to Kaitlyn that I didn't have a premonition of hurting him. I had a postmonition. (6.45)

Hazel imagines what it would be like for Augustus after she dies. And especially since he's already had one girlfriend die of cancer, she doesn't want to do that to him.

But the thing is, you can't stop yourself from hurting everyone. It's just not possible.

A Girl in Love

Speaking of Hazel's selfless actions on Augustus' behalf, why does she go through all the trouble? Because she's experiencing the stomach-churning madness that is first love, of course. When she first sees Augustus, her attraction to him is instantaneous. For starters, he's gorgeous. But they also connect on a more cerebral level. They get each other, as rare as that is. 

I almost felt like he was there in my room with me, but in a way it was better, like I was not in my room and he was not in his, but instead we were together in some invisible and tenuous third space (5.67)

The way they are with each other is easy and drama-free. They just like each other, plain and simple, and Hazel finds herself giving into all the sweet, real feelings that she has for Gus.

He wasn't perfect or anything. He wasn't your fairytale Prince Charming or whatever. He tried to be like that sometimes, but I liked him best when that stuff fell away. (25.13)

When Augustus dies, she can look back on their time together without any bitterness or need to change it. It was what it was. He was who he was. And she loved him.

An Imperial Affliction

Hazel is our kind of lady. Why? Because she loves to read. One book in particular really inspires her: An Imperial Affliction. It's about a young girl with cancer, so it's no wonder it hits home. But what really gets her is the ending: the book ends mid-sentence.

Why is Hazel so obsessed with finding out the ending to this book? Check out "Symbols" for some of our thoughts, but we dare you to come up with your own reasons, too.

TIMELINE

• One day at Support Group, Hazel meets a cute boy named Augustus who's missing part of his leg (from the dreaded cancer). Augustus is also friends with her friend Isaac, who is losing an eye (also thanks to cancer).
• Augustus manages to get in touch with Peter Van Houten, the author of An Imperial Affliction and gives Hazel his email address.
• Hazel promptly emails him and gets an invitation to come to Amsterdam, where he will reveal all the secrets about her favorite book. Wow-ee.
• Unfortunately, Hazel gets ill and lands herself in the ICU. But after she heals, her doctor says it's a-okay to travel and she, her mother, and Augustus head off to Amsterdam together.
• On the plane, Augustus proclaims to Hazel that he is in love with her.
• They meet Van Houten, who turns out to be a drunken jerk and refuses to answer Hazel's questions.
• At the Anne Frank House, Hazel and Augustus finally kiss. Back at the hotel, they promptly lose their virginities.
• The next day, though, Augustus breaks some devastating news to Hazel: his cancer has returned and it's all over the place.
• After Augustus dies, Hazel and her parents go to the funeral, his friend mentions to Hazel that Augustus was writing something for her.
• Hazel learns that Van Houten had a daughter who died of cancer and tells him that he should go home, sober up, and write some more; but he keeps drinking.
• Hazel receives an email from Van Houten's assistant that contains the eulogy Augustus had written for her.

Character Analysis – AUGUSTUS WATERS

Ooh la la.

When Hazel first sets eyes on hottie Augustus at Support Group, we know something romantic is about to go down. There's just that spark. In fact, before words are even exchanged, they start off their relationship with a steamy staring contest.

Look, let me just say it: He was hot. A nonhot boy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward, and at worst, a form of assault. But a hot boy... well. (1.41) 

It's obvious that Augustus, in all his teenage hotness, has got Hazel's attention. And it's pretty safe to say that he's got ours as well.

Knight in Shining Hospital Gown

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Augustus half smiled. "Because you're beautiful." (1.89-90)

Okay, so Augustus Waters is quite the charmer. He has the confidence, good looks, and quick wit to back it all up, too. And Hazel Grace can't help but be drawn in. Hazel has a pretty mundane life prior to Augustus's arrival; she's pretty much confined to hanging out at home with her parents and watching reruns of America's Next Top Model.

But suddenly, Augustus shows up and rescues Hazel from all the drudgery of being a cancer kid.

A Boy With a Purpose

Unlike Hazel, who is cautious and doesn't want to make a real move at the risk of hurting anyone, Augustus is determined to leave a mark on everything and everyone that he touches. He wastes no time in getting to know Hazel—after all, he stares at her at Support Group until he has her undivided attention. He also asks her to come over and watch a movie with him right away. Yowza.

This is a kid who makes things happen. Hazel's been writing to Peter Van Houten for years, trying to get him to explain the end of his book, but Augustus is the one who succeeds in contacting him because of his dogged determination:.

"Dear Mr. Waters," he answered. "I am writing to thank you for your electronic correspondence..."

"Augustus, what the hell?" (5.30-31) 

Once he has Van Houten's attention, he even goes so far as to use his Wish to take Hazel to Amsterdam to meet the author that she so admires. Though it may be a cliché, Augustus is the kind of person who lives life to the fullest, as though it might end any day. Which sadly, it does.

The Court Jester

Augustus is a friend true and true, but like Hazel, he's not about to let cancer be this hush-hush subject that can't be touched with a ten-foot pole. From the very beginning, he's willing to joke about things that might make someone else very uncomfortable. When Patrick asks him what he fears in Support Group, he says:

"I fear oblivion," he said without a moment's pause. "I fear it like the proverbial blind man who's afraid of the dark." (1.56) 

This is clearly a jab at Isaac, who's about to lose his single eye and go completely blind, but Augustus doesn't intend it to be mean-spirited at all. He just wants to make light of some of the pretty terrible situations that he and his friends are in.

The One With the Meaningful Life

One of Augustus's main gripes about dying is that he always wanted to live a more meaningful life, one that would go down in history as meaningful and heroic. He is so concerned with this that Hazel even considers faking an act of helplessness for him to save the day:

It crossed my mind to fake a choking incident or something so that he might give me the Heimlich. Maybe then he could rid himself of this fear that his life had been lived and lost for no greater good. (16.28)

But what Augustus fails to understand is that he has had a major impact on other people. For one thing, he totally changes Hazel. At first, she's afraid of getting close to anyone. But in the end, through her relationship with Augustus, she learns that just because she's dying doesn't mean that she's only a source of sadness in the lives of her loved ones.

She tries to impress this fact upon him:

"I just want to be enough for you, but I never can be. This can never be enough for you. But this is all you get. You get me, and your family, and this world. This is your life." (17.13)

Even though Augustus wants the kind of life that will be printed on the front page of the New York Times, he can't have it. But that's okay, because the people who matter to him see him as important and meaningful. His life does have meaning, even if it's not a headline.

CHARACTER ANALYSIS – PETER VAN HOUTEN

If you think that Augustus and Hazel are quick with their SAT study words, check out their idol, Peter Van Houten. This guy all about long, wordy missives. Evidence? How about any letter he's ever written? Here's a doozy for you:

While we're on the topic of old Wil's insufficiencies, your writing about young Hazel reminds me of the Bard's Fifty-fifth sonnet… (7.42)

You might need a dictionary and an encyclopedia to get through this one. And maybe Shmoop.

Both Hazel and Augustus absolutely eat up his words, both in his book, An Imperial Affection, and later in his emails. Of course, they have to go all the way to Amsterdam to find that the man himself isn't so charming in real life.

A Man of Many Drinks

"We pour Scotch into a glass and then call to mind thoughts of water, and then we mix the actual Scotch with the abstracted idea of water." (12.55)

Peter Van Houten is a bona fide alcoholic. When Hazel and Augustus meet him in person, he's rude, abrasive, and utterly drunk. He says mean things to them and refuses to answer Hazel's questions, effectively crushing her dreams of learning what happens at the end of An Imperial Affliction. He is, in no uncertain terms, a huge jerkface.

What has made him this way? Well, as Lidewij puts it, "'Circumstance has made him so cruel'" (12.154). And we get hints of this. Van Houten wants to help and comfort Hazel at first—but only from afar. He's happy to write to Augustus and Hazel and to give them some reason to get excited, because deep down, he does care about children with cancer. But when they come to visit, he gets more than he bargained for. And because they remind him of things that are painful in his life, he acts out:

"Perhaps, but I was under the misguided impression that you were incapable of transatlantic travel. I was trying… to provide you with some comfort, I suppose, which I should have known better than to attempt." (12.120)

Van Houten doesn't want to be confronted with the reality of Hazel and Augustus and how sick and desperate they are for answers.

The Book Behind the Man

We later find out that Van Houten's own daughter died from cancer, and that's what makes him such an abrasive presence:

I considered the honesty with which he had written about cancer kids; the fact that he couldn't speak to me in Amsterdam except to ask if I'd dressed like her on purpose; his shittiness around me and Augustus; his aching question about the relationship between pain's extremity and its value… (23.75)

A tough past is no excuse to be a jerk, but Hazel still loves his book. Even if Van Houten is not the most approachable or heartwarming person in real life, he still understands what they're going through. And that comes out in his writing like whoa.

What do you think? Can we separate an author from his words?

Character Analysis - ISAAC

Whenever there's a blind character in literature, you can bet he or she is probably pretty insightful. Think back all the way to Tiresias, the blind prophet of ancient Greek mythology. He doesn't have eyesight, but he can see into the future. Well, Isaac may not have prophetic visions, but he is able to see the big picture.

Emotional Shrapnel

Isaac is kind of awesome, if you ask us. He's a true friend to both Hazel and Augustus, and seems like a stand-up guy. But when he loses his eyesight from cancer his not-so-awesome girlfriend, Monica, breaks up with him. Isaac is devastated:

"Well, I believe in true love," Isaac said. "And I love her. And she promised. She promised me always." (4.96) 

Our guys wishes that he didn't care so much, but he does. And he wishes that Monica cared too. The breakup leads to anger, too: "Isaac stomped on them and screamed while Augustus and I stood a few feet away bearing witness to the madness"(4.107). Isaac reminds us that cancer isn't just sad; it's also frustrating and plain old unfair.

Third Wheel?

Isaac might seem like kind of a third wheel, which makes us wonder, why is he a character in this book? Well, if you ask us, he makes us ask a lot of important questions:

1. Should love between a boyfriend and girlfriend be unconditional? Is Monica a bad person, or is she just scared?
2. Is it okay to get angry at the world when bad stuff happens to you?
3. Why do bad things happen to good people?

And maybe most importantly, Isaac teaches us about friendship. He is always there for Augustus—up to the very end—just like Augustus was there for him when he had the surgery that removes his eyes. They really know how to stick together, just like friends should.

Character Analysis – MRS. LANCASTER

Hazel's mom is a helicopter parent if we ever saw one. But can we blame her? After all, her kid's dying of cancer and she's been relegated to stay-at-home-mom status to take care of all the medical details.

One of the first things that we notice about Mrs. Lancaster is just how much she caters to Hazel. She wants to be there for her all the time in an effort to make her life more fulfilling and fun:

My mom was really super into celebration maximization. IT'S ARBOR DAY! LET'S HUG TREES AND EAT CAKE! COLUMBUS BROUGHT SMALLPOX TO THE NATIVES; WE SHALL RECALL THE OCCASION WITH A PICNIC! (3.21) 

Because Hazel's life might be cut short, Mrs. Lancaster goes kind of crazy with all the celebrations. She wants to celebrate everything, go everywhere, and gets really, really upset when Hazel just wants to stay at home and watch bad reality TV all day.

What do you think? Is she right? Or is She overdoing the live life to the fullest thing?

Tough Life

Like her daughter, Mrs. Lancaster is a guilt-ridden lady. Because Hazel's going through some pretty dire times, she even feels bad when Hazel catches her—wait for it—reading a book. As it turns out, that book is for school, so that Mrs. Lancaster can become a social worker. Mrs. Lancaster has been hiding it from Hazel because she's afraid of not making Hazel her entire life.

Of course, it turns out that Hazel is delighted to hear that her mother will have a life whether she's in it or not. It's painful to think of, but still the best possible outcome. As Hazel so eloquently puts it,

There is only one thing in this world shittier than biting it from cancer when you're sixteen, and that's having a kid who bites it from cancer. (1.28) 

Mrs. L does a pretty good job considering the circumstances, don't you think?

Character Analysis – MINOR CHARACTERS

Lidewij Vliegenthart

At first glance, Lidewij may seem like she's just some disembodied assistant to Peter Van Houten who answers his email and arranges travel plans. But she's much more than that. This is a woman filled with compassion. She knows that her boss's work matters, but she totally doesn't agree with the way he behaves.

Lidewij is a dreamer and a wish-granter. She is the one who arranges for Augustus and Hazel to come visit Van Houten, and when the visit quickly goes south, she is horrified and outraged:

"I RESIGN!" Lidewij shouted. There were tears in her eyes. But I wasn't angry. (12.128)

She sticks to her guns and even makes sure the kids have the best visit they can. Though Augustus technically gets his wish from the corporate genies, Lidewij is a true wish-granting genie in her own right.

Patrick

Hazel and Augustus aren't very impressed by Patrick, who leads the Support Group of cancer kids. First of all, he's always talking about the "literal heart of Jesus."

I noticed this because Patrick, the Support Group Leader and only person over eighteen in the room, talked about the heart of Jesus every freaking meeting... (1.5)

Patrick basically stands for everything that Hazel is not: someone who has suffered through an illness and found comfort in all sorts of signs and symbols rather than staying grounded in reality. Patrick believes that miracles can happen, that Jesus will bring you peace, and that all the kids will be okay.

But Hazel isn't down with this, and she hates watching what she sees as a charade played out in front of her.

Mr. Lancaster

Hazel's dad isn't quite as hovery as her mother, but that doesn't mean that he isn't a huge part of her life. Hazel describes him early on as easily moved to tears (especially when it comes to her illness), and because of that, she often tiptoes around him, trying not to upset him. But he's also extremely supportive and talks to Hazel like an adult. When Augustus dies, he says the following:

"It's total bullshit," he said. "The whole thing. Eighty percent survival rate and he's in the twenty percent? Bullshit…. But it was sure a privilege to love him, huh?"

I nodded into his shirt.

"Gives you an idea how I feel about you," he said.

My old man. He always knew just what to say. (22.56-59)

When he's not weeping, Hazel's dad sure can be wise.

Augustus' Family

Augustus's parents are a slightly different breed of cancer parents than Hazel's. Though Hazel's parents can hover and worry over her, they're not particularly religious. Augustus's parents, on the other hand, are all about finding comfort in religion and God. They have Encouragements all over their house and talk a lot about heaven and God's plan.

At Augustus's funeral, that's also the focus:

After his sister Julie spoke, the service ended with a prayer about Gus's union with God, and I thought back to what he'd told me at Oranjee, that he didn't believe in mansions and harps… (22.21)

In the face of tragedy, faith is their lifeboat.

Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn is Hazel's main non-cancer friend. They still hang out and talk occasionally, but it's on a more superficial level about shopping, boys, and juicy gossip. Kaitlyn wants to be there for her friend, but it's hard for her to tap into Hazel's darker side and think about mortality and what it means to be dying.

She wants to comfort Hazel when Augustus dies, but even then there's a disconnect of priorities:

"So what was it like?" she asked.

"Having your boyfriend die? Um, it sucks."

"No," she said. "Being in love." (25.8-10)

Kaitlyn just exists in a different world than Hazel. And in that way, she represents what Hazel could have been if she continued blissfully on the path of most healthy teenagers—filled with school gossip and shopping and talk of boys. But that's not Hazel's reality anymore.

What do you think? Is it her fault for not being more compassionate or is there just no way for her to understand?

The Support Group Kids

Hazel comes into regular contact with the other Support Group kids, but they're not necessarily her friends. In fact, the only thing that brings them together is a mutual interest in not dying of cancer—kind of depressing. They're portrayed as a group rather than individuals, and it's hardly noticeable when the group rotates because some die and some join. Another bleak reminder of the realities of cancer.

SYMBOLISM, IMAGERY AND ALLEGORY

ENDING OF AN EMPERIAL EFFECTION

I understood the story ended because Anna died or got too sick to write and this midsentence thing was supposed to reflect how life really ends and whatever, but there were characters other than Anna in the story, and it seemed unfair that I would never find out what happened to them. (4.6)

Can you imagine reading a book that ends mid-sentence? What is this, The Sopranos? (Oops: retroactive spoiler alert.)

The frustration is even stronger for Hazel because Anna's story in An Imperial Affliction is kind of like Hazel's own story. And just like she's dying to know what happened to the other characters in Van Houten's story, Hazel is also dying to know what will happen to the characters in her story when she passes away.

In a way, her transatlantic search for the ending of An Imperial Affliction is motivated by her desire to know what will happen to her loved ones when she eventually dies. She wants to know that Anna's mom will be okay, just like she just wants to know that her own parents and loved ones will be okay.

And in the end, when she learns that her mother has been taking classes to become a Support Group leader, she's ecstatic. That's exactly the ending that she was hoping for—one in which her parents could keep living their lives. Especially after meeting Van Houten, she sure doesn't' want that to happen to her parents.

Uncertainty can be one of the toughest parts about sickness, and An Imperial Affection captures that perfectly.

THE ‘HEART OF JESUS’

One of the more hilarious descriptions that Hazel gives us is of the Support Group that she goes to, which is basically just a misguided mess of sentimentality. The Support Group is held in a church basement that is shaped like a cross, and they sit where the two lines of the cross meet. Because of this, their Support Group leader refers to the group as the "literal heart of Jesus."

Hazel, on the other hand, doesn't see the rainbows and butterflies:

So here's how it went in God's heart: The six or seven or ten of us walked/wheeled in, grazed at a decrepit selection of cookies and lemonade, sat down in the Circle of Trust, and listened to Patrick recount for the thousandth time his depressingly miserable life story... (1.6) 

The heart of Jesus reminds us that everyone has their own way of finding solace in tough times. Even though Patrick and some of the other Support Group attendees find it uplifting and comforting to be so embedded in the presence of Jesus, Hazel and Augustus just find the whole thing depressing and absurd. For them, the Heart of Jesus is a confining, suffocating place where they are defined by their illness. And that's essentially the last place they'd like to be.

ENCOURAGEMENTS

Augustus's house is all decked out with inspiration. Yep, you know the kind. On every single surface of house, there are encouragements or inspirational phrases:

A wooden plaque in the entryway was engraved in cursive with the words Home Is Where the Heart Is, and the entire house turned out to be festooned in such observations. Good Friends Are Hard to Find and Impossible to Forget read an illustration above the coatrack. True Love Is Born from Hard Times... Augustus saw me reading. "My parents call them Encouragements," he explained. "They're everywhere." (2.23) 

Like "The Heart of Jesus," the Encouragements are a tangible form of comfort. Even though Hazel and Augustus don't necessarily agree with them (and sometimes make hilarious fun of them), they know that they provide some measure of comfort and hope to Augustus's parents. When Augustus dies, Hazel even mentions them in her eulogy just because she knows that it will mean a lot to them.

Bottom line: everyone copes differently. And hey, to each his own.

EUGOLOGIES

Eulogies are a bleak topic, no doubt about it. But since Augustus has the will to tackle them, we sure have to.

As his health deteriorates and he prepares for death, Augustus asks his loved ones (in this case Hazel and Isaac) to write eulogies so he can hear them while he still has some time left. Why is he so concerned about his eulogies? Well, in a way, it's as though cancer has robbed him of his heroic story. He wanted an obituary that would paint him as special and heroic, but he feels like he'll just be another premature death.

Through the eulogies, Augustus is able to hear and shape the way that he's remembered. He listens to them and—get this—even offers suggestions. (Isaac isn't too keen on that: "and then finally, he said, "Goddamn it, Augustus, editing your own eulogy" [20.54].)

Augustus may not have control over whether he lives or dies, but now he knows his legacy. And with the loving and kind eulogies that his friends and loved ones give him, it's clear that he has left his mark, even if it's not exactly what he thought it would be.

For the Parents

Hazel already has a eulogy prepared, right? So why doesn't she give it at Augustus's funeral? Well, her original eulogy served to offer Augustus some comfort and validation about how much he meant to her; but now it's Augustus's parents who need the comfort:

I went on spouting bullshit Encouragements as Gus's parents, arm in arm, hugged each other and nodded at every word. Funerals, I had decided, are for the living. (22.20)

Classic Hazel, always looking out for those around her.

VIDEO GAMES

These kids may have cancer, but that doesn't mean they're not just typical kids. In this case, typical kids playing typical blow-heads-off-and-guts-out kind of first-person shooter video games. It may just seem like just another way to blow off some steam, but Augustus takes his game playing very seriously. When Hazel questions why he saved some hostages in the game instead of himself, he responds heatedly:

"All salvation is temporary […] I bought them a minute. Maybe that's the minute that buys them an hour, which is the hour that buys them a year. No one's gonna buy them forever, Hazel Grace, but my life bought them a minute. And that's not nothing." (4.83)

Um... are we still talking about video games here?

The whole life or death situation that is inherent in video games hits close to home for Augustus. Like the hostages in the game, he recognizes that he and his fellow cancer kids are working with a limited amount of time, and that any time bought for them is precious and valuable. Even though the drugs they're on might not save them forever, at least they're saving them for now. And he's right; that's not nothing at all. That's definitely something.

CIGARETTES

We'll admit it—we hardly had to do any work to pick out this symbol. In fact, we just sat back in our chairs with our feet on our desks and let the characters explain it to us:

"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." (1.122)

Augustus likes having a pack of cigarettes in his pocket, and he likes putting one in his mouth occasionally, but he never ever lights it. For him, the cigarettes are one area in his life where he can have power over his body and what does and does not kill it. He will bring the cigarettes all the way up to his lips, but he'll never let them have the last word.

In other words, he's giving the ultimate "screw you" to cancer.

SETTING

Indianapolis

The Fault in Our Stars is technically set in Indianapolis, but it's not the Indianapolis of tourists or even of normal residents who go to work and school each day. It's the Indianapolis of the sick.

For Hazel and her companions, their hometown revolves around the places that they can frequent as cancer kids: hospitals, support groups in churches, and occasionally each other's homes. The whole setting is quite stifling and very indoors. After all, Hazel spends most of her time in her room reading the same book over and over again. It's pretty claustrophobic.

Hazel's totally aware of it, too. She describes Indiana as someplace where she feels confined: "It was a cloudy day, typical Indiana: the kind of weather that boxes you in" (4.48). Even when she meets Augustus and they start doing fun and exciting things together, they're still limited in where they're allowed to go: they go to each other's homes and to support group; they read a lot, watch TV, and hang out with their hovering parents; they spend time with Isaac, who also has similar limitations.

The Indianapolis that they see is one that is sterile, confining, and utterly familiar.

Amsterdam

Ah, Amsterdam. The name itself conjures up visions of cobblestone streets, canals, bicycles, quaint coffee shops, artists, and of course, romance. So you know, basically the polar opposite of the Indianapolis we just left. When Hazel and Augustus go to Amsterdam, it's not just another country or continent for them. It's a totally different life, one that doesn't involve regular trips to the hospital and rolling their eyes as they sit in the "literal heart of Jesus":

It looked nothing like America. It looked like an old painting, but real—everything achingly idyllic in the morning light—and I thought about how wonderfully strange it would be to live in a place where almost everything had been built by the dead. (11.9)

These two kids are catapulted into a world where anything is possible, where they can have a romantic dinner outdoors, climb flights of stairs, and even sneak into each other's hotel rooms for sexy times. Even Hazel's mother, who is usually hovering right by her, acts differently when they're in Amsterdam; she allows Hazel and Augustus to go off on their own and manages to enjoy her own time as she tours Amsterdam.

POINT OF VIEW

First Person (Central Narrator)

This story is all Hazel's. It makes perfect sense that the story would be told from her first person perspective because she has such an internalized life. She really is in her own little worlds.

We really like Hazel, so we're pretty stoked to have her as our narrator. And she's always infusing her own thoughts and personality into the story. Remember when she describes how pissed she is that people are putting inspirational messages on Gus's wall online after he dies?

That particularly galled me, because it implied the immortality of those left behind: You will live forever in my memory, because I will live forever! I AM YOUR GOD NOW, DEAD BOY! I OWN YOU! Thinking you won't die is yet another side effect of dying. (21.8)

This girl doesn't hold back.

Because she has physical constraints, Hazel relies on her words, thoughts, and feelings to give her the full experience of life. She and Augustus are often overblown and wordy, but it's how they're able to communicate their affection for each other without physical contact.

Hazel brings us into her world with her words—and it's one that's hard to leave.

GENRE

Young Adult Literature

This one's kind of a no-brainer. Hazel, Augustus, and their friends are all teenagers who are looking for their way in life. They may be dealing with all sorts of downer illnesses, but they're still dealing with all the normal teenage preoccupations like flirting, playing with video games, and rolling their eyes at their parents.

Coming of Age

Even though Hazel is sixteen years old and whip smart, it often seems like she's a little stunted in her social and romantic growth. But over the course of the book, she really grows into herself and experiences many of normal teenage things involved in the transition from childhood into adulthood. She learns to become a little more independent, starts being more social, and even develops a love interest. Oh, and she loses her virginity.

And if watching your boyfriend die doesn't force you to grow up, we don't know what does.

TONE

Cautiously Frank

Why not start with a quote from our spunky narrator?

I didn't tell him that the diagnosis came three months after I got my first period. Like: Congratulations! You're a woman. Now die. (2.13)

And hey, how about another?

That particularly galled me, because it implied the immortality of those left behind: You will live forever in my memory, because I will live forever! I AM YOUR GOD NOW, DEAD BOY! I OWN YOU! Thinking you won't die is yet another side effect of dying. (21.8)

Oh, and why not one more—just for good measure:

I went to Support Group for the same reason that I'd once allowed nurses with a mere eighteen months of graduate education to poison me with exotically named chemicals: I wanted to make my parents happy. (1.28)

Notice a trend? Our girl is remarkably frank. She tells it like it is, even when other people don't like it (read: her mom). She knows she's headed for an early death and feels like there's not much use in pretending otherwise.

As frank as she is, though, she's also cautious. Even when she's dealing with something as harmless as answering Augustus's parents' questions about Support Group, she weighs her options carefully:

I paused for a second, trying to figure out if my response should be calibrated to please Augustus or his parents. (2.32)

And it's not only for Augustus's parents. She's also especially cautious when she's talking to or thinking about Augustus. She doesn't want to admit to her feelings for Augustus outright and doesn't like to consider a wonderful future together. She can't afford to get her hopes up when the stakes are so high, and her word choice makes that abundantly clear.

WRITING STYLE

Conversational Snark

Hazel is just full of opinionated treasures. Hazel is quick-witted, well-spoken, and snarky to boot. Take her thoughts on the Encouragements scattered all around Augustus' house:

This is an old argument in the field of Thinking About Suffering, and its stupidity and lack of sophistication could be plumbed for centuries, but suffice it to say that the existence of broccoli does not in any way affect the taste of chocolate... "A lovely thought." (2.97)

Not only does this passage showcase her witty turns of phrase, it also gives us an idea of why she talks like she does, why she tells it like it is. Hazel obviously thinks that trite phrases (like the Encouragements) are just stupid. That means you can be sure she'll never write like that. And we don't know about you, but we much prefer snarky to trite.

Plus, Hazel's writing is easy to follow because it's written in a conversational way; as if we're sitting down talking to a close friend. And that makes us feel like we really know Hazel.

TITLE

We're going to turn to Big Willy for this one. The book's title, The Fault in Our Stars, comes from a line in Shakespeare's play in Julius Caesar where Cassius says, "The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings."

Deep, much?

Cassius seems to be saying that it's not fate that dooms men, but instead their own failings. That's right: according to this guy, you are to blame for the nastiness in your life.

John Green isn't quite on board. The title The Fault in Our Stars seems to argue that sometimes it's not our fault; sometimes the bad stuff just can't be avoided. Hazel and Augustus sure didn't do anything to cause their cancer and it's a fact that they cannot avoid or change.

But the beauty of the message is that they can still live and make their decisions despite the fault in their stars, even when they know the inevitable fate that awaits them.

EPIGRAPHS

Epigraphs are like little appetizers to the great entrée of a story. They illuminate important aspects of the story, and they get us headed in the right direction.

As the tide washed in, the Dutch Tulip Man faced the ocean:

"Conjoiner rejoinder poisoner concealer revelator. Look at it, rising up and rising down, taking everything with it."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Water," the Dutchman said. "Well, and time."

– PETER VAN HOUTEN, An Imperial Affliction

The epigraph is an imaginary quote from an imaginary book called An Imperial Affliction. But who said the imaginary wasn't worth thinking about?

Time is a big freakin' deal in The Fault in Our Stars because Hazel and Augustus don't have a lot of it left. The two are always discussing infinities and how some people have more time than others. Hazel also references the fact that eventually, all that we know will be gone and fade into oblivion. Sounds a lot like the epigraph, right?

Looks like the epigraph has done its job to set the tone.

ENDING

First things first: let's pass around the tissue box. This ending is filled with some emotionally loaded and tragic stuff. The plot point is clear: in the end, the love of Hazel Grace's life, Augustus Waters, dies. He's 17.

Through his death, Hazel is able to learn some things about herself, her take on mortality, and her role in the world.

All this time, Hazel's been adamant about keeping her distance from people because she doesn't want to hurt them. But with Augustus, she realizes the closeness was worth it—she wouldn't change it for the world. And that's how other people, like her parents and her friends, feel about her.

In the end, Hazel reads Augustus's obituary for her. He writes that you can't choose whether or not you'll be hurt, but you can choose what hurts you, and that he's happy with his choices:

What else? She is so beautiful. You don't get tired of looking at her. You never worry if she is smarter than you: You know she is. She is funny without ever being mean. I love her. I am so lucky to love her, Van Houten. You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices. I hope she likes hers. (25.76)

And Hazel responds with:

I do, Augustus.

I do. (25.77-78)

Looks like there's some happy ending in there after all.

PLOT ANALYSIS

Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice.

Exposition (Initial Situation)

A Girl Without a Mission

This exposition isn't the happiest of Disney-fied beginnings. In fact, a great deal of the exposition has to do with the very depressing topic of "What it's like to be a teenager with a terminal illness?" So, as we get introduced to Hazel, our beloved heroine, we get to see the ins and outs of a day with cancer, which includes not going to school, being hovered over obsessively by one's parents, watching lots of reality television, and going to Support Group in the basement of a church.

Rising Action (Conflict, Complication)

Boys, Boys, Boys

Things start to pick up when Hazel meets Augustus, a rather attractive boy in her Support Group. Pretty soon, they're swooning over the same books and having phone calls into the wee hours of the night. With his arrival, Hazel starts seeing the possibility of a life more exciting than her cancer-ridden one… and Augustus agrees. Augustus starts corresponding with Hazel's favorite writer (something she's never been able to do) and lo and behold, they get an invitation to go to Amsterdam and learn more about the ending of Hazel's favorite book.

Climax (Crisis, Turning Point)

Euro-Trip

The climax of the book might as well be called "When in Amsterdam…" because everything dramatic goes down in the European city. First of all, things do not go well with Peter Van Houten, and there's an explosive scene at his house in which Augustus yells at him. Secondly, Augustus and Hazel finally give into those raging hormones. And thirdly (as if there could be any more!), Augustus breaks the news to Hazel that he recently had a PET scan and his cancer has returned aggressively. So now it's him who's dying?

Falling Action

The Sad Decline of Augustus Waters

The falling action in the story happens in accordance with Augustus' failing health. Poor Hazel has to deal with the heartbreak of watching her first love get weaker and weaker. All she wants to do is be there for him, and watching him die takes up her whole life. When Augustus dies, it's unimaginably hard.

Resolution (Dénouement)

And Then There Was One

In the end, Hazel is full-on mourning Augustus's loss. But she reaches some closure when she talks to Peter Van Houten at the funeral and learns that he had a daughter who died of cancer, which is why he wrote An Imperial Affliction. She also discovers a eulogy that Augustus wrote for her before he died—one last word from her first love.

TRIVIA (WEETJES)

The book is dedicated to Esther Earl, a young cancer patient who inspired John Green with her humor and, well, normalcy. (Source.)

In case you were wondering, John Green never considered ending The Fault in Our Stars mid-sentence a la An Imperial Affliction. Whew. (Source.)

Get this: John Green had considered telling the story from Isaac's point of view, but ultimately decided on giving the honors to Hazel. Imagine how different the story would have been. (Source.)

In very very early drafts, The Fault in Our Stars involved a group of children with cancer meeting in a cave for a club called The Dead Persons Society. Hmmm. (Source.)

QUESTIONS

1. What does An Imperial Affliction have to do with Hazel's own life? Why is she so stinkin' obsessed and how has the book changed her?
2. How does Hazel and Augustus's relationship differ from that of other teens? How is it the same?
3. Why is Isaac's sight such a point of contention between him and his girlfriend? Do you think his girlfriend leaving him was warranted?
4. What is the significance of the words "always" and "okay" to the characters? Why do they pick these words?
5. What is the significance of the fact that An Imperial Affliction doesn't end, and why does Hazel so bent on knowing what happens?
6. What does Hazel want for her parents? Does she get it at the end?
7. If the story was told from Augustus's point of view, how would it have ended? Would it have ended with his death, or sometime before it?
8. Does Van Houten actually care about Hazel and Augustus? Why does he feel the need to go to Gus's funeral at the end?
9. Why does Augustus write Hazel a eulogy before he dies? Why doesn't he present her with the ending of An Imperial Affliction instead?
10. What does Hazel learn from her relationship with Augustus? Is it a deeper relationship than most teenage first loves, or does it just feel that way because they have such limited time?
11. Why do the chapters in the story get shorter during the time that Augustus is progressively deteriorating?

DETAIL QUIZ

Q1. When Augustus says, "I don't believe we return to haunt or comfort the living or anything, but I think something becomes of us," what is he talking about?

1. The afterlife
2. High school graduation
3. The ending of a video game
4. A new Encouragement he's thinking up

Q2. Who says, "I don't know what I believe, Hazel. I thought being an adult meant knowing what you believe, but that has not been my experience"?

1. Peter Van Houten
2. Augustus
3. Mr. Lancaster
4. Some creeper on the bus

Q3. When does Mrs. Lancaster say, "I won't be a mom anymore"?

1. When she thinks Hazel is dying
2. At Support Group
3. After Hazel's been a terrible teenager

When they go to the pet adoption faire

Q4. Who is Lidewij talking about when she says, "Circumstance has made him so cruel"?

1. The Dutch Tulip Man
2. Father Christmas
3. Peter Van Houten
4. The Prime Minister

Q5. Where are they when Augustus tells Hazel, "I'm in love with you"?

1. On a plane
2. In the hospital
3. At a sock hop
4. Via text

ANTWOORDEN QUIZ

1A                   2C                   3A                   4C                   5A