4.5 stars, actually.

I have many feelings over this book. Probably way too many.

First of all, I’ll admit I wasn’t very sure about this book, because a)it’s a YA novel and those tend to let me down; and b)It was a love story between two kids with cancer. It’s a pretty hard plot to handle.
I was so very wrong. I loved this book (and cried like a baby for the last two chapters).

John Green managed to create a love story that’s both cute and compelling. Hazel and Gus are very likable (an important quality for a character to have) and they feel very real. My only qualms about them were that at some points I found them a little hard to believe, with all their witty comebacks (which are a trademark of Green’s style, anyway), but soon enough they began to feel very real.

I was also concerned about the portrayal of teens with cancer. In my experience, sick kids are usually shown as saints. I even remember that the brother of one of my friends, who died of cancer at six years old, was rumored to have said wise and profound stuff before dying (which was false). So I was preparing myself for reading about children who didn’t like to show pain, and whose lives were supposed to be an example. Instead, I got real teenagers. Teens that were frustrated and angry for being sick. And who weren’t trying to be saints, nor role models for anyone. They just wanted to live, to be teenagers, to love. It was brilliant.

The same happened with their story. At first it looked as if it was going to be a love-at-first-sight (at least from Gus’ point of view), but it was very well developed. Hazel sheltering herself from others with the idea of protecting them felt very real. That’s probably what I’d do if I was in her situation. At first, Gus’ attempts to get into Hazel’s shell felt very… kind of pushy. I thought he was pushing her too much, more than being sweet. But I guess it was the only way to get to her.

My favorite part was the one in Amsterdam. After everything, they were happy and together. I’ve heard that there was some sort of controversy about them kissing for the first time in Anna Frank’s house. Apparently, some people found it disrespectful. I’d say otherwise: Anna Frank was a teenage girl who wanted love, just as any other. Hazel and Gus’ kiss at the house was, for me, a symbol for love winning over hate and fear. Exactly what Anna would’ve wanted, I think.

The final part broke my heart in pieces. I remember finishing it at my uni’s library and crying like a baby, hoping that nobody noticed me. It was done beautifully and amazingly, and it was just perfect. In the pre-funeral scene I just couldn’t help but crying. Because life was unfair with both of them, who deserved more time in the world.

But life (and John Green) isn’t fair. And people who deserve to live don’t get more time here just because of it. They die, and that’s it. But it still broke my heart, and for some crazy reason, I loved it.