Yes, I’m behind the trend. Yes, people have recommended I read it for months now. Yes, I’m thrilled I finally picked it up. Yes, I will see the movie. 
The Fault in Our Stars
Here are the 5 things I love about John Green’s YA novel.
1. John Green is a man. I love that a man wrote a romance about teenagers. I love that he doesn’t tuck the romance in or make it secondary. I love that he puts it out there without shame. I love that the book acknowledges the way men crave love and affection, too. I love that Green wasn’t afraid to write from the perspective of a teenage girl (and he does it well.)
2. The witty banter. I’m a huge Gilmore Girls fan, and dare I say it, Green gives Lorelai and Rory a run for their money. The dialogue is smart and funny, and the pop culture references are snarky and accurate.
3. The fresh, achingly honest look at cancer. I do not know what it is to be especially close with a child or teen with cancer. But I do know cancer – I know how it eats away at everything. I know how my mother pulled back from us- probably because she felt she, too, was a grenade. I do know how it destroys bodies and spirits. I do know the strength required to fight it. I appreciate that Green doesn’t pull back from that truth at all.
4. The book on book action. Anytime a book uses another book as a theme, I’m enthralled. Here, all the novels that come into play make me so happy, and I get why Hazel and Gus love them. I have those books, and I expect you do, too.
5. Hazel and Gus. I don’t really think I need to explain if you’ve read the book, and if you haven’t, well, I don’t want to spoil it. But I love them.
I’m only about halfway into the book, so maybe in the next 150 pages, I’ll grow to hate it. . . . but I doubt it. Green has written a wise, witty, honest novel. . . and I – like the rest of the planet – highly recommend it.