The Fault in Our Stars

Green, Tom. (2014). The fault in our stars. Penguin Young Reader’s Group: NY. Hazel has cancer and is in a support group where she meets Augustus who also has cancer. They start a friendship that soon develops into more. Hazel is in love with the Author Peter Van Houten and would give anything to talk with him about his characters. The problem is that she used her make a wish on Disney but Augustus offers to take her to meet the author with his make a wish. It is a disappointment to say the least but allows Augustus and Hazel to get closer sexually. The book ends sadly with Augustus dying. While I currently have students in my elementary school unfortunately battling cancer, this is a book for older kids in middle school and above. There is a lot that is over tweens heads I feel and the characters are speaking in a higher register than most teens. That or they are just not afraid to show their education. Worth the discussion on how we spend out lives and what we pursue. Havighurst's Theory of Developmental Tasks with adolescents must define their appropriate sex role comes into play with this book as the two main characters are both dealing with cancer that has taken away many of the normal factors that teens consider when dating to create their own definition of a relationship.