Book to Film: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

In this story, we meet Hazel Grace Lancaster, a not so normal teenager because she's been diagnosed cancer when she was twelve.  Now she has lungs that doesn't work as it should, but trying to get by, one day at a time. Almost seemed a routine for Hazel - until Augustus Waters.

Augustus Waters is a 17 year old guy who had survived Osteosarcoma. They met in a cancer support group, which Hazel regularly attends in the insistence of her mother while Augustus attends one meeting in the request of his best friend Isaac.

And this is where their story starts.


John Green is one of the most recognized author in the young adult genre and one of his novels, The Fault in Our Stars was made into a movie. The movie was just released to the theaters a few days ago and I decided to watch it today so I could also make a book to film review of John Green's most famous book.

First we meet Hazel, who is the narrator of the story. Proud and quite stubborn, we also see that she's quite realistic especially when it comes to her sickness. 

Augustus is a survivor - and even when he has lost one leg, he still lives positively. He wants to be remembered as a great person and has a fear of being forgotten. 

As with all John Green's main characters, Hazel and Augustus are intelligent people. These two more than the others. Their conversations make them sound like old people (like Dumbledore, haha) rather than teenagers. I got used to it though, because this isn't the first John Green book that I read. 

The novel deals not just with the characters battle with their illness, but also how they face death - especially when they're mostly young and still have many things they can do if given the chance. It also about life and love, which is gives them hope, even when everything seems hopeless. 

I especially love the way John Green wrote this book, because it may seem like you know exactly where the book is going but then bam - he still manages to surprise you and empty your tear ducts in the process. Not only that, Green's humor is also found in the book which also made it not so melodramatic, which is why I usually stay away from stories like these. Cancer stories  aren't really new, but John Green brilliantly managed to create a memorable and heartwarming story which many people loved and cried over.  

Now for the movie, which I just watched hours ago, is still haunting me. The movie is faithful to the book, but they excluded a few characters which to the readers might be a bad thing, but to me it was a good thing. 

The direction focused more on the characters and there wasn't much of the visual appeal (though Amsterdam was lovely) - but then again with the book dealing with lots of emotions, it was probably for the best. I also liked the pacing and enjoyed all the funny moments to the heartbreaking ones. 

As for the casting - when Shailene Woodley was announced as Hazel Lancaster, I knew she'd be great. And she was! She had no problem bringing life to Hazel Lancaster, even with the oxygen tube in her nose and all. 

Ansel Elgort, who played Augustus Waters was a bit unfamiliar to me. I did imagine Augustus to look a bit different compared to Ansel. His performance wasn't as brilliant as Woodley's, but he grew on me. I think the cheeky smile had to do with it.

Aside from the main characters, I also loved two of the supporting characters. One was Hazel's mother, played by Laura Dern. She gave more personality to the character than what was just found in the book which was amazing. 

The other supporting character who also shined was Isaac, who was played by Nat Wolff. He shined in every scene he was in and I totally loved him.

Overall, the movie was a great adaptation to John Green's best-selling book. The performances of the actors were great and fans of the book should definitely check it out. At least when you watch it in cinemas, you won't be alone in crying your heart out. Trust me, I was amazed at the amount of sobbing people in the cinema earlier!

"Okay?"

"Okay."

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Published: 2012

Publisher: Dutton Books

Rating: ♨♨♨♨ 

Film Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Director: Josh Boone

Screenplay: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber

Cast: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern

Release Date: 2014

Rating: ♨♨♨♨