The Fault in our Stars by John Green

This was, quite possibly, the most evocative and heart-wrenching book that I have ever read. John Green has a unique way of taking a depressing situation like cancer and making you both sob and laugh at the same time [with very disgusting results - think about that gross, sobbing, snotting cry mixed with sporadic laughing and you'll start to see what I mean]. Now that it has been made into a movie, the book has been reviewed and reflected on from every possible angle, so if you've already read some of those you probably won't get anything new here (but feel free to read along anyway!).

Here, I'm going to ramble on a bit about how I came to read this book; if you're looking for the book review, scroll down to the bold header marked "book review"! Green has been one of my top three authors since I was first introduced to Looking for Alaska. After I read that, I read every single Green book I could get my hands on. I even scoured the vast realms of the internet to see what else I could find on Green (much like I did in the days of Harry Potter).  I quickly came to find that he and his brother, Hank, run a YouTube channel [Vlogbrothers] together and often discussed things I was interested in. When John announced on YouTube that he was writing a new book, and later announced that he would be going on tour to promote the new book, I knew I had to read it. On the Vlogbrothers channel, John even read the first chapter of the book weeks before it was to be released. I preordered a copy of the book [it came signed!!!!!!] and read it in about 2.5 hours. Over the course of my first foray through the novel, I laughed, I sobbed, I threw the book against the wall, and I shouted expletives towards Mr. Green for the emotional slalom he was running me though. Then I bought my ticket for the tour; I was able to hear Green talk about the book-writing process, his inspiration for the book, and he answered questions from the crowd [including one of mine!].

Enough about my book reading process, let's talk about the book itself. The Fault in Our Stars [TFioS for short] is a straight-up novel about a teenager with cancer who falls in love...with another teenager with cancer. Hold up, you say, this doesn't sound like it would be a great book...not even an "okay" book. In fact, it sounds like total anguish topped with a misery cherry. Why would I ever want to voluntarily read this? By the end of this book, while I did feel incredibly sad and frustrated with Green, I felt as though I had just experienced someone else's life for a few hours. Green spins a tale that winds you right up in it. His characters are dynamic and have a never ending stream of wit and humor coming from their mouths that serves to lighten the oppressive sadness of the novel. I don't want to write much more for fear of ruining such a fantastic book, so I will leave this with my whole-hearted encouragement to pick up the book and give it a chance to rip you to pieces.

Top Twenty-Five Book Suggestions for Young Adults

I've compiled this list based on a combination of YA books that I enjoyed and books that I see my students reading. You're more than welcome to dis/agree with me on any of these or comment with your own suggestions. Additionally, these are in no particular order.

#4 on the List

1. Looking for Alaska by John Green Themes/topics: death, love, adolescence, growing up, suicide, the meaning of life, and self-discovery.
2. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak Themes/topics: the Holocaust, survival, war, mortality, identity, suffering, and courage.
3. How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller Themes/topics: social issues, crime [duh - see the title], revenge, and internal conflict.
4. The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld Themes/topics: dystopia/utopia, social issues, self-discovery, identity, society and class, coming of age, freedom/confinement, and betrayal.
5. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Themes/topics: redemption, solving one's own problems, society, war, sexism [to an extent], pacifism, and alternate realities.
6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green Themes/topics: coming of age, illness, death, self-discovery, coping with loss.
7. Monster by Walter Dean Myers Themes/topics: question of guilt/innocence, identity, prejudice, stereotypes, American justice system, institutionalized racism/crime, life in prison, writing to cope.
8. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher Themes/topics: coming of age, suicide, guilt, blame, betrayal, choices, love.
9. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card Themes/topics: youth, manipulation, warfare, isolation, freedom/confinement, competition.
10. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare Themes/topics: versions of reality, revenge, religion, appearances, art/culture, duty
11. Cut by Patricia McCormick Themes/topics: self-injury, coming of age, choices, keeping secrets.
12. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon Themes/topics: versions of reality, isolation, fear, language/communication, freedom/confinement, identity, truth. 
13. Divergent by Veronica Roth Themes/topics: dystopian, society & class, identity, power, friendship, choices, secrets.

    

    #15 on the List

14. The Giver by Lois Lowry Themes/topics: dystopian/utopian, the past/memory, rules/order, isolation, suffering, tradition.
15. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs Themes/topics:
16. Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan Themes/topics: identity, versions of reality, isolation, traditions/customs, lies/deceit. 
17. The Maze Runner by James Dashner Themes/topics: manipulation, rules/order, fear, sacrifice, justice/judgement, freedom/confinement.
18. Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Themes/topics: epistolary, coming of age, drugs, alcohol, sex, passivity, family.
19. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Themes/topics: dystopian, society/class, power, politics, sacrifice, 
20. If I Stay by Gayle Foreman Themes/topics:
21. Harry Potter by JK Rowling Themes/topics: good vs. evil, sacrifice, choices, mortality, love, betrayal, society/class.
22. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Themes/topics: rape, guilt, blame, education, isolation, transformation.
23. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi Themes/topics: contrasting regions, coming of age, women/femininity, politics, freedom/confinement, religion.
24. Maus by Art Spiegelman Themes/topics: the Holocaust, morality, family, race, ethics, guilt/blame, memory/the past

#4 on the List

25. Blankets by Craig Thompson Themes/topics: sin, pride, religion, coming of age, trust, sexual abuse

It's a dirty job...but someone has to do it

A Dirty Job - by Christopher Moore

Cover Summary: Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy with a normal life, married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. They're even about to have their first child. Yes, Charlie's doing okay—until people start dropping dead around him, and everywhere he goes a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Charlie Asher, it seems, has been recruited for a new position: as Death.

It's a dirty job. But, hey! Somebody's gotta do it.

Charlie Asher is your average beta-male...at least for the first twenty or so pages of this book. His life is quickly complicated by the death of his wife (right after she gives birth to their first, and only, child) and the appearance of a man in a mint green suit. Charlie comes to discover that he, like the man in the mint green suit, is what we would consider a grim reaper. Though, Charlie prefers to refer to himself as a "death merchant". Each morning after becoming 

For me, it's not just the plot that makes this an extremely interesting read; the author, Christopher Moore uses fantastic descriptions for both the characters and the plot. When the reader first meets Lily, Moore provides this brief but image-provoking description, "She was sixteen, pale, and a little bottom heavy-her grown-woman form still in flux between baby fat and baby bearing. Today her hair happened to be lavender: fifties-housewife helmet hair in Easter-basket cellophane pastel" (22-3). There are not many authors who paint such a vivid picture in my mind when I read, but Moore solidly accomplishes this. He is also quite successful at balancing the depressing topic of death with wit, humor, and sarcasm. Charlie encounters several frustrations as he is adjusting to his new position in life; Moore employs his unique, sarcastic humor and writes, "The can opener slipped again, spurting tuna juice on his shirt and sending his toast scooting to the floor, and now there was fuzz on it. Fuzz on his toast! Fuzz on the toast of Death. What the hell good was it to be The Lord of the Underworld if there was fuzz on your underdone toast. 'Fuck!'" (67). Often, Moore will use short scenes like this to temporarily lift the depressing haze of dealing with death on a daily basis.

Unfortunately from a teacher's perspective, this is not a book that I could even dream of teaching in class or offering as a SSR selection (silent, sustained, reading). Moore is a bit heavy on the expletives. I don't think he uses them in bad taste, however.  For example, when describing the character of The Emperor, Moore writes, "The Emperor decided to make a proclamation to the troops about the importance of compassion in the face of the rising tide of heinous fuckery and political weasels city in the nearby kingdom of the United States" (54). I think this aptly describes the character/his perspective. Unfortunately, I would more than likely lose my job if I placed this book in the hands of one of my students. 

All in all, this book definitely makes my top ten list of awesome books. I would highly recommend this book to any fan of heavy wit, creative characters, and a dash of science fiction. Rumor has it, Moore is in the process of a sequel; you can bet I will be one of the first to preorder when that becomes and option.