To wrap up my trio of YA reviews, I’ve chosen to review the film adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars.
John Green is well known for his fantastic YA novels and The Fault in Our Stars in no exception. Hazel Grace hardly knows life without needing her oxygen tank, thanks to her lung cancer. Her doctor and mom convince her to join a cancer support group and a skeptical Hazel Grace is surprised to discover someone with a unique look at this terrible disease, August. Their friendship grows over time and love blossoms, even with their constant struggles against their own cancers and possible loss of life.
Green’s powerful look at illness, life, and love are integrated beautifully into August and Hazel Grace’s story. This teen romance seems completely normal, even in the midst of their cancer, with ups and downs, adventures, and common ground.
The film adaptation of this novel is as inspiring and emotion-packed as the novel itself and proved to be a stellar adaptation. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort portrayed Hazel Grace and August, respectively, with all of the charisma and authenticity in Green’s work. As is typical of book to film adaptations, several events in the book have been altered or left out, though this did not take away from the film’s success. The meaningful journey of the characters is mirrored in the adaptation’s representation of Green’s novel and is, in my opinion, one of the best book adaptations I’ve seen.