CDBC-The Fault in Our Stars

Mandmeesh

ITK asked me to lead this week since her bank doesn't believe she needs her debit card in a quick manner (aka-she has been unable to buy the book yet) 

I am going to apologize in advance for my nerdy-ness :-B I love reading and the discussions afterward.  

I have a lineup of questions, but I'll start with just a few and interject some others as people feel they're been discussed fully.  How does that sound?

1) The author, John Green, uses the voice of an adolescent girl to narrate his story. Does he do a convincing job of creating a female character?

2) What did you make of the book's humor? Is it appropriate…or inappropriate? Green has said he "didn't want to use humor to lighten the mood" or "to pull out the easy joke" when things got hard. But, he said, he likes to write about "clever kids, [and they] tend to be funny even when things are rough." Is his use of humor successful? How did it affect the way you read the book?

3) How would you describe the two main characters, Hazel and Gus? Do either of them conform, in behavior or thinking, to what we normally associate with young cancer patients? How do the two differ from one another…and how do their personality traits and interests complement each other?

4) Talk about how you've experienced the book so far. Is it too sad, too tragic, to contemplate? Or did you find it in some way uplifting? 

     Also, how far did you get?

Mandmeesh

I feel like the author does a really great job of capturing the voice of a 16/17yo girl. The scene when Hazel meets Augustus at the Support Group (in the literal heart of Jesus) he really showed the emotions that a young girl has when being swept off her feet. 

I loved the humor.  Satire has always been a writing style that really appeals to me. Sometimes life is so hard and tragic that humor is all that gets us through (or, as Hazel points out-sometimes we can't even make it through cancer…hers anyway). Even though there were times I laughed out loud at his jokes…it was either laugh, or cry. To which I did both.

Hazel and Gus, to me, are wise for their age. Whether that's a result of the cancer or what, I'm not sure. I would think that having cancer makes a child grow up too fast. Though they do both show times when they are still children-like yelling out at their parents that "it's my life! I'll do what I want" type situations.  I was really touched, but also saddened, by Hazel's desperate need to survive-not for herself, but her parents. She says that very early on in the book-she must survive for her parents. Wow.  

Since Hazel is the protagonist in the book we see her cancer and how she deals with it right up front. I think Gus' struggle with cancer is left more to our imaginations-1) because we can't know his thoughts and 2) he internalizes a lot to protect Hazel from his suffering too. 

Absolutely love the book. Mh kept teasing me that it was similar to A Walk to Remember.  I kept trying to defend the book to him explaining that it was more than just the relationship between Hazel and Gus.  It was her love of books-desperately trying to search for answers about her beloved An Imperial Affliction. Silly to defend a book, I know. I was definitely blubbering by page 3, but I like books like that.  Reading is a time for be to be able to get completely emotional with no one asking "are you okay?" I get completely immersed in books…I live in the book right along with the characters

Mandmeesh

Did anyone read?!

freezorburn

I finished it but we've had a busy day so I'll post my thoughts after DS goes to bed.

TJ1979

I feel like I can't do these questions justice one handed on mobile. I was hoping to get to use a laptop tonight.

freezorburn

1) Yes. But I think what's interesting is not just that he has created a female narrator; it is also that she is a fully-formed, complex person -- she's intelligent, funny, cynical, and simultaneously an old soul and still very much 16 all at the same time.

2) Among other things, I think humor is one way that the characters connect with eachother. And at other times it is a way of deflecting pity -- (spoiler deleted)

3) I think Hazel and Gus are old souls, and maybe that's why they can relate to one another. I can't figure out how much of that is due to the experience of having cancer, or if it's something that's more innate to each of them. 

4) I read the book in about 2.5 days. I had time because MIL was visiting and she wanted to spend as much time with DS as possible, so I let her. Parts of it were funny enough that I laughed out loud, other parts were sad and I started crying while reading it in a cafe. I don't think it's too sad to contemplate; it is reality for some people. There's enough cancer in my family, and in my immediate social circles, that I have contemplated how difficult it must be for people to lose a family member to cancer at any age. There's a possibility that I may be the one who gets sick someday, and if that day comes I hope I won't have much in the way of regrets as to how I have spent the time I've been given. Every now and then I meet someone who is in their later years, and quite healthy for their age, and as I get to know them I learn that this person is deeply unhappy, and it has mostly to do with their attitude towards life, because all that person can talk about is how things didn't turn out the way they wanted, even while everyone else around them looks at their life and thinks that they are so blessed with a nice home, healthy children and grandchildren, good friends, etc., etc. So I feel it's uplifting to read something (spoiler deleted) [that is an example of] how a person can be grateful for what they get in life even if it's not much compared to what other people get.

freezorburn

Chickypoo2468 said:

 1. I am wondering how a 16 yr old who has been out of school for 3 years and near death had time to study for and pass the GED test. She sounds more educated than any 16 year old I know, and the fact that she is taking college classes fits into that somewhat, but the whole thing bothers me bc it doesn't fit. 

I just assumed that there have been stretches during her life since being diagnosed when she was probably well enough to read/study but not well enough to have a social life. Because aren't cancer patients immune-compromised a lot of the time? And just because she couldn't be in school didn't mean she couldn't still have goals for herself and accomplish them.

I wasn't bothered by these details. I figured if Hazel had never gotten sick and stayed in school, she might have been one of those kids who was editing the literary magazine or something. 

My high school was super-competitive academically speaking, so Hazel's being well-read and conversant at age 16 didn't phase me at all.

freezorburn

Chickypoo2468 said:

@freezorburn‌ add a spoiler alert please!!

Duh. Oops so sorry! Deleted them from my post. If my iPad would let me format I would have tried to make it highlight able, but my functions look grayed out. Dang. 

Please tell me you read a movie review and already knew what was coming. Shoot. I'm an idiot.

freezorburn

I'm usually so careful. I should stick to diaper- related stuff.

emmylou78

Also doing from iPhone. It's at 4% so hopefully it doesn't die in the next 2 minutes.

I think te author did well enough with the voice of a female character. It does bother me a bit with how Hazel and Gus speak. They have a rather large vocabulary for teenagers. But maybe that is due to their personalities.

I'm only on chapter 4 so far, but I think the humor has been good. The "literal heart of Jesus" made me smile.

Hazel is much more introverted than Gus it appears. He seems older ad more mysterious. She seems to look at him in a very teenager in love type of way. The author did capture that well.

I don't think I have an answer for #4 yet. I'm somewhere in chapter 4 but I have 4 days off and plan to catch up.

emmylou78

Is the random use of capitalization bothering anyone else? At first, I thought it was used to capture their age and how the characters think of those objects; capitalizing things like Support Group. It's really annoying me for some reason though.

freezorburn

I thought the use of capitalization was pretty deliberate. Similar to the way A.A. Milne uses caps in Winne-the-Pooh.

freezorburn

Chickypoo2468 said:

Yes, but she said they pulled her from school bc they thought she wasn't going to make it. I just wouldn't think book work would have been high on her priority list until there was some hope of a future. And you have to study for a GED. Most 13-15 yr olds wouldn't be able to pass it just based on their current knowledge.

Yeah I used to tutor GED prep so I know there is some work that goes into it. My guess is that there was probably a period when she was too sick to do anything, but then things turned around. At that point she probably would have missed some school, so she would have been behind, so why go back to school? If she were to continue her education, home schooling would probably provide the flexibility needed for her ongoing healthcare needs. And I would imagine that to some extent, working towards a goal might provide its own sort of hope. Beyond that, if she is well enough to study at her own pace, I think it's totally possible for her to get her GED by 16.

Mandmeesh

Heather6789 said:

Is the random use of capitalization bothering anyone else? At first, I thought it was used to capture their age and how the characters think of those objects; capitalizing things like Support Group. It's really annoying me for some reason though.

it's not random.  there is never something in a novel that's random

Mandmeesh

Mandmeesh said:

Heather6789 said:

Is the random use of capitalization bothering anyone else? At first, I thought it was used to capture their age and how the characters think of those objects; capitalizing things like Support Group. It's really annoying me for some reason though.

it's not random.  there is never something in a novel that's random

I think it's to change improper nouns to proper-give them more meaning (or false meaning for Hazel) in her life. Support Group. Literal Heart of Jesus, etc etc

Mandmeesh

also-I'm totally in love with Hazel and Gus. mh and I started dating when we were about their age…and in my head, I picture our flirting and romance exactly like theirs

TJ1979

I can't handle a conversation between @Heather6789‌ and @freezorburn‌. Your avatars look too much alike and I thought freezorburn was talking to herself.

freezorburn

I've noticed this too but I can't find a enough time to get on my real computer to change my avatar. Plus, I like the manatees.

emmylou78

Random wasn't the right word. I get that they're putting meaning into the capitalizations, and at first it added interest, but now it is seeming overused and distracting.

Guess it's me.

freezorburn

I thought there was supposed to be a check-in as part of our first discussion and we were going to decide pace from there.

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freezorburn

Yeah, I already screwed that up.

Mandmeesh

Even if people finished, using the questions as a guide shouldn't warrant spoilers. I made sure to not include questions that went past the first couple of chapters

freezorburn

The questions were fine, but that didn't stop me from screwing up. Because I just totally spaced out on the likelihood that others might not have read as far as I did. 

TJ1979

I finished too. I couldn't stop.

freezorburn

I'm just going to throw out a suggestion for discussing the book in sections, if that's what the group still wants to do:

Chapters 1-8

9-12

13

14-20

21-25

My thoughts are these groupings might make sense in terms of being good places to talk about the major developments in the novel.

Mandmeesh

I think we all just need to meet at a coffee shop to discuss. Online sucks

freezorburn

I'm sorry. I just got tired of trying to stick to a schedule, and then having the discussion postponed for whatever reason, because that seriously kills the momentum of reading. I get that real life gets in the way. But if we are very clear about what is going to be discussed in each thread I think it would be doable to avoid spoilers for those who are behind in the reading schedule.