Warning: POSSIBLE TEAR-FEST AHEAD!
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| Hmm. This cover was not what I expected, but it does pave the way for readers going in without concentrating on the illness-related aspects of the story. |
Release Date: 10th January
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.
Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too - post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.
Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer-kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.
A few thoughts hit me when I first heard about this book. That it would be deeply thought-provoking. That it was undeniably intriguing. That everyone knew it was going to be intensely emotional.
And despite not having read it yet and not being able to read it for a while, I think this book will be for anyone who is strong enough to cope with the issues of serious, life-threatening illness - possible terminal illness - hope in a hopeless situation, and attachment to characters that you know are hanging precariously in the balance. Having been affected by illness that means constant medical care and regular hospital visits are the norm, I can already sympathise with the characters.
Hazel's life is on hold. The support group thing? Very realistic. The meeting the boy of your dreams at support group thing? In your dreams...but it does provide a strong basis for the plot, which is mainly character-led, and as far as I know contains a lot of philosophy, rediscovery and new discoveries, thinking about both life and death, and contemplating something that affects many more than it should in this world; people suffering with cancer, their families, their friends, their pasts and their futures, and how they may seek to find some semblance of normality while dealing with this shocking and remorseless disease.
My advice is have the Kleenex at the ready, folks.
Allie
A few thoughts hit me when I first heard about this book. That it would be deeply thought-provoking. That it was undeniably intriguing. That everyone knew it was going to be intensely emotional.
And despite not having read it yet and not being able to read it for a while, I think this book will be for anyone who is strong enough to cope with the issues of serious, life-threatening illness - possible terminal illness - hope in a hopeless situation, and attachment to characters that you know are hanging precariously in the balance. Having been affected by illness that means constant medical care and regular hospital visits are the norm, I can already sympathise with the characters.
Hazel's life is on hold. The support group thing? Very realistic. The meeting the boy of your dreams at support group thing? In your dreams...but it does provide a strong basis for the plot, which is mainly character-led, and as far as I know contains a lot of philosophy, rediscovery and new discoveries, thinking about both life and death, and contemplating something that affects many more than it should in this world; people suffering with cancer, their families, their friends, their pasts and their futures, and how they may seek to find some semblance of normality while dealing with this shocking and remorseless disease.
My advice is have the Kleenex at the ready, folks.
Allie
I really need to stop reading his books because i absolutely bawl reading everyone of them but even though ive never know closely someone with cancer this book broke my heart but at the same time was uplifting. Another work of literary genius from john, do not hesitate to read this.
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