Miss Miles, Period ?, 3/31/14

Hazel Grace Lancaster, a smart and sassy 16-year-old, has been living with cancer for three years. She also lives with the constant fear that one day she will die and leave behind her loved ones. This fear has caused Hazel to isolate herself within her house. Her parents, therefore, suggest/force her to join a support group full of other cancer kids. They hope that she will meet new people, but that she will also learn how to cope with her fears. Although mostly uneventful, one of these support group meetings leads Hazel to the one person who can help her do both: Augustus Waters.

When Hazel meets Augustus, she is immediately attracted to his charm and wit. He has been in remission for a year and a half, and has come out with only one casualty—his leg. This story, though, is more than just of boy meets girl, or even love at first sight. Although Hazel likes Augustus, she can’t ever forget that her cancer is slowly killing her, and one day, it will succeed. She tells him that they cannot be more than friends, but he won’t give up that easily. Will he eventually get Hazel to dive head first into love before cancer claims its next victim?

What I liked most about this book was that even though it was about a girl with cancer, it was hilarious. There were many moments when I was laughing out loud. I think this was because both Hazel and Augustus are funny characters, and they both look at life with dark humor. For example, when their friend Isaac has eye removal surgery, Augustus sends Hazel this text: Isaac out of surgery. It went well. He’s officially NEC [no evidence of cancer]. I mean, he’s blind. So that’s unfortunate. Becoming blind would probably be more than just an unfortunate event, but Augustus tries to bring humor to the situation.

Augustus “Gus” Waters Age: 17 Physical Description: Tall, lean, blue eyes, brown hair, right leg amputated, wears a prosthetic Character Traits: Charismatic, witty, loyal, passionate, Augustus is my favorite character because his personality is so appealing. He is the boy that every girl falls in love with, as everything he says is full of charm, wit or passion. He is also the boy every guy wants to have as a friend. He even helps his blind friend through a nasty break-up by distracting Isaac by playing video games, letting Isaac destroy all of his basketball trophies, and helping Isaac egg his ex-girlfriend’s car after his eye removal surgery. It is not possible to read this book without liking Augustus Waters.

An Abundance of Katherines Looking for Alaska Paper Towns Will Grayson, Will Grayson (co-written by David Levithan)