Since I work with junior special education students many of them were very excited about reading this book. In fact, both girls and boys were happy to read this book, far more than any other on the required reading list for juniors - the English department picked a winner!! The story is based on two teens, Augustus Waters and Hazel Grace Lancaster, both of whom are critically ill. As the book opens, Augustus (who is in cancer remission) meets Hazel in the Literal Heart of Jesus, the basement of an Episcopal Church in Indianapolis where they attend a support group for sick teens. Quite quickly Augustus and Hazel become special friends over video games and reading a book, An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten. Because An Imperial Affliction does not have an ending, but rather lets the reader interpret the ending, Augustus and Hazel (along with Hazel's mom) use Augustus's wish trip to go to Amsterdam and meet the author. It turns out the Mr. Van Houten is a real jerk and treats the teens badly without revealing the ending to the book. While in Amsterdam Augustus and Hazel discover intimacy: Augustus, with one leg, and Hazel who is constantly attached to an oxygen machine. Upon returning home, Augustus becomes very ill and dies. At Augustus's funeral Mr. Van Houten appears with his flask attached; alcoholism has definitely taken it's toll. Hazel learns that Augustus has written a letter to her, but after searching his house and room - nothing turned up. Eventually she discovered that Augustus had Mr. Van Houten edit Augustus's remarks to Hazel. Mr. Van Houten's assistant is able to come up with the letter; Hazel receives a scanned copy. In the letter she realizes how much Augustus loved her and truly admired her. Additionally she learns that Mr. Van Houten is recovering from his own daughter's death; something which alcohol helps with the coping of her death many years before. This book truly has captivated many of our juniors. It shows empathy and coping with terrible diseases; however, it also shows that life goes on among friends who hope to leave a legacy. I did see the movie this summer, and I felt the movie did an excellent job following the book - very true to the story which isn't always the case.
Craft Technique
From Closing in on Close Reading, the idea of reading and rereading deliberately was a take away idea for me. So often, people skim in their reading and miss some of the true meaning. In The Fault in Our Stars, a couple of girls mentioned that they did read and reread because they simply did not want the book to end. Although this is probably not the point of close reading, it is nevertheless a learning experience that students can glean from a good author. They are able to learn good writing and story telling techniques which may benefit them in years to come. Reading closely certainly help develop deep comprehension which could be tied to other text books.
Minnesota Language Arts Standard: 9.11.5.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings. The flow of The Fault in Our Stars was very readable but also very beautiful, plus the title comes from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar which very few students would appreciate that a phrase 500 years old is still relevant today.
Marilyn Benson, EHS
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