The Fault In Our Stars hit theatres on June 6, 2014.  The film is based on the fifth novel by John Green, released in 2012.  It is not a Cancer story, it is a story about life with Cancer.  It is not a love story, it is a story about life with love.  It has been described as a story about humanity and Green’s lines are raw with honesty as he tells a human story.

We find ourselves in the life of Hazel-Grace Lancaster, a teenager who is a Cancer patient.  Hazel-Grace attends a support group for other Cancer sufferers where she meets love interest Augustus Waters.  Shortly the two become friends and they bond over a book, An Imperial Affliction (AIA).  The book is about a girl named Anna who dies of Cancer.  Only the problem with AIA is that it ends mid-sentence, with no explanation about what happens to Anna or any of the other characters in the book.

It is assumed Anna dies before she can finish the book, but it troubles Hazel-Grace because she has a number of unanswered questions.  She attempts to send letters to the author Peter Van Houten but receives no answers.  Augustus then takes it upon himself to email Van Houten’s personal assistant to get answers from Van Houten.  Eventually this sees the two taking a trip to Amsterdam where Van Houten is based, and love blossoms.

The beauty of the story is not in how Augustus shows his love through selfless acts of heroism, nor is it in Hazel-Grace’s fear of hurting him if she dies.  It is how two dying people are just regular people, with the same hopes and dreams to leave a mark on the world by making the most of their time alive.  Life is for living, and that is the greatest lesson Augustus taught Hazel-Grace.

It really is a lesson for all readers and audiences.  The book is brilliant, as it was a New York Times Bestseller.  Regarding the accuracy of the film, the good news is,  Green gives it a thumb’s up on his YouTube channel, Vlogbrothers,  which he shares with his brother Hank Green.

He said, “If I didn’t like it, believe me, you’d know.”  He further goes on to say, “In fact, I love the movie, I think it’s amazingly faithful to the book and powerful and funny and moving.”

The story is refreshing and tells a simple human story with a profound message.  You will most definitely want to get another John Green original in your hands.