Worth Reading
The Fault in Our Stars
A synopsis of the plot that I found on Shmoop.com crystalizes my initial impression of this tender, teenage novel:
“Dying girl meets hot boy. Hot boy and dying girl fall in teenage love and go on adventures to Amsterdam together. Dying girl is disappointed by her meeting with a certain author whom she idolizes. Dying girl and hot boy admit their love to each other and have physical relations. In a horrible twist of fate, dying girl lives while hot boy dies. The end.”
Yes, it’s a novel for teens. No, I don’t know why it was a selection for our all-adult-male book club.
Actually, I do. Although the plot, diction, and characters are appropriately aimed at teenagers, the central theme – finding meaning in an apparently meaningless universe – is always worth an earnest discussion. And we had one. (After we japed at those that enjoyed it.).