It was a tough decision. But, I ultimately decided to choose this book because I had never read it before. 

More about the book I chose:

a. Realistic Fiction

  2. What is another book the author wrote?
a. Looking for Alaska

 3. It is a classic read or a modern read?

a. It is a modern read.

 4. Has it been made into a movie?

a. Yes

So far, I like it! A quick summary of what I have read so far is that they introduced some of the characters in the book.

As I mentioned earlier, Hazel started dating a boy with osteosarcoma. His name was Augustus Waters, and he was philosophical and witty in his speech; he was just like Hazel. However, the reason that I say was, is because he dies from his cancer at the end of the book. The scene that best depicts this moment is after Augustus dies, Hazel goes on his wall online and sees people memorializing Augustus posthumously. In this moment, she ponders the reality of life and death by writing, “We live in a universe devoted to the creation, and eradication, of awareness.” (Pg. 266). She then went on to write, “Augustus Waters did not die after a lengthy battle with cancer. He died after a lengthy battle with human consciousness.” (Pg. 266) The author dramatizes both of these quotes through the literary device of repetition, since he uses the repetition of death to symbolize how the concept of death can be viewed at many different angles.

I can personally relate to Hazel’s struggle in one way, since I knew a boy who had osteosarcoma when I was younger. I was 11 years old when my 14 year old cousin got osteosarcoma cancer, which he died 6 months after he was diagnosed. As I was young at the time, I couldn’t understand what death truly meant and how it eliminated his mind from his body. Even now, I still struggle with the concept of death, and how one day everyone will just stop thinking forever. This is my identity crisis, for I feel that nothing matters in the long run, since we will be dead at some point anyways. Consequently, I always wonder what happens after someone dies, whether their consciousness either shuts off or continues after death in some sort of afterlife. My struggles with the concept of death causes an existential identity crisis, which reminds me of those news stories of people claiming they died and saw the afterlife. Just like my view of death, I don’t know if the afterlife that these people talk about is true, or if it is what we want to happen to shield us from the eventual oblivion of our thoughts.