crosswords.

I often avoid 'cancer books'. In reality, I avoid any book that I know will make me sad just for the sake of making me sad. Books can actually make us feel empathy, and that is a good thing, but I find that most books that attempt this actually fail, or were simply published for the profit (because everyone loves to read them tofeel that they truly are empathic), and in the end don't achieve anything but the tears of easily impressionable readers (which annoys me because it's not like they didn't know before people were dying in these conditions - where are the tears for the real people?).

I don't know why I actually decided I wanted to read this one. Maybe because everyone seems to love it? Maybe because I like reading YA once in a while? Because the film just premiered? To see if the empathy really worked here?

It doesn't matter now. I read it. While I was reading it, it became clear it wasn't just me feeling mysteriously compelled to reading this, since people kept asking what I made of it. From the start (maybe it's not fair that I condemned it so soon, but still), I knew it would be a 3.

Because it's wonderful that the book humanizes cancer patients. But really, that is what I expect any book dealing with the subject to do. And at some point, both Hazel and Augustus were so humanized they resembled demi-gods. No, not even the smart kids that I've met throughout my life actually reach that level of smartness. And 'cancer perks' are definitely a thing, but I think the Amsterdam trip was a bit overboard. There was some bad, bad plotting all over the place.

And my final complaint, I didn't cry at the end. Other reviewers promised I'd cry!

I did feel a wee funny and depressed towards the end. But that's simply because of Green's annoying insistence in rubbing the wound. Like he kept saying, remember, this is a really sad book!

Overrall, it's definitely a good book - to an extent. The only reason I am enumerating all the things that bugged me is because the ratings for this are ridiculously overhyped and I am pretty sure that is because it is a 'cancer book'. Forgiving minor narrative issues just because it is a 'cancer book' goes precisely against what Green was attempting with the book itself! Rating a book 5 stars on Booklikes should not be on the cancer perk list.

Now that I'm done with my ranting, I am actually really looking forward to watching the film.