"The Fault in our Stars" (2012) by John Green REVIEW

This book was highly recommended to me by so many of my friends. I looked it up after first hearing it only to find out it is a Young Adult romance (ugh!). After avoiding it for so long, I just caved in and bought it. I seriously regret not reading it earlier.

16 year old Hazel Grace Lancaster has been diagnosed with lung cancer since she was 12 years old. Knowing that death is inevitable and will come sooner rather than later, she chooses to shut herself from the world so less people will be affected by her death. Unfortunately, her mom thinks otherwise. Hazel is forced to go to a cancer support group every week where one day she meets a guy who couldn't stop staring at her: Augustus Waters. Quickly connecting, the story moves on about Hazel's relationship with Augustus, learning some things about life along the way.

Sounds like a book for girls, but believe me, guys can enjoy it just the same. Hazel's character as a narrator was truly well-written and each character had their own response to the world. The philosophy John Green gave the characters in their dialogue is amazing and quotable, the story was fantastic, partially funny, and traumatically sad. Trust me, it gets sad.

"The Fault in our Stars" is a Young Adult novel done right. It's mature enough for adults to not feel dumbed down by two-dimensional characters and basic writing, yet simple and relatable enough for the target audience to enjoy it even further. I am honestly surprised that this book has made it into my list of favorites and am excited to see the movie.

Rating: 15+ For some sensuality, language, and rude humor

5/5 Stars

Comments

"Need for Speed" (2014) REVIEW

I know I'm not the only one who thought this movie was going to be a flop. I mean, not only is it a high-speed street racing movie, but it's also a videogame movie. Still, I gave it a shot, but mostly for the D-Box experience. Even with the earnings from winning illegal street races, Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) is still unable to keep his auto repair shop from his father open. For a chance to get $500,000, Tobey takes an offer from his street racing rival and successful car dealer Dino Brewster (Domonic Cooper) to finish building the Ford Mustang that Caroll Shelby was working on when he died. After building the car and selling it without Dino's consent, Dino challenges Tobey and Tobey's friend, Pete, to a street race for the money. Nearing the end of the race, desperate for revenge, Dino pushes Pete over a bridge and drives away, leaving Tobey to be blamed for vehicular manslaughter. Two years later, fresh out of prison, Tobey seeks out to knock Dino off his p...

Books on Film by Black Authors

There's no real order to this list, nor can I guarantee which ones are worth reading or not. However, the quality of the books are not the point, but rather we should lend these voices our eyes, ears, and time, giving them a stronger voice than they would have had without at least mentioning them. Titles link to the Goodreads page for the specific book and additional links will be listed to buy the book from Barnes & Noble and/or Thriftbooks (non-affiliated). Don't forget to see if your local bookstore might have these in stock! Missing your favorite? Tweet me @AuthorKLau and I'll update the article! Independent Visions: A Critical Introduction to Recent Independent American Film by Donald Lyon Far from the big money movie machine of Hollywood lies the cutting-edge, artistically fresh world of American independent film. These independent filmmakers, working outside the formulas and constraints of the big studios, produce today’s most exciting and innovative movies. In ...

Blue Beetle Rebirth Vol. 1: The More Things Change (Rebirth #1, #1-#6)

2/5 Jaime Reyes as the Blue Beetle has interested me and been on my reading list for a while. When I first discovered the character watching Batman: The Brave and the Bold , seeing Jaime as a relatable teen arguing with the sentient suit that gives him his powers, his New 52 line had already been cancelled. Then Geoff Johns wrote Rebirth and added a little scene with Jaime Reyes that I thought was both very interesting and promising. In short, Keith Giffen doesn't deliver in this volume until issue #6, where he kind of gives a small splice of what the series could be. Getting the obvious out of the way, the dialogue here is absolutely horrible. I tell myself it feels like a first draft, but then there are moments of repetition and sentences upon sentences of nothing going on. By then, it feels more like a very bloated outline with the characters speaking mostly hot air. The dialogue here isn't flat, it's completely empty. This, in turn, makes all the charac...

Kevin Lau

Search This Blog