Mom’s Cheat Sheet:
The Fault in Our Stars

Get your tissues ready; it’s time to discuss The Fault in Our Stars. Teens everywhere are still reading, watching, and buzzing about this story. If you haven’t read the biggest teen romance to hit bookshelves (and movie theaters) in years, this handy cheat sheet will get you all caught up.

What’s the big deal?
This is a tragic yet hopeful love story. Beyond the emotional draw, many teens can see parts of themselves in the book’s main characters, Hazel and Augustus. They are believable, real, and insightful.

Who’s (meant to be) reading it?
This book is aimed at a mature young adult audience (ages 14 -18) with crossover appeal for adults.

What’s it about?
Hazel, a terminally ill teenager, meets Augustus, who has lost his leg to cancer, at a cancer support group. They challenge and encourage each other and gradually they fall in love.

Who’s in it?

• Hazel Grace Lancaster – the main character and narrator of the book (smart, introverted, astute)
• Augustus “Gus” Waters – Hazel’s love interest (handsome, witty, romantic)
• Isaac – a boy at Support Group who loses his eyes to cancer (cynical, downtrodden)
• Peter Van Houten – author of An Imperial Affliction, Hazel’s favorite book (perpetually drunk, cruel, pretentious)
• Hazel’s Mom ­– (emotionally strong, supportive)
• Hazel’s Dad – (kind, loving, prone to tears)
• Kaitlyn – a friend of Hazel’s (pretty, popular, outgoing)
• Genies – the organization in charge of granting Wishes (a cancer kid’s one chance at having a dream come true)

What are they doing? *Spoiler Alert*
Hazel and Augustus meet at Support Group and bond over literature. They discuss poetry, books, and the meaning of life and death. Hazel has accepted her fate of an early death, but worries how her parents will handle it. Gus fears he’ll die without accomplishing something great and leaving his mark on the world.

Gus uses his Wish to take Hazel to Amsterdam to find out the ending to her favorite book. While they don’t learn the ending, they do become a couple. Gus then tells Hazel that his cancer is back, with no hope of recovery. He passes away shortly after the trip and Hazel must deal with the shock and grief of losing him. She finds out Gus had been corresponding with Peter Van Houten (the author of her favorite book) and learns a lot about herself, Gus, and human nature.

What else should parents know?
This book contains cursing, crude language, drinking, non-smoking (putting a cigarette in your mouth but not lighting it), and one instance of non-descriptive sex. The characters deal with a lot of emotional trauma and deep questions about the purpose of life, death, and human existence. They also learn to lean on each other and value the time they have. There are themes of love, friendship, death, illness, and grief.

What to ask your kids:

1. What makes Hazel and Gus’s relationship special?
2. In what ways is their relationship similar to other teen relationships? How is it different?
3. Was Isaac’s girlfriend justified in breaking up with him? Why do you think she did it?
4. What makes An Imperial Affliction so special to Hazel (and later, to Augustus)?
5. Why do you think Peter Van Houten wouldn’t tell Hazel the ending to his book?
6. Why did Van Houten go to Gus’s funeral?
7. Do you think Gus left his mark on the world?