Understanding the Culture: Why I Disliked The Fault In Our Stars - Book Review

Don't get me wrong. 

I actually stayed up two nights in a row to finish the book. And I admit, it's a pretty cute story. I'm not usually one for romance novels, but by the time I realized The Fault in our Stars (TFIOS) was one, it was too late. Plus it almost made me cry, and that's a pretty rare thing. 

But to get down to earth, even though the story's sweet and the book's plot was interesting overall, I wouldn't recommend it and here's why.

1. Love =/= passion

After reading TFIOS, I could almost believe in love at first sight. In being swept off my feet by those brilliant eyes and that radiant smile. In sending a billion text messages to someone I literally just met. Oh and there comes sex and the first kiss and all that fun stuff. 

And I mean, seriously? Is that what love really is? Just an indiscriminate passion?

Christ defined love for us when He gave Himself sacrificially for the church. He shed His own blood for us, giving up his Godship to humble Himself even to the point of death on a cross. What more could He give? And in the same way, He calls husbands to love their wives with the same kind of sacrificial surrender. Any love apart from this is inferior.

Love is not just physical, intimate pleasure. Love is not just a feeling or fervent emotion.

Love is a choice. 

It's easy to say that when you're emotionally attached. It's easy for author John Green to make a big deal about Hazel and Augustus' unconditional love when they're both still young, relatively immature, and desperate to be wanted. It's easy to say that in the heat of the moment when emotions are all riled up. Sure, they both experienced great difficulties and persevered together through it all. I accept that. But still, they didn't really fight or argue. They were still in that "in love" stage. TFIOS love... it's not legit.

When I think of love, I picture Up and all the godly older couples around me today. Who argued and fought at times, yet chose to persevere together despite life's difficulties. Who remained faithful to their marriage vows even when that passion disappeared. Even when they both did and do things to hurt the other deeply.

Love is a commitment.

And I don't think Hazel and Augustus have this commitment mentality in mind in the book. At all. Who goes to some guy's house that she literally just met an hour ago? Plus seriously, what was John Green thinking when he included that sex scene? Or all those kissing scenes? Because again, this implants within his readers the concept that love is physical. That love is very hands-on. That love is based on passion.

But love isn't any of those things. Rather, it's a commitment, a dedication between two people who resolve to remain true, even when the passion isn't there, even when they've both hurt each other.

TFIOS doesn't truly define a biblical view of love. Rather it sort of hints at it, incorporating unnecessary details of sex and intimacy between Augustus and Hazel, trying to fabricate this concept of unconditional love.

When Green clearly doesn't get it. 

2. Isaac's revenge

So basically, for those of you who haven't read the book, Hazel and Augustus have this mutual friend named Isaac, who becomes temporarily blind. Because of his blindness, his girlfriend ditches him. Out of anger, Hazel and Augustus guide Isaac to his girlfriend's house where they all throw eggs at her car and at her door. 

Like seriously? What a six-year-old thing to do.

Because when people do things to hurt you, the correct thing to do is to get back at them? 

I thought this story was about unconditional love. If Isaac truly loved his girlfriend unconditionally, he would have understood and desired what's best for his girlfriend, instead of deliberately seeking revenge and hurting her. Ideally, he would have lovingly closed the wound, let her move on, and demonstrated a Christ-like kindness. Isaac didn't really love her at all.

This is yet another reason why I don't believe John Green understands love. Love is not some temporary feeling based on individual actions or choices. Love is not equivalent to passion or satisfaction. And revenge is never justified.

Christ commands us to love others as ourselves, even our enemies. Even if people hurt us or do things that tear us apart. That's how true love works. Christ died for us as wretched sinners who rebelled against Him, who broke His very heart by our sin, who hurt our Creator so very deeply. Yet He died for us. He loved us. He gave Himself for us, even in our hatred and disobedience towards Him. 

Revenge doesn't fit into the picture of biblical love. Neither does TFIOS.

3. Writing

Enough with plot analysis. 

First of all, let me just tell you, the writing level is pretty down there. I accept that TFIOS is for simple reading, and I also accept that not everyone enjoys reading Dickens for fun. I certainly don't all the time. Yet I find it degrading that John Green resorts to such simple language for a high school novel. 

Secondly, why the f-bombs and all the cussing? Sure, I understand the characters experience some deep emotional and physical trauma, and an occasion word would be fine with me. I'm not sensitive to language usage in general, but still, I get the point. We as readers don't need words like that to sympathize with the main character, especially at the rate that Green uses them.

~

So, TFIOS. Definitely a very secular book with a self-deceived worldview and a deficient writing style. Like most romance novels, it presents a destructive view of love in general, and this point of view, this concept of love triggers the American dream we see around us today. A world of broken families, casual relationships, teen pregnancies. This mindset carries over into how we view relationships, marriage, divorce. 

I'm not saying TFIOS causes all these things. That would be a slippery slope fallacy. But still, this mindset that John Green presents is dangerous to our society and to us as teens, endowing us with this unrealistic mindset of love, of passion that never ends.

I'm also not asking you to agree with me. I know a lot of people who really love this book, and that's fine. To each his own, right?

But I am asking you to consider the ideals Green promotes and the ideas upheld behind TFIOS. I'm asking you to take a few minutes and contemplate the worldview the book presents and the consequences of its viewpoint. 

Not all that glitters is gold.

Spiritual Makeup on our Bare Necessity {with special guests Idina Menzel, High School Musical, and Shel Silverstein}

We walk around life with brown paper bags over our faces.

Trying not to let them in or let them see, trying to be the perfect girl society says we have to be. We conceal, don't feel, don't let them know. Icy chunks of ice, frozen solid, while deep inside, we're melting.

Sometimes we slather on eyeliner and mascara simply because we're insecure. Because sometimes we shrink from the tired-eyed ghost reflecting in front of us and we grab brushes and paint to try to change the fact that we're humans with natural flaws in all our bleary eyes and pock-marked skin. So we smear on concealer, trying to disguise our weaknesses behind a false veneer.

Oh God, why do we do this?

That's how we walk through life, isn't it? We stroll through with masks and facades, hiding behind our plastic surgeries, trying to appear picture perfect.

When makeup is simply a pitiful endeavor to hide our weakness from others, from God.

Imagine, a classroom, a soccer field, a church full of the desperate yet full of pretense. Full of people pretending that life is good, pretending that the sun still shines, while everything around them lies frozen and bleak and so piercingly cold.

Lord, we have so many empty shoulders around us, so many shoulders to lean on and cry against. Yet why does pride imprison us within ourselves? Why do we walk this journey alone?

Because we're proud. Because we care about self-image. An image of big eyes, full lips, right body proportion. Independence. The ability to do everything on our own. Isn't that how America was established? The belief that yes, we can work to better ourselves, and through our own effort, we can build our own future. By ourselves. Yes, this is me. So self-deceivingly prideful. Nose high in the air, tripping over my five inch stilettos. 

But deep inside, those eyes are quivering with unshed tears, as we bite those full lips, trying to contain the hurt inside, body aching with stress and worry. Because the truth is, we can't. We can't do everything by ourselves.

But yet we still stand apart. Apart from each other. Apart from God. 

This is ridiculous. 

People suffering under one giant tent, but yet each one encages themselves, holding onto invisible bars, shutting out everything and everyone. And not only that but we have a Savior in that tent with us. A Savior who defied death and sin to redeem His children from the judgment of eternal darkness, and who promises to never leave us nor forsake us. His love is unconditional. And still we hide away in our own little dusty corners rather than throw away our pride.

So here I am today, admitting that I am broken. I am weak. I am proud. And I won't lie to you. These past three weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster for me. I've had some of the best days of my life, and God has blessed me with so much. Yet, these past weeks have really worn me out at times, and I've discovered how weak I am. People and things have broken me, and sometimes I feel so incapable and worn and indecisive. Also, it's that time of year again where we have to plan next year's school schedule, and sometimes things are just frightening. Like the choices I make now will deeply affect next year and the year after that and college and life, and I just have no idea. 

But yet here I am today, ripping away the frozen mask, letting it go to the icy wind, arms out wide, face bared to the world. Shredding that brown paper bag of mine and burning all my mascara, all my pride.

It takes one person to open up.
It takes one person to make others feel secure.
It takes one person to let others know that suffering is universal and these masks, this makeup, these paper bags are useless.

Alone we cannot overcome life's difficulties. But together, with our heavenly Savior and our spiritual brothers and sisters, yes, yes, we can. 

We're all in this together.