For my book 4 project, I
chose to do a Listicle showing why The
Fault in our Stars is or is not as good as it was hyped-up to
be. I have found 4 reasons why The Fault in our Stars did not
deserve the attention it got.
Reason 1: Some
Characters Aren’t Completely Developed
If you ever
read the book, you will come across some characters that don’t seem completely
developed. One of these characters is Hazel’s dad, Mr. Lancaster. In almost
every book you read where a characters’ parents are involved, they will play a
major role somehow. This could be by comforting them when they are sad, or just
being there, involving themselves in their life. But in this book, Mr.
Lancaster is barely mentioned. He just kind of exists. Nothing special happens
between Hazel and her dad, and they really only share two to three real
“moments” together. To name some other characters, Kaitlyn, Patrick, and
Lidewij all lack development. Sure, they may not seem very important, but I
think they are, because they not only effect Hazel’s life, but also can help
her through her own problems, which they do. So if certain characters were
developed a little more, I think the book would be a little better.
Reason 2: There is
no Action
For a book
to be truly amazing, it should have a great plot line, (which is easy to follow
as well as interesting) good, well-developed characters, and some intense
scenes of action. This book has only one of those in my opinion. Not only are
certain characters not fully developed, there lacks an element of action.
Rarely (if ever) does Hazel move any faster than a walking pace, and there are
barely any truly memorable events. I think the author may have thought it would
be okay to replace action with emotion. If this was his goal, then he passed
with flying colors. However, this creates less excitement, and more depression
after reading his book. Sure, Hazel’s cancer is exciting to read about, and
Peter Van Houten’s rude outrage was exciting. But it’s the wrong kind of
excitement; it targets emotions, making you angry, or proud, or various other
emotions. But nothing makes you say “Woah. That was intense.” Instead it makes
you say “Wow, he’s a horrible man.” This book needs more of the first kind of
excitement. Then it would be truly amazing.
Reason 3: There Was a
Lack of Formality within the Text
In order for
a book to feel like a book, there has to be some elements of formality within
it. Books that are constantly written like this blog (low diction, and written
as if I was saying it) may seem good for some people, but I don’t like it. For
me, the book needs intense moments where a teenager isn’t the narrator. Things
like elevated diction should be used often, or at least more than it is now. That
makes it feel like a book. For me, a book has to feel like it’s being read to
you by someone who has to use proper grammar. Like when you are a kid, and your
parents read to you. You feel like they pronounce every word correctly, and
everything on the page is perfectly verbalized. That feeling is destroyed when
Hazel narrates the book. She makes it sound like a kid reading to another kid.
Slang words are used, and not all words seem to make much sense. It doesn’t create
the majestic feeling you should get when reading. At least not for me.
These are
only my thoughts. I’m sure many people will disagree with me on the points I made,
but I feel this book could be better in many ways. It is a good book as is. I
will admit that much. But it could be so much better. Instead of just appealing
to young teens who like romance, it could appeal to everyone if it added some
action, or developed its characters more, or just sounded more formal. With
those small changes, this book could be great.
No comments:
Post a Comment