Recommended Reading: The Fault in Our Stars

I am tempted to blame the lapse in my blogging on this story, although that would be only a tiny bit true. I did not finish this post last week when I started it because I had a squirmy baby in my arms and I wanted to write something meaningful about this story. Yet here I am again at a loss for words to describe how it touched me.  
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green is an incredible book. Recommended to me by my friend Brooke in her Summer Reading list. It's the only thing that I've ever read by John Green, but I now think that he is a genius. The characters in the book are striving to live life even though death is a constant presence in their periphery. They are beautifully multifaceted, fictional, but (I think) realistic representatives of teens and kids suffering from cancer. Their stories made me want to live vivaciously and be more grateful for all the precious minutes of my life. 

Here is the book summary from Good Reads:
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.
I recommend this to adults and teens without reservation, but I would just point out that the language spoken is "teenager" and includes a fair amount of cursing.
Go. Read. This. Book!