History Literature / TheFaultInOurStars

** When Hazel describes [[spoiler:having sex with Augustus for the first time, she mentions that "[[Literature/{{Twilight}} no headboards were broken]]"]].

* BittersweetEnding: During their trip to Amsterdam, [[spoiler:Gus reveals to Hazel that his cancer has returned and he's already terminal. After a month or so of rapidly declining health, he dies, devastating Hazel. In the aftermath, Hazel becomes closer to her parents and feels more confident that they will persevere after her inevitable death. The book ends with Hazel reading a eulogy that Augustus made for her in which he says that although getting hurt in this world is inevitable, we do get some say in who hurts us. The eulogy ends with Augustus saying that he is happy with his choices and wishes Hazel likes hers, to which the book ends with her saying, "I do."]]

** At one point, Augustus muses that it would be awesome to fly in a super-fast jet that could follow the sun. John's admitted to being a fan of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' and this was the plot of their first special.

A [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]], starring Creator/ShaileneWoodley as Hazel and Creator/AnselElgort as Augustus, was released in June 2014. There's also what could be considered a companion book, ''This Star Won't Go Out'', which is the autobiography of Esther Grace Earl, a young girl with terminal cancer similar to Hazel's. Esther and Green were friends, and she was the inspiration for — though not the direct basis of — Hazel.

* DisabledLoveInterest: Hazel and Augustus are both this to each other, due to Hazel's lung condition and Augustus' prosthetic leg. Hazel is at first more physically challenged than Augustus, as evidenced when climbing the stairs at the Anne Frank house is a much bigger task for her than for him--but they change positions when [[spoiler:Augustus' cancer returns and tanks his health rapidly.]]

-->'''Kaitlyn:''' Oh, my God. I've seen him at parties. The things I would do to that boy. I mean, not now that I know you're interested in him. But, oh, sweet holy Lord, I would ride that one-legged pony all the way around the corral.
-->'''Hazel:''' Kaitlyn.
-->'''Kaitlyn:''' Sorry. Do you think you'd have to be on top?
-->'''Hazel:''' Kaitlyn.
-->'''Kaitlyn:''' What were we talking about?

* FanDisillusionment: After Hazel and Gus go to Amsterdam to meet Peter van Houton and he treats them poorly and says awful things. Afterwards, though Gus promises Hazel a sequel/epilogue of his own, Hazel is much less interested in the book. [[spoiler:When he shows up at Gus's funeral, he's softened a bit, acknowledging the reason why he was so negative — he had a daughter die of cancer]].

** In-universe, ''An Imperial Affliction'' is named for a phrase in the Emily Dickinson poem "There's a certain slant of light".

* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: Mr. Lancaster's airport sign reads MY BEAUTIFUL FAMILY (AND GUS).

* PopUpTexting: The film version did this, with sketchy "hand drawn" bubbles popping up whenever main characters August and Hazel text each other. They come across as a sketch of iPhone text bubbles.

* ToplessnessFromTheBack: [[spoiler:A lingering shot of Hazel in this state after Gus takes off her bra is the most explicit that the film's depiction of their sex scene gets before cutting to the nigh-mandatory ModestyBedsheet.]]
* TraumaSwing: Gus is so attuned to the traumatic symbolism of Hazel's depressing old swing set that he helps her sell it on the internet.

* AuthorAvatar: Downplayed. Peter Van Houten is not overtly meant to be one for writer John Green, but Green has admitted that Van Houten's views on authorial intent reflects his own, or at least what they were at the time he wrote the book, and also that [[spoiler:Van Houten's unpleasantness is essentially a [[SelfDeprecation self-deprecating]] reflection of his own uglier traits]]. According to Green, though, this was unintentional when he wrote the character, and only something he noticed in hindsight.

* BittersweetEnding: During their trip to Amsterdam, [[spoiler:Gus reveals to Hazel that his cancer has returned and he's already terminal. After a month or so of rapidly declining health, he dies, devastating Hazel. In the aftermath, Hazel becomes closer to her parents, and feels more confident that they will perservere after her inevitable death. The book ends with Hazel reading a eulogy that Augustus made for her in which he says that although getting hurt in this world is inevitable, we do get some say in who hurts us. The eulogy ends with Augustus saying that he is happy with his choices and wishes Hazel likes hers, to which the book ends with her saying, "I do."]]

* BrainlessBeauty: Hazel's bubbly friend Kaitlyn (who was AdaptedOut of the movie) is beautiful and spends most of her time worrying about boys, making her and the bookish Hazel a case of OppositesAttract.

* CharacterShilling: Hazel's description of Augustus Waters, from the very first time she meets him, is pretty glowing, focusing on his good looks, charisma, and the connection they have in conversation, compared to her descriptions of other people (which tend to be affectionate, but don't gloss over flaws). This ends up fading away as she gets to know him, even though she falls in love with him (and he with her) she gets to see his flaws in greater detail.

* InnocentlyInsensitive: Hazel sees several examples following [[spoiler:Augustus' death, from posts on his wall made by people who haven't seen him in months, to speakers at his memorial mostly talking about how great he was at football.]] In one case of the former, in which someone commented that [[spoiler:Gus is now playing basketball in heaven]], Hazel is particularly incensed by the knowledge that Gus would hate such a statement.
* InspirationallyDisadvantaged: Isaac [[LampshadedTrope lampshades]] this after he becomes blind by jokingly saying, "come over here so I can examine your face with my hands and see deeper into your soul than a sighted person ever could."
* InsufferableGenius: Peter Van Houten is an extremely intelligent but deeply unpleasant man who deliberately speaks in complex philosophical dilemmas and advanced math problems for the sole purpose of annoying people. Hazel compares him to a "pretentious 11-year-old boy."

* MenDontCry: Averted; Hazel's father bursts into tears in almost every scene he's in, but no one ever makes a negative remark about it.
%% ** Averted with [[spoiler:Gus]] on a couple of occasions too.
%% ** And [[spoiler:Isaac, when Monica breaks up with him]].

** The books based on Gus's favorite video game. Count how many times "Max Mayhem" is brought up after Hazel reads them.
** ''Series/AmericasNextTopModel''.

* ShrugOfGod: [[spoiler:Van Houten's InUniverse reaction when Hazel and Angustus ask Van Houten what happened to the characters of ''An Imperial Affliction'' and he tells them he doesn't know.]]

** Hazel and Augustus watch ''Film/VForVendetta'' the first time she goes to his house.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Discussed by Hazel and Augustus; Hazel had used her wish to go to Disney World and Epcot, but Augustus saved his wish in case he could think of something more meaningful. [[spoiler:He eventually uses it on a trip to Amsterdam with Hazel to meet Peter van Houten.]]
* TheBigDamnKiss: [[spoiler:Hazel and Augustus in front of a crowd of tourists ''[[MakingLoveInAllTheWrongPlaces in the Anne Frank house]]''.]]
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Gus reveals to Hazel that his cancer has returned, and he dies just over a week after Hazel and Isaac have a prefuneral for him. The book ends with Hazel reading a eulogy that Augustus made for her in which he says that although getting hurt in this world is inevitable, we do get some say in who hurts us. The eulogy ends with Augustus saying that he is happy with his choices and wishes Hazel likes hers, to which the book ends with her saying, "I do."]]
** Ever since her first diagnosis, Hazel has been wracked with anxiety about how her parents will react to her death. Near the book's end, [[spoiler: Hazel's mother tells her that she plans to go back to school and become a social worker so she can help other families afflicted with cancer, and Hazel loves this idea — she's glad to know her parents will be able to carry on, even after losing her.]]

** Isaac's eulogy for [[spoiler:Augustus]] at the "prefuneral" also counts.
* BookDumb: Augustus Water is repeating sophomore year, but he's by no means dumb and it's probably due to his cancer regardless.
* BoyishShortHair: Hazel, though it's an effect of chemotherapy rather than representation of a tomboy personality.
** Subverted with Caroline Mathers, who seems to have been as feminine as they come.
* BrainlessBeauty: Hazel's bubbly friend Kaitlyn, who was AdaptedOut of the movie.

* CreatorCameo: Creator/JohnGreen was supposed to play the father (it was a [[GenderFlip mother]] in the book) whose child wanted to try on Hazel's cannula, but the scene was cut.
* DangerTakesABackSeat: [[spoiler:Peter Van Houten scares Hazel when he pops up in the back of her parents' van.]]
* DarkestHour: Once [[spoiler:Gus reveals to Hazel that his cancer has returned]], you have a saddening feeling that it's going to be a downward spiral from that point. [[spoiler:[[TearJerker And it]] [[DiabolusExMachina is]].]]

* DelicateAndSickly:
** Hazel was diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at age 13, with metastasized tumors in her lungs. This is known from the [[FirstEpisodeTwist opening chapter]]. She plays this role to her would-be suitor, the dorky Augustus, who was once quite ill himself and thus able to understand her plight. [[spoiler:Then, the roles are [[InvertedTrope rather cruelly flipped]] as Augustus's cancer returns with a vengeance, making him the ill boy and Hazel his (comparatively) healthy comforter during his last days. Notable in that '''both''' characters are technically ill the whole time; Hazel ultimately winds up being merely ''less'' ill than her rapidly-dying boyfriend]].
* DelusionsOfEloquence: Augustus and Hazel are borderline cases — they get some of their longer and/or rarer and/or archaic words right and then misuse "transmit" or "soliloquy", for just two examples.
* DestructoNookie: Averted and lampshaded when [[spoiler:Hazel and Gus have sex, with Hazel commenting that "no headboards were broken", seemingly as a TakeThat to ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'']].
%% * DisabledLoveInterest: Augustus, in Hazel's view. See ArtificialLimbs.
* DisabledSnarker: Hazel and Augustus have plenty of snark tucked up their sleeves relating to their disabilities (and the cheesy platitudes that they hear a lot).

* DyingMomentOfAwesome: Augustus Waters wishes to die this way, but cannot due to his cancer.
* {{Egging}}: Hazel and Augustus help Isaac throw eggs at his ex-girlfriend's car. They're caught by her mum.
* FanDisillusionment: After Hazel and Gus go to Amsterdam to meet Peter van Houton and he treats them poorly and says awful things. [[spoiler:When he shows up at Gus's funeral, he's softened a bit, acknowledging the reason why he was so negative — he had a daughter die of cancer]].
** "The Genie Foundation" standing in for [[http://www.wish.org Make-A-Wish]], perhaps because the (older teenage) characters describe going to [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disney World]] as wasting your Wish and proceed to [[spoiler:lose their virginity with one another]] on their trip.
** Also, Free Catch All for Craigslist.

* GriefInducedSplit: {{Discussed}} when Hazel worries that her parents might divorce after she dies.

%% * HeroicBSOD: Hazel has a [[DeathIsASadThing very understandable]] one after [[spoiler:Gus dies]]. And then, of course, poor Isaac had one after [[spoiler:going blind ''and'' being dumped by Monica]].
* InformedAbility: The book has this with its main characters. Hazel and Gus are both said to be very mature, intellectual and deep yet they behave immaturely more often than not and their "deep" words and thoughts tend to be morbid and existentialist, but not particularly varied or profound. Could be intentional, though, if the author was going for teenagers thinking they are more mature and deep than they really are.

* InsufferableGenius: Peter Van Houten is an extremely intelligent but deeply unpleasant man who deliberately speaks in complex philosophical dilemmas and advanced math problems for the sole purpose of annoying people.
%% * {{Jerkass}}: [[spoiler:Van Houten, by his own admission.]] Though there may be hope for him after all. Maybe.

* KilledMidSentence: Apparently happens to Anna, the protagonist of the fictional story "An Imperial Affliction", as the story-within-a-story "ends right in the middle of a --"

* LovableNerd: Augustus has his moments.

* MeaningfulFuneral: Subverted and played straight. [[spoiler:Augustus]], upon learning he is dying, asks [[spoiler:his]] two closest friends to read their eulogies at a memorial service before [[spoiler:he]] actually dies, leading to a highly personal Meaningful Funeral. [[spoiler:His]] actual funeral, by contrast, consists mostly of platitudes said by more distant acquaintances, although even then, there are a few moments of genuine connection.

* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Subverted with Augustus Waters being mistaken for a Manic Pixie Dream ''Boy'' but later proving not to be one. He professes his love to Hazel through contrived, rehearsed outings, complete with memorized "soliloquies" (monologues) and "metaphorically-resonant" sandwiches, but the conviction of their love only feels "real" and "true" when the two of them see through the others' cracks during their trip to Amsterdam, mainly after [[spoiler:he reveals to her that he's terminally ill again]].
* MayflyDecemberRomance: Played with, on the scale of an average human lifespan. Hazel, the sixteen-year-old protagonist, diagnosed with terminal cancer, has an uncertain number of years to left to live, but probably not many. Then she meets and falls in love with a seventeen-year-old Augustus, who is well into remission and will likely live a normal number of years. [[spoiler:However, Augustus' cancer recurs, every reader's heart breaks, and Hazel is the one left behind by a lover's death.]]

%% * PrecisionFStrike: Hazel gives Van Houten one of these before storming out of his living room in the movie.

%% * TheAlcoholic: [[spoiler:Peter Van Houten]].

** On a wider scale, [[spoiler:ever since her first diagnosis, Hazel has been wracked with anxiety about how her parents will react to her death — she's their only child and they love her dearly. Near the book's end, Hazel's mother tells her that she plans to go back to school and become a social worker so she can help other families afflicted with cancer, and Hazel loves this idea — she's glad to know her parents will be able to carry on, even after losing her.]]

** Other examples include Caroline Mathers, [[spoiler:Peter Van Houten's late daughter]], and all the other girls at support group, obviously.

%% * DisabledSnarker:
%% ** Hazel and Augustus make for a snarky couple.
%% ** Isaac is pretty snarky too, especially after his surgery.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

Before the book was released, it reached #1 on the Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists in June 2011, shortly after its title was announced. Barnes & Noble had accidentally released more than a thousand copies prematurely; however, the fandom vowed not to spoil the book for those who had not received copies.

A blog where John answers questions about TFIOS is currently available [[http://onlyifyoufinishedtfios.tumblr.com/ here]] for anyone who has finished reading the book, and [[SeriousBusiness only for people who have finished the book]]. (It is no longer password-protected, although one still runs a high risk of major spoilers.)

A [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie adaptation]], starring Creator/ShaileneWoodley as Hazel and Creator/AnselElgort as Augustus, was released in June 2014. There's also what could be considered a companion book, ''This Star Won't Go Out'', which is the autobiography of Esther Grace Earl, a young girl with terminal cancer similar to Hazel's. Esther and John Green were friends, and she was the inspiration for — though not the direct basis of — Hazel.

** Hazel was described as being less than supermodel gorgeous, with an overinflated face and badly-cut hair. In the movie, she's played by the beautiful Shailene Woodley.

* CompleteTheQuoteTitle: The title is {{quote mine}}d from [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]]'s "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves." John Green calls this "an easy thing to say if you're, like, you know, Shakespeare or a Roman nobleman," but found himself unable to agree with it 100%, as diseases — especially diseases like cancer — strike at random and rarely come to affect people who "deserve" it. As cancer is what really serves as the most negative influence on the characters' lives, the fault did indeed lie in their stars.

* StrictlyFormula: This novel, like Creator/JohnGreen’s other books, is about a nerdy, highly intelligent teenage boy who has his eye on a quirky, mysterious girl, eventually going on a RoadTrip where he has a mind-blowing revelation about life. However, it does reverse the roles, telling it from the quirky girl's perspective as she falls in love with the nerdy TeenGenius who is fawning over her.

* AGoodNameForARockBand: The Hectic Glow, a band "so beautifully underground that they don't even exist".

** The entire book, as well as ''An Imperial Affliction'', is designed to be one big TakeThat to the {{Glurge}} and [[TastesLikeDiabetes sugar]] that [[LittlestCancerPatient most]] [[TheTopicOfCancer cancer]] stories are filled with.

* IllGirl:
** Hazel was diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at age 13, with metastasized tumors in her lungs. This is known from the [[FirstEpisodeTwist opening chapter]]. She plays this role to her would-be suitor, the dorky Augustus, who was once quite ill himself and thus able to understand her plight. [[spoiler:Then, the roles are [[InvertedTrope rather cruelly flipped]] as Augustus's cancer returns with a vengeance, making him the ill boy and Hazel his (comparatively) healthy comforter during his last days. Notable in that '''both''' characters are technically ill the whole time; Hazel ultimately winds up being merely ''less'' ill than her rapidly-dying boyfriend]].
** Other examples include Caroline Mathers, [[spoiler:Peter Van Houten's late daughter]], and all the other girls at support group, obviously.

* AdultFear: Hazel frets about the negative effect that her cancer has on her loved ones, especially her parents. She also discusses how most cancer tropes just limit you to a character who exists for their disease to be romanticized.
** Hazel's parents have witnessed their daughter nearly die in the ICU when she was thirteen, and her mother was sobbing that she would no longer be a mom anymore. Later on, in the novel and movie, she screams out in pain and they have to take her to the hospital in the middle of the night, when her dad has to carry her. Hazel is extremely relieved when her mother says [[spoiler:she's looking into social work to help other families going through a similar situation, and that she will always be Hazel's mom no matter what happens]].
** Meanwhile, Gus's parents are also looking out for him, but Gus DrivesLikeCrazy, insists on going on a trip without them [[spoiler:after finding out his cancer has returned]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking carries around unlit cigarettes]]. We see rather than hear that they try to be optimists, with the motivational posters at his house, while they indulge Gus's wishes like buying a nice suit for him to wear in case he didn't survive his first operation.

-->--'''Hazel Grace Lancaster'''

%% Zero Context Example entries are NOT allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

!!Tropes present in ''The Fault in Our Stars'' include:

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Gus reveals to Hazel that his cancer has returned, and he dies just over a week after Hazel and Isaac have a prefuneral for him. The book ends with Hazel reading a eulogy that Augustus made for her, talking about how getting hurt in this world is inevitable, but we do get to choose whom we allow to hurt us, and that he is happy with his choice and wishes Hazel likes her choice too. The book ends with her saying, "I do."]]
** Ever since her first diagnosis, Hazel has been wracked with anxiety about how her parents will react to her death — she's their only child and they love her dearly. Near the book's end, Hazel's mother tells her that she plans to go back to school and become a social worker so she can help other families afflicted with cancer, and Hazel loves this idea — she's glad to know her parents will be able to carry on, even after losing her.

** Lidewij Vliegenthart was supposedly named for Lidewij and Sanne Vliegenthart--two Dutch nerdfighters. Sanne's channel is [[https://www.youtube.com/user/booksandquills/ here]].

* MenDontCry:
** Averted. Hazel's father bursts into tears in almost every scene he's in. But no one ever makes a negative remark about it.

* RuleOfSymbolism: Green has this to say about the book's final sentence ([[spoiler:"I do"]]), which he sees as marital symbolism.

* ToplessnessFromTheBack: A lingering shot of Hazel in this state after Gus takes off her bra is the most raunchy that the film's sex scene gets before cutting to the nigh-mandatory ModestyBedsheet.

* FandomSpecificPlot: A brief reference to "condomy difficulties" during TheirFirstTime has resulted in a good number of fics where [[spoiler:Gus leaves Hazel SomeoneToRememberHimBy]].
* FictionalCounterpart:

* StrictlyFormula: This novel, like Creator/JohnGreen’s other books, is about a nerdy, highly intelligent teenage boy who has his eye on a quirky, mysterious girl, eventually going on a RoadTrip where he has a mind-blowing revelation about life. However, it does reverses the roles, telling it from the quirky girl's perspective as she falls in love with the nerdy TeenGenius who is fawning over her.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: [[spoiler:Peter van Houten is played by Creator/WillemDafoe in the movie, and unsurprisingly, he's more attractive than the fat and spindly Peter in the book]].
** Hazel was also described as being less than supermodel gorgeous, with an overinflated face and badly-cut hair. In the movie, she's played by the beautiful Shailene Woodley.

''The Fault in Our Stars'' is the fourth solo novel by author Creator/JohnGreen, released on January 10th, 2012. The book focuses on a girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster, who is a teenage recluse: her best friends are her parents and her preferred hobby is rereading her favorite book, ''An Imperial Affliction'', over and over. One night at Support Group (her parents' idea, not hers), she meets gorgeous and philosophical Augustus Waters, who piques her curiosity and gets her thinking again about life, adventure...and love. There's only one snag in this budding romance: Hazel and Augustus met at a ''cancer'' support group. Hazel has thyroid cancer and terminal lung tumors, biding their time against perilous drugs, and Augustus is in remission after bone cancer took his leg.

!!Tropes present in ''The Fault In Our Stars'' include:

* GlassEye:
** Isaac has one at the beginning of the book, as a result of a rare form of eye cancer. The eye itself isn't really mentioned except as part of his description.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The lyrics to Afasi och Filthy's [[http://lyricstranslate.com/en/bomfalleralla-bomfalleralla.html "Boomfalleralla"]] would probably be enough to bump the movie up to an R rating by itself, if it was not in undubbed [[BilingualBonus Swedish]]. The crap also got past all of the characters in the novel and film, none of whom speaks Swedish. It may be a [[RealitySubtext reference]] to John Green's experience in Dutch department stores, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL96ckeyfVo which have a tendency to play hardcore English Gangsta Rap as background music]].