The Fault in Our Stars (by John Green)

This was my "reward" book for getting through five of my booklist books in January. I knew that I'd love it, that it would be great, that I would tear through it, all of which was true. I also knew the premise: two kids meet at a cancer support group, and they fall in love.

I didn't know the Netherlands would play such a significant role, which I deeply enjoyed. I also didn't know the narrator would be female, a nice shift from Green's other books. (His female characters have a certain similarity, and it was nice to experience that from the inside, as it were.)

It's not a perfect book, by any means. The biggest drawback for me was (spoiler alert) that Peter Van Houten never quite rang true, and we didn't need so many separate crisis points and denouements with that character. But man, was Amsterdam ever described well. It also had a pretty predictable ending (you know it's going to end in one of two ways, and that Green is going to pick the one that's more interesting).

But the characters overall are great, especially Gus and Hazel, and very much in the John Green mold. The book isn't overly depressing, even for a book about cancer. It's just... good. And thought-provoking. And worth reading.