By Hilde van den Berg
Staff Writer
Crying, laughing, and then crying some—or a lot—more. If you’ve read John Green’s The Fault in our Stars, you’ve probably been through that process. If you haven’t, and you’re going to read it, then there’s a high chance you will go through the process. Seeing as the book probably made thousands of people extremely emotional, I have been wondering how much of an emotional train wreck the movie is going to be. In case you hadn’t heard yet, there is going to be a movie. Of course I won’t spoil anything, but filming has begun and every fan is on the edge of their seat. Thankfully, author and beloved YouTube persona John Green is there for us through the entire process of filming, giving us adorable behind-the-scenes footage.
It is simply brilliant to see an author being so personally involved while they’re shooting a movie based on his book; the actors who play the main characters, Ansel Elgort (Augustus) and Shailene Woodley (Hazel), feature in a lot of his latest Instagram updates. It also makes the fans so much more personally involved. Of course, a lot of fans are worried as well. The Fault in our Stars is such a heart-breaking novel, and whenever a book is made into a movie there are concerns about what will be done right, and what or who will be left out. That’s why John Green being so involved is amazing too; him being so enthusiastic about it gives me, and probably a lot of other fans, more confidence that everything is going to end well. If the author is so enthusiastic, then it has to turn out to be amazing. If the author is happy, then it’s almost impossible to be disappointed, I’d say.
So, if you’re still reading and you actually don’t have a clue what The Fault in our Stars is about, then allow me to give you a very small summary. It won’t do the novel justice, but you’ll get spoilers if you look it up online and you really do not want that to happen. Anyhow, Hazel Grace Lancaster is a refreshingly sarcastic protagonist who, unfortunately for everyone becomes emotionally invested in this story, suffers from tumours in her lungs. Her parents force her to go to a support group, where she meets the ever-charming Augustus Waters. The rest is history, but don’t let my opening sentence fool you. If you dare read this novel you will cry, but the reason might be a slightly different one than you’d expect.
I said that I wouldn’t spoil anything, though; I’m sure they’ve got the book somewhere at the library if your interest has been peaked. If you read it within a few weeks, you might be able to catch a bit of filming if or when they come shoot in Amsterdam. There haven’t been any formal announcements yet, but I am assuming they will, seeing as a significant part of the movie takes place there; Field trip, anyone?
In any case, we can expect the movie to come out somewhere next year. I’ll be looking forward to it, and during the sad, cold, winter months I’ll probably hide in my room crying some more, as I re-read my signed copy.
If you feel like having a good cry, go read it in one go. No matter your age, sex, gender, occupation, I can assure you that you’ll at least feel some kind of sadness, even if you never or rarely cry. If you don’t, you and me need to have a little talk.
In all seriousness, I’m obviously not forcing you to read this book, but for me, it was an honour to have my heart broken by it.
Hilde van den Berg, class of 2016, is from Doetinchem, the Netherlands.
