Story
The Fault in Our Stars tells the unconventional love story of Hazel (Shalene Woodley) and Augustus (Ansel Elgort), two witty teenagers who meet and fall in love at a cancer support group.
Hazel and Augustus share a journey that takes them beyond their illness and allows them both to believe in and experience their own ‘forever after’. A chance opportunity arises for the couple to meet Hazel’s favourite author, Peter Van Houten (William Dafoe). Hazel feels that Van Houten’s novel about a girl living with terminal cancer truly understands and represents the experience. Hazel and Augustus travel to Amsterdam to meet their hero.
Themes
Terminal illness and death in children and teenagers
Violence
The Fault in Our Stars has some violence. For example:
- Augustus encourages his best friend to feel his heart break after being dumped by his girlfriend. Augustus gets his friend to throw and break his basketball trophies against a wall.
- Hazel, Augustus and their friend throw eggs at a girl’s car.
- One scene shows a video game with an army scene. The characters in the game shoot at each other with guns.
- There is brief footage of Nazi Germany.
Sexual references
The Fault in Our Stars has some sexual references. For example, Augustus talks about being a virgin.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
The Fault in Our Stars shows some use of substances. For example:
- Augustus holds an unlit cigarette in his mouth as a metaphor for his fight against cancer. He doesn’t smoke it and talks about the negative implications of the cigarette.
- Hazel and Augustus share a bottle of champagne over dinner and also drink in another scene at a picnic. They’re not shown as drunk.
- A man is shown as an alcoholic and drinks scotch at inappropriate times – at breakfast and at a funeral, for example.
- Hazel talks about being a teenager and says that she should be ‘taking pot’.
Nudity and sexual activity
The Fault in Our Stars has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- Many scenes show teenagers kissing passionately, including one where a teenager grabs a girl’s breast while they’re kissing.
- There is one scene in which Hazel and Augustus have sex. Augustus is seen naked from the waist, and Hazel’s torso is also naked but seen from behind.
Product placement
The Fault in Our Stars shows the following products: Sunglass Hut; Honda; Converse shoes; Top Model television show; Apple computers and iPhones; Phillips; American Airlines; Mercedes cars; and BP.
Coarse language
The Fault in Our Stars has some coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
The Fault in Our Stars is a very sad but inspiring love story based on a popular young adult novel.
Because of its disturbing themes of terminal illness and death, it isn’t recommended for children under 14-15 years. Even some 14-year-olds might find it disturbing, so we recommend parental guidance for all children under 15 years. If you have younger teenagers who want to see the movie, you might also be concerned by the coarse language and a sex scene.
The main message from this movie is that we should seize the day and live life to the full despite obstacles.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include determination, loyalty, friendship and love.
You could also talk with your children about:
- how grief and loss affects families and relationships
- how a young person dying of cancer can find fulfilment.
What’s In the Book?
The book is narrated by 16-year-old Hazel, a cancer patient who meets 17-year-old Augustus, a cancer survivor and amputee. Although there are some comedic parts of the book, it is definitely more of a love story and drama. Hazel explains in some detail many of the things that she has gone through and we hear from other characters dealing with cancer and loss as well.
As far as the love story goes, it is mainly mild with the exception of one scene that does get a little hot and heavy. There’s sex involved but not in graphic detail. It takes place long after feelings have developed and the relationship has progressed. That said, they are still teenagers having sex.
For the most part, the book has achieved much critical acclaim. The one major exception is that The Daily Mail described it as “mawkish at best, exploitative at worst.” I didn’t even know what mawkish meant, but apparently it means “sentimental in a feeble or sickly way” or “sad or romantic in a foolish or exaggerated way.” I will agree on the “sentimental,” “sad,” and “romantic” but disagree with the rest (as do most reviewers).
My Opinion
I let my 13-year-old daughter read the book only after reading it myself. She’s mature for her age and I knew she could handle both the dark emotions of the characters as well as the love scene. However, I would not recommend it for all 13-year-olds and will not let my 11-year-old read it yet. It’s not that there is really any objectionable material but it’s more a matter of when a child is ready for the type of material involved. Will they be scared reading about cancer? Can they even understand the emotions behind it all?
If your child is old enough to understand and appreciate the book, I think it was the best book I read in 2013. Whereas most popular Young Adult books are about futurist worlds or “silly” teen relationships, this one is more a story about appreciating life.
The Movie Trailer
For a little extra glimpse into what you can expect from both the book and the movie, check out the movie trailer. The movie is set to be released June 6, 2014.
Have you read “The Fault In Our Stars?” Would you let your kids?