Mommy's Reading Break

This book was so not what I expected at all. I'd seen it mentioned a lot this year, but after reading the Goodreads description, I was unimpressed. It just didn't sound appealing to me at all. But then came a lot of End of Year Surveys and Top Ten Books of 2012, and I saw this book all over the place. I figured for it to be getting that much love, it had to be better than it sounded, and I decided to give it a chance.From the very beginning, the first couple pages, it was clear to me that I really, really liked Hazel. Even though she is terminally ill with cancer, she has a sense of humor that can't be beat. I found myself chuckling a lot at things that came out of her mouth, and I found myself often forgetting that she was, in fact, sick, until the next mention of her cannula came up.Augustus was easily my favorite character. He was just so swoon-worthy and romantic, but also hilarious and sarcastic. From the start, I really liked his interaction with Hazel. They just had a relationship that was so believable but still really enjoyable to read. I never found myself rolling my eyes or getting aggravated with them. I really loved their chemistry.There was a twist at the end that while I sort of saw it coming, it wasn't blatantly predictable, and I liked it. It changed the way I expected the story to go, which was nice. I am also glad that a prediction I made for the ending did not come true. I definitely thought it was foreshadowed and would not have been happy with it, so I'm glad that it didn't happen the way I thought it would.I did find myself with some questions left over at the end of the story, but I think that that was realistic. The whole story was very realistic, and in life, you don't always get the answers you want, and you don't always get a happy ending. I thought that was appropriate here.Overall, I really, really loved this book. It was so beautifully written, a realistic look at the way cancer affects people's lives. I found my heart going out to the characters for their struggles, but moreso loving how they continued to live their lives and not let their cancer define them. I would definitely recommend that everybody read this book, and I will definitely be reading more John Green. I easily give it 5 stars!This review can also be found at Mommy's Reading Break