The Fault in Our Stars #5

The Fault in Our Stars

John Green

Young Adult Novel

Pages read in total: 436/476

Hazel, her mom and Augustus come back from Amsterdam. Augustus’s condition was getting worse with every day after they arrived home. Soon he had to be wheeled around in a wheel chair everywhere and was very sick. He even invited Hazel and Isaac to practice speaking for his funeral. Eight days after that, he died, when cancer finally stopped his heart. All of his friends and family quickly found out the news and were all very upset. Augustus’s funeral arrived and the most unexpected guest appeared to be there: Peter van Houten! First Isaac gave his speech, then his high-school friend spoke and then Hazel was introduced to speak as Augustus's "special-friend". A few days after the funeral Hazel gets into her car but sees Peter van Houten in the backseat, Hazel was angry at him, but he was only trying to apologize, and told Hazel that he also once had an 8 year old daughter who died from cancer and suddenly Hazel understood why van Houten was acting like this.

I think that even though this part of the book was really sad because Augustus dies I think that some very interesting events happen, we find out about Peter van Houten's past, and we see that only now that Augustus has died all his old friends from school have come to visit. I expect that after a while Hazel will finally accept the fact that Augustus died and will be happy again.I am satisfied with what I have read even though this section of the book was really sad. Also, in this section I finally found out that Peter van Houten has drinking problems and is very angry only because his own 8 year old daughter died.

Quote: "Grief does not change you, Hazel.  It reveals you."-pages 431

This is said by Peter van Houten when he is talking to Hazel. It shows that he understands that he acted differently since the death of his daughter, and he explains that his book "An Imperial Affliction" in which he wrote as if his daughter was the main character, but as a teenager. He also explains that he was very rude in Amsterdam to Augustus and Hazel because Hazel looked and acted just as his daughter but older and he was completely taken aback by that.