The Fault In Our Stars: Week of 10/7/13

 Prompt: Discuss why you like or dislike what you are reading.
               Pretend you get to create the music soundtrack for what you’ve been reading.
What five songs would you include? Write an explaination for each song: why
would you include it, how does the song connect to events.
 

Pages read: 129-313 (Finished)

  I enjoy this book because it's just beautiful. It's sad and beautiful. What makes it sad is what the characters go through. It really broke my heart when Augustus was struggling when he wanted to buy cigars (to not smoke) but something was wrong with his G-tube. He was a mess and it got me quite emotional. Not as emotional as I became later in the book, but that's for you to read. What makes it beautiful is the connection that all the characters have with each other. I know that some classmates have read this book and I'm sure you can agree. This story tells exactly how the characters are feeling and you feel like you're in the story, too. I love when stories are like that, and that's one of the many reasons why I love this book. When you read, you feel the connection that the characters have. The way that Gus and Hazel act around each other, you can just tell that they actually love each other. 

 I'm not sure if it's only me but when I read books, I think of a movie in my head and in a certain part, I imagine a song playing that would go with the situation. Throughout my reading, I thought about songs that would go with the story:

1. "sweet perfection" by Never Shout Never

"And oh, pretty girl,
I know that I just met you,
But I might just dare to say
That I love you." 

 In the beginning of the story, Gus and Hazel meet each other in support group. They get to know each other and they go on a date. When he drops her off at her house, she says that she'll call him, he says she doesn't have his number. She then says "I strongly suspect you wrote it in the book" and he says "and you say we don't know each other" That's kind of how this song is. I would include it because it's the whole "I just met you but I feel like I've know you" kind of thing. 
 
2. "In Pieces" by Linkin Park

"You promise me the sky
Then toss me like a stone
You wrapped me in your arms
And chill me to the bone

There's truth in your lies
Doubt in your faith
Alive I've got is what didn't take"

 Isaac's girlfriend broke up with him because she didn't want to deal with him. She did it before Isaac became blind because she didn't want to dump a blind guy or she'll feel bad for him. They promised to love each other "always" but she lied. I would include this song because both girls promised something but they basically threw it away and broke their ex-lover's heart.

3. "Cancer" by My Chemical Romance
"cause the hardest part of this is leaving you"

 This song is, as you can tell, about cancer. It's about the life of someone who has cancer. In the book, Hazel at first doesn't want to be in a relationship with Gus because she doesn't want to die on him. It would be unfair to him since he already lost a loved one. The hardest part of having cancer is leaving a loved one. That is why I would include "Cancer" in the soundtrack.

4. "My Understandings" by Of Mice & Men
"I don't mind it
I don't mind if you're overrated
Or if you're staring at the edge of the word
But keep in mind that I'm a sore eye, with blurry vision
But I can see, yeah it has to be you love
That I've been dreaming of and if we climb this high
I swear we'll never die"   

 I love this song. He is in love and he doesn't notice the subject's flaws. He blurs them out because it doesn't matter, he loves them no matter what. This would go with Gus and Hazel's relationship because they don't see each other as people with cancer, they see each other as themselves and their personality. They know that they are not their disease, they are their own person. I would put this song in the soundtrack because it describes their relationship.

5. "The Fault In Our Stars" by Troye Sivan

"The weight
of a simple human emotion
weighs me down
more than the tank ever did

The pain,
it's determined and demanding
to ache, but I'm okay . . .

And I don't want to let this go
I don't want to lose control
I just want to see the stars with you

And I don't wanna say goodbye
someone tell me why
I just want to see the stars with you

You lost, a part of your existence
in the war, against yourself
oh, the lights,
they light up in lights of sadness
telling you, it's time to go

And I don't want to let this go
I don't want to lose control
I just want to see the stars with you

And I don't wanna say goodbye
someone tell me why
I just want to see the stars with you

Don't give it up just yet stay grand
for one more minute, don't give it up
just yet stay grand

Don't give it up just yet stay grand
for one more minute, don't give it up
just yet stay grand

Don't give it up just yet stay grand
for one more minute, don't give it up
just yet stay grand

And I don't want to let this go
I don't want to lose control
I just want to see the stars with you

And I don't wanna say goodbye
someone tell me why
I just want to see the stars with you

With you"

 The song was inspired by the book, actually. It's a great song and the lyrics make sense and I see what parts he got the idea from. For example, by tank he means Hazel's oxygen tank that she needed to carry around.

 The Fault In Our Stars is now one of my favorite books. It will make you smile and cry, it's a roller coaster of emotions. You'll connect to the characters to the point where you will feel bad when they are hurt. I highly recommend everyone to read it!

Okay.