The Fault in Our Stars is a work of Young Adult fiction written by Internet darling John Green. His impressive resume includes New York Times bestselling author, the American Library Association’s Michael L. Printz Award for his debut novel, Looking for Alaska and the Edgar Award for his 2008 novel Paper Towns. Green can be described as nothing short of an Internet superstar, with a legion of fans that call themselves “Nerdfighters,” one half of one of the most popular online video projects, VlogBrothers, with his brother Hank, part owner of Don’t Forget To Be Awesome (DFTBA Records), and a ubiquitous presence on Twitter and Tumblr.

While this book is classified as Young Adult, I have to agree with NPR when they say that “[Green’s] … voice is so compulsively readable that it defies categorization.” This is the story of Hazel Grace, terminal cancer patient, age 16. Hazel has been dying for the past three years, which continually defines her life and at the same time fades into the background of the book. After spending the past three years in and out of hospitals and pursuing new treatments, she doesn’t find much solace in “normal” teenager activities. Hazel spends most of her time reading and watching America’s Next Top Model, much to her parents’ chagrin. Hazel is heartbreakingly aware of the emptiness and grief the people she leaves behind will feel when her tumors stop responding to her treatment; because of this, she is somewhat of a recluse, letting no one but her parents in.

Everything changes when she meets Augustus Waters. Augustus is unlike anyone Hazel has ever met before and though she tries to deny it, she falls for him instantly. Augustus is a survivor of osteosarcoma, and although he is in remission, he gets Hazel. Their witty dialogue is one of my favorite parts of the book, with their characters jumping off of the pages. By the end of the book, I felt as if I really knew them. As you may have guessed, the book about teenage cancer patients involves some heart wrenchingly sad moments, and while I won’t ruin them here, I would suggest keeping a box of tissues near. As Augustus tells us, “that’s the thing about pain… it demands to be felt.”

And if you needed another reason to read this book, in one of the fastest book-to-movie adaptations, The Fault in Our Starswill be hitting the silver screen next June. The movie will star Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort and Willem Dafoe, which are all perfect castings according to the Hazel and Augustus I imagined in my head while reading it.

I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

“Okay? Okay.”