Notes

Hazel Grace Lancaster starts her story by telling us that her mother thinks she's depressed. Hazel doesn't deny that she's a little fixated on death. She considers just about everything, including her cancer, a side effect of dying. Her mother and doctor agreed she should attend a weekly cancer support group. The leader of the support group is a cancer survivor named Patrick who constantly talks about the fact that they meet in the heart of Jesus since the group meets in the basement of a cross-shaped church, directly at the spot where Jesus’ heart would be. Despite his surviving cancer, Hazel views his life as dreary. In the meeting, Hazel introduces herself. She is sixteen and originally had thyroid cancer, though it's spread to her lungs, too. Hazel equates the sharing part of group to a circle jerk of support where everyone talks about how they're winning the fight. The only part of support group she likes is a guy named Isaac who lost an eye to cancer and may lose his remaining eye as well. They both sigh derisively at people's stories.


After a few weeks, Hazel attends a meeting where she's surprised by the presence of a new and beautiful boy who stares directly at her. His name is Augustus Waters, and he's attending the meeting to support Isaac, who discovered he will soon lose his second eye to cancer. Augustus is a survivor of osterosarcoma, and when asked what he fears, he says “oblivion.” Hazel, who rarely speaks, says to the group that eventually everyone will be dead, and everything humanity has built will have been for naught. In her narration she explains she learned this from her favorite novel, An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten. When the meeting wraps up Isaac introduces Augustus and Hazel. Augustus says Hazel reminds him of Natalie Portman in “V for Vendetta.” The two flirt, mock the meeting's location in the “literal” heart of Jesus, and watch Isaac make out with his girlfriend, Monica. Placing a cigarette between his lips, Augustus invites Hazel to his place, to watch “V For Vendetta.” Hazel is disgusted by the cigarette but reconsiders when Augustus explains that he never lights it. Rather, he enjoys the metaphorical resonance of putting something that kills between his teeth and denying it the power to kill him.