This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl

Goodreads summary:

A collection of the journals, fiction, letters, and sketches of the late Esther Grace Earl, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 16. Photographs and essays by family and friends will help to tell Esther’s story along with an introduction by award-winning author John Green who dedicated his #1 bestselling novel The Fault in Our Stars to her.

My review:

5/5

Dear Esther,

I do not know you, and you certainly don't know me. I mean, I was born four years later than you were and during all our lives, we've been separated by miles and miles, even by borders. I wasn't part of Nerdfighteria when you were and I don't even know if I had a Facebook account when you were still alive, let alone a Youtube account. However, your story touched me so, so, so much. 

Life is unfair, we all know it. Some of us, like me, have been blessed enough to have a relatively easy life so far and to only see illnesses and death from a very far away perspective. However, reading your journals, watching your videos, and hearing people talk about you has made me realize how unfair your life was. How could a person so radiant, so cheerful and so smart like you have to go such hard times? I know from your own words that you became okay with the fact that you had cancer and that your faith has helped you a lot with that. This is a truly fantastic thing, especially from the point of view of an atheist like me. I have always envied people who belong to a religion, because I can imagine how much easier it can be to think that everything happens for a reason. This book proved my thoughts, because you made it sound so easy.

I loved the person you were, or at least the idea I got of the person you were. I know that I could never get to know you as much as I want to, because I've only seen a glimpse of the person you were, but I do know that everyone around you was lucky to have you. I don't know what you would think of people like me, who read your book, your journal, even, watch your videos, hear your friends talking about you and end up loving you. I hope you'd like it, because everyone has described you as a 'welcomer', a loving person who accepted everyone. I love that about you. That's the way more people should be. In a way, you're a bit like how everyone should be:  caring, passionate, intelligent, confident. I'm not saying you were perfect, but I do think you were an awesome person. 

My thoughts go to your friends, your family, your cats. As weird as it must be for them to see you become some sort of celebrity, I hope they accept the support we are willing to give them, because your book has truly made my eyes open. From Heaven (because I know that's where you are, even though I am in no way religious), I hope that you're happy that your cause has brought so many of us together to make the world a better place to live in, even though you will never have this chance again and it's breaking my heart. Don't forget to be awesome, Esther, while we'll never forget how bright a star you were.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green & David Levithan

Goodreads summary:

Will Grayson meets Will Grayson. One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers are about to cross paths. From that moment on, their world will collide and lives intertwine.

It's not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets. When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions. With a push from friends new and old - including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteur extraordinaire - Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most awesome high school musical.


My review:

5/5

One of my favorite John Green/David Levithan books. It's amazing.

For some reason, I waited a long time before I started reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson. However, once I started, I couldn't stop. It's so good! Honestly, if you haven't read it yet, please pick it up.

Having read novels from both authors, I was expecting a sweet love story between interesting people. I only knew a bit about the story, which I mainly learned from the title, but I was happy with only knowing that. In the end, it is simply a novel about two guys with the same name, but there's so much happening that it's an absolutely lovely story. 

Obviously, the writing styles are beautiful. I knew it'd be that way, since I've read many novels from both authors. I liked how different Will and Will are and how it's shown in the writing styles. I was a bit confused by the lack of capitalization in one of their parts, but only because I didn't always realize when a word was actually a name. Despite having the same name, I wasn't confused by the main characters, because they're both incredibly different and amazing.

My favorite part about this novel is probably the characters, because they all have something interesting about them. I absolutely loved Tiny Cooper, because he's loving, lovable and so incredibly funny and happy. He's probably my favorite character. Both Wills are interesting in their own ways, one because he keeps trying to protect and degrade. himself and the other because he craves love so much. I really enjoyed seeing them interact together, because they get along really well, even though having the same name is one of the only things they have in common. My only complaint is that while I liked Jane, I thought she was a bit too perfect. She's smart, beautiful and her only fault seemed to be having a boyfriend, which isn't exactly one. It didn't have much of an impact on me, but I still wished I could've seen a bit more of a realistic personality. 

I liked how friendship became important in the story. I think the book starts with one of the Wills (reading about them wasn't confusing, but writing about them is) talking about how he didn't choose his friend Tiny, which I thought was quite rude, but I was happy to see him realize how important this friendship is to him. Also, the other Will finally made some friends, which was a relief to me, because I don't wish to see anyone go through life without friends. 

Although there is romance in this novel, it didn't feel like the most important thing at all. Dealing with relationships would probably be a more accurate topic, because there's a lot about that. I think it was done realistically and it adds a nice touch to the story, without being overwhelming. 

Reading about all the characters made me really happy and I loved the ending. I almost wish this book had been longer, because there's so much more I would like to know about the characters. 

I very highly recommend this novel.

Lire entre les lignes 1.1 Nos étoiles contraires - John Green

Cette critique, ainsi que les prochaines, seront en français et extraites de mon recueil de critiques, Lire entre les lignes, ce qui explique leur structure différente.

5/5

Hazel Grace Lancaster est une jeune fille de 16 ans qui souffre d’un cancer de la thyroïde en phase terminale. Comme ses parents la trouvent déprimée et souhaitent qu’elle se fasse des amis en vivant comme toute bonne adolescente, ils la forcent à se rendre à un groupe de soutien où elle rencontre ses deux amis : Isaac et Augustus, le premier sur le point de devenir aveugle et le dernier officiellement en rémission. Peu à peu, une merveilleuse histoire d’amour se crée entre Hazel et Augustus, bien qu’Hazel le nie et essaie de l’éviter. L’admiration qu’ils ont tous les deux pour un livre, Une Impériale Affliction, les pousse à chercher à entrer en contact avec son auteur pour obtenir les réponses dont ils ont besoin, non seulement pour comprendre l’histoire davantage, mais aussi pour comprendre leur vie. C’est une histoire d’amour malheureusement touchée par le cancer, comme le dit si bien l’auteur, et non pas une histoire de cancer.
 

Selon moi, tout lecteur gagne à lire quoi que ce soit de John Green tant son style d’écriture est à la fois hilarant, touchant et intelligent. J’ai lu « La face cachée de Margo », « Qui est tu Alaska? », « Flocons d’amour » et « Nos étoiles contraires » et je dois avouer que chaque roman m’a agréablement surprise. Dans ce roman, il a réussi à créer une histoire d’amour romantique, mature et dramatique entre deux adolescents tout simplement malchanceux. Même s’il est loin d’être une jeune adolescente, monsieur Green a réussi à donner à Hazel une voix franche, réaliste et divertissante. Personne ne se douterait que l’auteur a en réalité une trentaine d’années! Malgré le fait que ce soit indéniablement une histoire triste et qui risque de faire pleurer tout lecteur, on y retrouve aussi une beauté qui efface la douleur qu’on éprouve, nous laissant au final beaucoup moins attristé qu’on ne le croirait. Les phrases sont magnifiques, les leçons que tirent les personnages sont d’une grande importance et la façon dont ils réussissent à vivre avec l’angoisse d’une mort prochaine est inspirante. « Nos étoiles contraires » est souvent mentionné comme l’une des meilleures romances de la littérature contemporaine et chaque lecteur peut en attester suite à sa lecture. C’est un livre à lire et à relire.

 

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