The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind. 

~Published January 10th 2012 by Dutton Books

Rarely have I read a book that affects me so deeply as The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I finished the book while working out on the elliptical and instead of working out for 45 minutes, I actually went over an hour and didn't even realize it! And I was bawling the whole time.

This book is more raw and edgy than I usually like to read, or recommend. However, I do recommend this book for the author's ability to reach inside the teenage mind and touch on those notes that make up the music of a life wanting to be remembered. I wish that I could put this book in my 2013 cookbook, but I don't feel comfortable recommending a book that has strong language or implicit scenes, no matter how well placed. Just saying.

Hazel's story of trying to find her place in a temporary world and leave behind something of value is heart-wrenching and inspiring.