Friday, April 5, 2013

Book 1 Project




           Following the ending to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, John Green has agreed to create an epilogue for the fans whose curiosity lurks after the sudden cliff hanger as the ending. As a gift to all the faithful fans, John Green contributed the exclusive and limited edition epilogue, as well as the bright blue t-shirt with a single black and white cloud, similar to the front cover, but with the words inside of the clouds reading “Okay.” Also included in the gift basket is the recently found journal entries of Augusts Waters on his last few weeks on earth.
            The first time Hazel and Augustus repeatedly said “okay” to one another, they figured that it would be their own personal way of saying ‘I love you.’ The first time their version of ‘I love you’ was used, was when Augustus revealed that his first girlfriend died of a brain tumor. The word “okay” is sentimental to readers because those few words were used during times filled with high emotions. There was the time when Augustus decided he would use his single Wish from the Genie Foundation for Hazel and him to go to meet their favorite author. The last night of Augustus being healthy, Hazel and he shared a glass of champagne while they were on their trip in Amsterdam to meet the author. As they took their first sips, they repeated “okay” to one another. As Augustus’ days living a life on earth dwindled down to only a few days left, he wrote to the favorite author of Hazel and Augustus, who was actually an alcoholic. Augustus scolded Van Houten, the troubled author, saying that Van Houten was a “[crappy] person but a good writer.” Augustus defended Hazel, saying that, “she is so beautiful [and that] you don’t get tired of looking at her,” and how worthy she is of life. He wrote the letter to Van Houten in secret – it was never revealed why it was written and sent off without anybody knowing, but that is what happened. It was figured out that Augustus had written something down because there were leftover tear marks in the binding of the blank pages. Hazel and Augustus’ parents had figured that the only pages torn out were sent to Van Houten. The final pages of the book were heart wrenching, and ended abruptly, finishing directly after Hazel had read the journal entries sent to Van Houten. This left readers questioning the ending, for how much longer did Hazel live for, did Hazel ever find love again, did Van Houten ever create an epilogue for Hazel, did Augustus’ parents stay together even after his death? The readers understand that the ending to The Fault in Our Stars is supposed to be a real life version of the book that Van Houten wrote, in the sense of the ending to Van Houten’s book. Hazel had wondered the same questions that the readers would experience at the end of The Fault in Our Stars. Hazel, herself, even asked, “what happened to the characters at the end of the book?” and Hazel demanded that she “needs to know what happened to [the main character].”
            All of these exclusive gifts to the faithful fans will be available to the incoming fans who have discovered the book and love it too. The words “okay” are sentimental to the readers because it was Hazel and Augustus’ shipping slogan- they said it all the time. A continuation of the ending to The Fault in Our Stars would soothe the curiosity of the readers, which is why the epilogue will be included in the gifts. The last few writings of Augustus were legendary, the final piece of his writing was the last page of the book, and led readers to wonder what was going on in Augustus’ mind when he decided not to write to Hazel, or his siblings, or his parents, but to an alcoholic writer. That is why John Green also agreed to create another continuation of The Fault in Our Stars that consisted solely of Augustus’ final journal.  

6 comments:

  1. Great ideas! I like how the epilogue and journals would extend the reading experience and add some new content to the stories and characters. The t-shirt is perfect--I'm surprised it's not already out there for sale! Nice job of interacting with specifics and quotes from the novel.

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  2. As a fan of The Fault in Our Stars, I would love to have my very own 'Okay' tee shirt! Like you stated, the meaning of the words are very sentimental to each and every reader because it is more than just some trivial words that Gus and Hazel pass back and forth. I would also very much appreciate a part two to the book!

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  3. Wow, now I really want to read the book! I liked how you posted about how there may be an epilogue that tells how Hazel lived past August's death and other events that may be foretold.

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  4. I would love to know what happens after The Fault in Our Stars and how Hazel deals with everything! It would also be very fun to have an 'Okay' t-shirt.

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  5. I really want to read this book now, and I knew how much you really liked this book.

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  6. Funny story: I was at Barns and Noble the other day in the young adult section and get this- they actually have an 'OKAY' tee shirt!!

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