As far as I’ve read, the most intimate Hazel and Gus have gotten has been a “friendly” kiss on the cheek, but the characters have lots of chemistry. The suspense of this relationship is overwhelming especially when paired with my suspicion that they won’t get their “happily ever after.” After watching an interview of John Green discussing the book and thinking about the nature of cancer, I began to suspect that someone dies at the end. The many references to An Imperial Affliction which ends in the middle of a sentence because the narrator dies, also adds to this theory.
If this novel does end in the heart-wrenching way that I predict, I would be conflicted in whether or not to call this a romance. Yes, there are elements of romance novels in it, but how can it be a romance if it doesn’t include the crucial “happily ever after?” Not to mention that this novel touches on topics much more serious and complex than what is found in most romances, topics that make you forget about the adolescent flirting going on within the pages. Hazel’s perspective on her cancer’s effect on her loved ones brings an entirely different layer to the novel, like when she admits to hearing her mother cry about not being “mom” anymore.
Perhaps this is where the grey area comes into play amongst classifying literary genres. Who’s to say that a novel can’t be a romance and something else at the same time? That’s how I would describe The Fault in Our Stars. I’d say it’s a romance and a coming of age story, because the book doesn’t focus solely on the romance, since it’s about a teenage girl dealing with cancer and the effect of that on the people around her, yet the relationship between Hazel and Augustus is a crucial, and I would say the main part of the novel.