A Look Back on "The Fault In Our Stars"

It was surprising to me how important Hazel's favorite book within the novel, An Imperial Affliction, became to the plot of the story. Hazel states that she wants to lessen the impact of her death, so she only really associates with her parents, and she says that books are her best friends. She names that one book in particular as her favorite. The girl in Hazel's book, Anna, has cancer and is assumed to have died at the end of the novel. Hazel is really stricken by the ending- it ends mid-sentence, a very real ending, as Hazel notes. Either Anna died, or got too sick to go on writing.  She wishes to God that she could ask the author what became of Anna's family members, but she has no idea how to contact him. While I liked the star-crossed lovers story line enough, this was the most heartbreaking part of the storyline to me (apart from learning about Hazel's sickness itself)- Hazel's wish to know what will become of her own family after her death. Hazel's question is always, "What happens to Anna's mother after she dies?" When she meets Peter van Houten, the author of An Imperial Affliction, and he will not answer her questions, Hazel becomes desperate. She shouts and cries at Peter, frantic to know what happens to Anna's mom after her death. It was so heartbreaking because clearly Hazel is really asking van Houten what happens to her mother after she dies. Hazel often mentions how much her mother worries for her, and she spends all of her time simply caring for Hazel. Hazel feels the desperate need to know what will become of her mother after she dies and leaves her behind. She wants assurance that her mother will be okay without her. To me, this was the most tragic and compelling part of the story, and I wish it had been touched upon more.