We are all familiar with the classic situation where one of our favorite books is turned into a movie, and then the movie turns out to be extremely different from the book. In an inherently melancholy young adult novel such as The Fault in our Stars it is easy to imagine how the movie adaptation would differ. John Green builds us up in various ways throughout the novel: plot-wise, with the sudden death of Augustus Waters or the lack of closure within An Imperial Affliction, and thematically with the idea of leaving a lasting mark within Hazel’s nihilist concept of the universe. As a script doctor, I might make several tweaks to any of these sub-currents within the script to improve it in theaters. For instance, Peter Van Houten could provide a lot more closure for the audience if he was to have a stronger change of heart towards the end of the novel and actual transform in character into someone willing to turn his life around. While he does fly to America for Augustus’s funeral and reveal another facet of himself, he does not ultimately undergo a character change as illustrated by the image of him almost putting the fifth of alcohol down on the pavement after the funeral, and instead resuming his liquor binge. To members of the audience, I think a more significant turn around for Van Houten would be a little more appealing. I also believe that Augustus’s “final” words to Hazel in his note to Van Houten could have been more cathartic. It is powerful, emotional, and very sentimental, but it is also indirect. I would personally have liked to see a more direct address to Hazel, as a eulogy written to another does not necessarily have to emotional sway as, say a monologue in their imagined universe where they meet while talking on the phone. In these ways I think that TFIOS could be improved for a movie audience, while still retaining the key components of the story.