Being an 18 year old girl who has met people who have had cancer, met people in love, or met people going through illnesses, I have a completely different perspective than my 13 year old self would have while reading this book. Although many 13 year olds may have experienced those different realities, I was not one of them. I believe at that young age I would not have been able to comprehend the difficulties that Augustus and Hazel are experiencing. At such a young age I believe that one may be able to wrap their heads around the ideology of love and death but not fully understand it.
Reading this novel for the first time at 13 years old I feel as though I would play up the emotions of Augustus and Hazel. Since at the age I had never experienced love or death, I would be so overcome with emotion at how devastating it would be to love someone who is slowly dying. I would not have had the wisdom that comes with age that would help aid the process and help numb the idea of death on such a young person.
My thirteen-year-old self however is much different than my 18-year-old self. I am able to comprehend these emotions because I have experienced them and I realize that they are a part of life, a concept I would not have understood at 13 years old. These emotions are something everyone has to deal with no matter what. Because I am much older now I interpret the characters differently. If I were younger I would interpret Hazel differently and not understand why most of the time she is so calm and sarcastic about her condition. I would interpret the whole story in a different light because I would not have the wisdom to fully understand the pain and emotions that are being portrayed in the novel.
In addition to being able to comprehend the emotions and connect with characters more due to being older, do you think you were able to appreciate and enjoy the story more as a result of your age and experience?