This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl Author: Visit Amazon's Esther Earl Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0525426361 | Format: EPUB
This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl Description
Review
Reviews for This Star Won't Go Out:
"Just so you can’t say we didn’t warn you, This Star Won’t Go Out will make you sob (unless you don’t have a soul). But it will also make you smile, as one of those rare books that will change the way you look at the world. The true story of Esther, a teen with cancer, this book is a compilation of her essays, short fiction, journal entries and family photos. You might not expect a 16-year-old with a terminal illness to be funny, but Esther is cleverly so while eschewing bitterness.
Author John Green got to know Esther after meeting her at a Harry Potter convention, and they formed a meaningful friendship. So meaningful, in fact, that he dedicated The Fault in Our Stars to her and wrote the foreword to this book. Just released, This Star Won’t Go Out is one book that will stick with you long after you finish it."
—Metro New York
About the Author
Wayne and Lori Earl are the parents of the late Esther Earl and founders of the nonprofit organization This Star Won’t Go Out (tswgo.org), whose mission it is to financially assist families struggling through the journey of a child living with cancer. To date, TSWGO has given away more than $130,000 to families in need.
- Age Range: 12 and up
- Grade Level: 7 and up
- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (January 28, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0525426361
- ISBN-13: 978-0525426363
- Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
While Esther Grace Earl never did get to grow up, her family and friends did make her dream of becoming an author come true.
I have no idea how to review a book like this. I personally loved it. Yes, it was sad- but it was also full of joy and love. The book is a compilation of journal entries, posts, letters, pictures etc. from Esther, her friends and family as she deals with both living and dying from cancer. I was struck by how much love and admiration this young girl inspired in those around her. I think it is an amazing tribute that her family went on to make this book happen. And I love the idea that everyone who reads this book will contribute to Esther's wish to be an author 'someday'.
The book is filled with real stories from the daily life of a teenaged girl- some are sad, some are funny- it runs the entire range. It was easy to be drawn in and feel as if I were getting to know Esther myself.
There are some very sad, depressing parts of this story- for me, it was a real tearjerker but I couldn't put it down. This is not a novel and it does not read like one. This story is told in bits and pieces from many sources. It made me think alot about what would be left behind at the end of my life, how my story would read.
John Green (The Fault in Our Stars) writes a lovely introduction. Esther was very involved on the internet. Even though her physical world became somewhat limited due to her illness, she managed to expand virtually where she could not physically. She garnered a large and close-knit community of friends and support through the internet.
This book is the story and experiences of Esther Earl, a girl that John knew and was a huge part of the online Nerdfighter community, who unfortunately died of cancer at just 16 in 2010. I can’t claim to have known her but her story is one that I think everyone in the community knows a little about and I just wanted to read her story in her own words, as well as from the viewpoint of the people around her.
I couldn’t review this book in the way I usually would because you cannot put a non-fiction real-life story into the same group as fiction, so this will be more of a discussion and a recommendation than a review.
From the beginning of this, I was in tears. John Green’s introduction was the most heart-warming yet devastating things that I have read. I always knew that there was a connection between Esther and The Fault in our Stars but reading this book really proved just how much Esther’s presence effected John and how her story is one that needs to be seen as complex and human, and how Hazel is not Esther, though without Esther, Hazel wouldn’t exist.
The book itself really captures the feeling of the book. Although it is sad, I like that the publisher decided on a bright cover and packaging for this book because it stops it feeling like a bleak depressing story. Of course, it is sad but the colourful pages, the inclusion of photographs, drawings and handwritten passages, make it a lot more approachable and real. Esther was a real person, a complex and unique individual and I think that this book really does reflect that and stops it being another cancer story.
One thing that was a little odd for me to read about was Esther’s faith.
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