"This Star Won't Go Out" by Esther Grace Earl (431 pgs)

In 2010, at the age of 17,  Esther Grace Earl died of thyroid cancer. This Star Won’t Go Out is a compilation of Esther’s journals, letters, and pictures, and tells the story of her life and how she and her family dealt with the cancer. When Esther was diagnosed in 2006, she and her family moved from France to the United States so she could visit the Children’s Hospital in Boston regularly for treatment. She blamed herself for her family having to leave. She knew they loved France but she needed as much help as possible. During her four years of enduring this cancer she had the support of her online friends, family and famous her favorite author, John Green. For those of you who aren’t familiar with John Green, he wrote The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska and other young adult books. Esther was lucky enough to meet John Green at a convention and they continued to keep in touch. 

In the forward of this book, John Green mentions that his time with Esther gave him inspiration to write and he dedicated his novel, The Fault in our Stars to her. During this time Esther taught John that “a short life can be a good and rich life.” Sadly, Esther was one person who John wanted to read the The Fault in Our Stars, but she never got the chance. 

This Star Won't Go Out is a must-read for those of you have have read The Fault in Our Stars. If you haven’t  had a chance to read The Fault in Our Stars, you should pick it up at the library and become immersed in this tear jerking novel that Esther never got the chance to read. Read the book our star inspired.

Reviewed by: Kelsi Bucknam

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