The Fault in Our Stars is a cancer book. It joins ranks with A Walk to Remember and My Sister’s Keeper with the typical cancer book characteristics of answers to “big questions” about what it truly means to be alive and happy with undertones of love, family and relationships.

However, this one has some quirks. The entire first printing of The Fault in Our Stars was signed by the author, John Green, and he held a poll via his blog for dedicated readers to vote on the color of Sharpie he used to sign the books. Green, author of Young Adult classics-in-the-making Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska, veers from his typical formula of “lonely, invisible guy finally gets noticed by super visible girl in a very deep and profound manner.” Instead, he writes about cancer with black humor and characters the reader can relate to in the nerdy style which defines the Printz award winner.

The main character, Hazel, a full-time cynic who has terminal cancer, meets Augustus Waters, who tells her he’s “on a roller coaster that only goes up” during his remission from a cancer that took away part of one leg. Despite Hazel’s worry that her impending death would break his heart, the two begin a relationship and have their own “little infinity” together, bonding over favorite books, some obscure band called The Hectic Glow (which actually exists) and a trip to Amsterdam including really good food. This story’s characters are all a little broken, constantly dealing with the stress that at any moment, someone could be taken away by an illness, but Green manages to insert humor in many of the more serious moments. In the end, the book will leave you crying, but also far more acceptant of death and appreciative of life.