Book Review: This Star Won't Go Out

by Courtney Lockhart

THIS STAR WON'T GO OUT BY ESTHER EARL

I am a Nerdfighter. According to my personal definition, this means is that I am a fan of the works of Hank and John Green and their associates. I believe in decreasing levels of ‘world suck’ and encouraging intellectualism, creativity and general awesomeness.  The Green brothers have been a large part of Youtube culture since 2007. I started watching their videos in the summer of 2013 and  got through all 6 years worth in about four months.

That is how I became familiar with the story of Esther Earl.  Esther was a sixteen year old Nerdfighter. She met John at a Harry Potter convention in Boston and the two became friends.  She also happened to be battling cancer.  Their friendship inspired John to write his number one best-seller The Fault in Our Stars.  Green makes it very clear however that TFIOS is not Esther’s story.

This book is Esther’s story. Compiled by her parents Lori and Wayne Earl, This Star Won’t Go Out is a scrapbook style biography of the young author.  It includes drawings, letters and works in progress from Esther’s archives.  They are pieced together with the necessary narration from her parents, doctors and friends. Green writes an introduction that is so heartfelt and truthful I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to finish the rest of the book due to the emotions it stirred.

I did, and I’m glad I did. Esther’s story is one that most of us can relate to. She sought solace from the stress of her daily life with her internet friends. She knew she wanted to create, to write, and experimented with different styles. She felt at moments blessed with her life and at others stressed and angry that it wasn’t fair.  The book is extremely personal and by making it so, very universal.

You can find This Star Won’t Go Out at most major booksellers. A portion of the proceeds  go to the foundation of the same name started in Esther’s memory to  help children and families dealing with cancer. 

Courtney Lockhart lives in the west end of Ottawa with her husband and step-cat.  She is polishing her skills to pursue one of her dream careers as either a costume drama character, Torchwood operative or executive assistant to a billionaire vigilante. You can follow her daily mission to DFTBA on Twitter @corastacy.