Samantha Tonge, author of Game of Scones and My Big Fat Christmas Wedding
It is very difficult to choose an all-time favourite book, but one stands out for me: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I am in awe of the exquisite teenage voice he creates. With two teenagers myself, I feel he got it spot on. The book moved me enormously - made me sad, contemplative yet even laugh, and I think that is the reason for the story’s success; the message that there can be humour in adversity and that laughter can also spring from the darkest times and get you through. What’s more the characterisation was excellent – vivid and original. I adored the romance between the two main characters, Hazel and Augustus, and even though very sad, found the ending unexpectedly uplifting. The Fault In Our Stars doesn’t belong to a genre I usually read, which makes it even more of a treasure.