Both, actually. So I always make an effort to experiencing anything that people are either unapologetically talking shit about or praising like it's the coming of Jesus, before I give an opinion on it. I did it with Twilight, I did it with 50 Shades of Grey (though I only got through the first book), and I did it with TFiOS. I have a couple of problems with it. The first, right of the bat, is that I don't like the whole "sick-lit" genre as a whole. It's there. And it feels manipulative and crass, a sort of cash-in, easy to exploit attribute that tugs at a reader's heart strings. Screw that. The second is that d-bag with the fucking cigarette. He literally carries around a cigarette to espouse his existential life philosophy? I would hate that kid if I knew him. The worst part for me was the two making out in the Anne Frank memorial, and everyone starts clapping and shouting random European words of encouragement. I mean. Holy shit. I didn't know what to say when I saw that scene. It just felt so outlandish and insensitive. My last criticism isn't entirely TFiOS's fault, though. When I watched the movie with my sister and the credits came up, she got up off the couch, rolled her eyes at me, and scoffed, "White people." Granted, she's usually more eloquent than that, but it also sums up my feelings pretty well. In general we've become a bit more aware of what we see in movies and the like, and it's hard to connect to this shit. It's like that Nicolas Sparks picture: Just with more cancer added. It's hard to relate to pretty photogenic White people doing random shit with an added dose of forced sadness at this point. But that last one is really a personal problem, not something that can be leveled at TFiOS only, or even specifically.
I thought the cigarette thing was kinda on purpose. I mean, it's the kind of thing that reading as a teenager you would find "profound" and "cool" but cringe back on it when reading as an adult. You know, the same way I cringe at my "profoundness" as a 15 year old. I do agree about the Anne Frank memorial tho. I mean sure teenagers are the kind of inconsiderate pricks that would kiss in Anne Frank's house but the people clapping? I don't really buy it. I don't remember if that was in the book too or if it was only in the movie tho. In the end as an young adult book it's really not that bad. Especially when you compare it to shit like Twilight.