Paper Towns
From the #1 bestselling author of Turtles All the Way Down and The Fault in Our Stars
Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery
#1 New York Times Bestseller
USA Today Bestseller
Publishers Weekly Bestseller
Now a major motion picture
Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery
#1 New York Times Bestseller
USA Today Bestseller
Publishers Weekly Bestseller
Now a major motion picture
When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night--dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge--he follows her. Margo's always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she's always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they're for Q. Printz Medalist John Green returns with the trademark brilliant wit and heart-stopping emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of readers.
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Community Reviews
This book is about two different types of relationships. At first, it seems to be about a guy (Quentin, known as Q) who has been in love with his not-so-typical girl next door (Margo) since they were children together. Since being children, they've drifted apart and hang with very different crowds in high school. She's with the cool kids, and he's with the band geeks. But what happens when she decides she needs his help to carry out the ultimate revenge plan? And then disappears?
But there's also the relationship between Q and his two best friends. And I think that's what this book is really about. The interactions among Q and his friends as they try to figure out what happened to Margo and plan for prom at the same time had me laughing out loud even in this seemingly somber book.
I did have one problem with this book: Margo is almost the exact same character as Alaska from another of Green's books. The incandescent girl who plans elaborate pranks and captures the imagination of her peers is an excellent character, but surely Green has more than one leading lady in his repertoire. Incidentally, I like Margo better than her counterpart.
But there's also the relationship between Q and his two best friends. And I think that's what this book is really about. The interactions among Q and his friends as they try to figure out what happened to Margo and plan for prom at the same time had me laughing out loud even in this seemingly somber book.
I did have one problem with this book: Margo is almost the exact same character as Alaska from another of Green's books. The incandescent girl who plans elaborate pranks and captures the imagination of her peers is an excellent character, but surely Green has more than one leading lady in his repertoire. Incidentally, I like Margo better than her counterpart.
Paper Towns surprised me. I am such an immense fan of John Green, and an involved Nerdfighter, but even to these extents did not anticipate the poetic insights his novel provided. I LOVE the mindfulness of "imagining others complexly". Finding words to articulate just how intrigued I am by the tangibility of this story is a challenge. I appreciated the light rushing out and flooding in through beautiful phrases here and there. I especially appreciated the ending. What a strikingly real portrayal of relationships: from straining strings to crossing lines, mirrors to windows. Just as all are individual individuals, I don't expect this book to be everyone's favorite. But it is a new favorite of mine.
Thank you--once again--to the reflective and ingenious John Green.
Thank you--once again--to the reflective and ingenious John Green.
Paper Towns and I may have started out on the wrong foot (I believe that's the left one). I was 5% in and went back to read the synopsis.
Who is the real Margo? it asked.
Who gives a shit? I muttered.
And that pretty much sums up how I felt about Paper Towns.
People compare it to [b: Looking For Alaska|99561|Looking for Alaska|John Green|https:d.gr-assets.com/books/1394798630s/99561.jpg|919292] because it is comparable. The female leads are more or less interchangeable. And that is where the problem lies. Because I wish I loved John Green's female leads as much as his male leads love the female leads (still with me?).
In Paper Towns we have (another) nerdy but likable male lead. He (again) has equally nerdy but likable friends who are quite funny and carry the bulk of the good dialogue. He (again) has a huge crush on a seemingly unobtainable female who is put on a pedestal high in the sky by not only the male lead but also everyone else. Oh, except parents - because parents of these types of children always fail to see the unicorn they have in front of them. The problem (again) is that Margo fails to charm the reader. You can't just say that someone is amazing. You have to prove that they are. And they are not amazing just because they want to go on a midnight adventure and break into SeaWorld.
The saving grace of any John Green book is that the man can write. His writing is smooth and never choppy. Each line feels relevant. He can always make me chuckle at least a couple times (and when I least expect it).
Maybe my age makes me more cynical to YA topics. Maybe I would have been gaga over this when I was thirteen or fifteen (but not fourteen). Maybe I would have given this more than the 2.5 stars (which I am rounding up because it's a good kind of sunshiny morning) that I'm giving it now.
Who is the real Margo? it asked.
Who gives a shit? I muttered.
And that pretty much sums up how I felt about Paper Towns.
People compare it to [b: Looking For Alaska|99561|Looking for Alaska|John Green|https:d.gr-assets.com/books/1394798630s/99561.jpg|919292] because it is comparable. The female leads are more or less interchangeable. And that is where the problem lies. Because I wish I loved John Green's female leads as much as his male leads love the female leads (still with me?).
In Paper Towns we have (another) nerdy but likable male lead. He (again) has equally nerdy but likable friends who are quite funny and carry the bulk of the good dialogue. He (again) has a huge crush on a seemingly unobtainable female who is put on a pedestal high in the sky by not only the male lead but also everyone else. Oh, except parents - because parents of these types of children always fail to see the unicorn they have in front of them. The problem (again) is that Margo fails to charm the reader. You can't just say that someone is amazing. You have to prove that they are. And they are not amazing just because they want to go on a midnight adventure and break into SeaWorld.
The saving grace of any John Green book is that the man can write. His writing is smooth and never choppy. Each line feels relevant. He can always make me chuckle at least a couple times (and when I least expect it).
Maybe my age makes me more cynical to YA topics. Maybe I would have been gaga over this when I was thirteen or fifteen (but not fourteen). Maybe I would have given this more than the 2.5 stars (which I am rounding up because it's a good kind of sunshiny morning) that I'm giving it now.
This book has the story of a cute and sad unrequited love. I enjoy how peculiar each character is. It is a good book.
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