Paper Towns by John Green

  Title: Paper Towns
  Author: (The) John Green
  Publisher: Speak
  Date Published: September 22nd, 2009
  Genre: The John Green Genre, Contemporary
  Pages: 336 (paperback)
  Age Range: 14+










                  Summary:

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.


                                                       Review:

     I know, I know. I haven't read everything that John Green has breathed on, I'm a terrible fan. Still, I picked up this book because I want to see the movie, but I HAVE to read the book first. Initial thoughts? I really like the cover, I like Quentin and his open disgust for prom, and I actually really love Ben and Radar. After I read the book, things just fell a little flat.
     First, I didn't like Margo. Yeah, she had some amazing, quotable lines, but she wasn't good enough. She was selfish, flighty, whiny, and came across as a bad person. She had everything that she could ever desire, and instead, she threw it away so she could pretend to be "poor and rough it up". I really didn't like her, and even though she was the whole point of the book, she was such a minor character. I loved our lead, Quentin. He was so funny and raw and he had a lot of funny quirks. Ben and Radar were such good friends, with awesome personalities. Lacey was one of my favorite characters. I was NOT expecting her to be so... nice and perfect.
     I didn't like that we went searching for Margo. We threw everything away for Margo (even graduation), and in the end... I don't want to spoil it, but that ending was so disappointing. The car trip was hilarious, though. Ben and his inability to hold his urine for more than two minutes, Quentin's energy-drinking, Lacey's maternal qualities, the COWS, and the beer! They were all ingredients that added to a perfect road trip.
     Things worked out a little too perfectly. Like the fact that the holes in the wall lined up AMAZINGLY to a map, and the comment on Omnictionary, and the door. Things just worked out way too easily sometimes. And I expected Radar and Ben and Lacey to put up a fight about somethings, and when they didn't, I was surprised. ALSO, HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT EVERYONE'S PARENTS WERE SO OBLIVIOUS??? Honestly, they were such awful parents for being so absent, and blind.
     I enjoyed a majority of the story, but the things that I didn't like were too big to ignore. Next, I'll read Looking For Alaska by John Green, and then I think I've properly read every book of his. This book does not ruin my love of John Green. I would love him even if he didn't write amazingly well, because he is such a good person. DFTBA, everyone.