Pages: 305Publisher: Bloomsbury
Released: October 2008 (first published)
Plot: Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.
After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer Q gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew. (Goodreads)
Good Points: As you probably know a lot of the books that I read have some form of fantasy/ paranormal element to them so it was nice to read something a little more realistic for a change.
Paper Towns starts of with the story of Quintin ('Q') and Margo as children who stumble upon a dead man in the park. Neither really speak to each other for the next few years, despite Q hopelessly falling in love with her from afar, until one night when Margo climbs through his bedroom window seeking help.
I've got to say, there was a LOT to love about this book. I loved the witty banter between Q and his friends (Black santa's everybody...) and the way that Green manages to make even the most mundane thing sound somewhat poetic, such as the way Q describes Margo's full name. Everything he writes seems somehow raw. I guess you could say that this book is a sort of mystery. Margo is the mystery that must be solved and throughout the novel we see Q try to slowly piece together information about the girl he thought he knew.
There's definitely themes of expectations and discovery within Paper Towns and the more you read the book, the deeper you get tangled in the mystery of Margo. At times I found myself torn in two mindsets due to her character and her actions, but then I loved her free spirited personality and the development of her character overall throughout the book. One of the main things that I loved about Paper Towns was that despite Margo not physically being present throughout a large portion of the novel, her character still develops as she is explored by Q and his friends as they attempt to find her.
Things I didn't like... At times when I thought the writing and dialogue was just a little too poetic. I'm all for refreshing and thought provoking elements in books, but somehow I just don't think a little girl would look at a dead body and say 'Maybe all the strings inside of him broke'. As lovely and thought- provoking that statement is, I just felt it was a little forced on the character.
To Sum Up... I have to admit although I didn't love reading this as much as The Fault in our Stars, Paper Towns definitely drew me in. The plot I thought, was original and intriguing from start to finish and the mystery of Margo and where she could possibly be was one of the main factors that kept me reading. I'd definitely recommend anyone this book as overall it is a good story and I feel like I have gained something from reading it, one of them being I now know what a 'paper town' is.
Have you read Paper Towns? What did you think? Leave a comment below.
