Paper Towns, by John Green
In Paper Towns, by John Green, the main character Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. One night, she climbs through Quentin's bedroom window and asks him to join her on an adventure. After a night full of action, Quentin does not see Margo for weeks. Driven by his love and the promise of adventure, he sets out to find her- and so begins a journey that changes him forever.This book is great for teens. I liked it, though at times it was a bit cheesy for me. The book did speak a lot of truth, though. People are not always who you make them out to be in your mind, and it is disappointing to realize this. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a light read.
Reviewed by Anonymous, grade 11
Pacific Park Library
Comments
I believe this book was very exciting and different. It was like a modern day mystery book that was filled with surprises. I liked how Quentin never gave up and spent countless hours trying to decipher the clues left behind by Margo. I believe that anyone who likes books about teens, romance, and mysteries will enjoy reading this book very much. It was interesting how even through everything going on for them in senior year, Quentin never stops believing in Margo. He understands her in ways that nobody else does.
Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9
Glendale Central Library
I personally like this story because it is about discovering who you are and it shows that you have to take risks in life. I think that this book will mostly be appropriate to teenagers and adults because there is some foul language and sexual reference that is not suited for young audiences. I would definitely recommend this book because it teaches the readers that not everything is as you expect them to be.
Reviewed by S. Petrosian, Grade 11
Grandview Library
Paper Towns is a fiction based on a teenage life, therefore I do believe teens reading this book will find some connection between the book. As the book started I immediately liked the book. The book did become less thrilling after Margo left, and there were very few surprises through out the book. I personally like books with lots of surprises therefore Paper Towns wasn't my favorite book, but it was still really fun to read. Margo tries to convey an idea that people are paper people, and don't enjoy life. I disagree with her since if she finds that the things the people do are fake, that doesn't mean she is right. All people are different and have different interests. At the end the reader also learns that everyone is different and that not everyone is going to agree with you. At the end of the day you have to be happy with your life. I would definitely recommend this book to people who enjoy reading stores about teenage life.
Reviewed by Areni, Grade 10
Montrose Library
Although , John Green has failed to impress me with his writing skills this time. The Fault in Our Stars, the first book that I read from this author (and the newest one he wrote), managed to grasp the heart of its readers through wonderfully crafted characters, who communicated powerful messages of love and loss, and persevering through all of the adversity one encounters in life. In this novel, it seems that, being a new writer, he was trying too hard to embed deep themes, culminating in a counteraction of his intended effect on readers.
Unfortunately, this book suffers from its own storyline. One of the biggest disappointment was the fact that the story plot was very similar to many other stories targeted towards teens. The tale of naive boys chasing unattainable girls has come to become so tedious that it overshadows the author’s writing skills and messages, if any. Though it may sound cynical, if the author decided to partake in this common topic, the least he could of done was add his own flare to the plot through his characters; but the characters were brutally basic. They epitomize the exact opposite of what is necessary in order to be successful, which include staying true to yourself, abiding by the law, and valuing your education over other things. However when he met Margo, for some reason this value seemed to get lost, and he went on to risk many things in order to please this girl who he repeatedly states is the most beautiful person he has ever laid eyes on- and nothing more. He risks not getting into his dream college, and possibly landing in jail, in order to gain the favor of one girl.
Although this book was a let down, I will continue reading his works because it has become obvious that over time he has grown as a writer and learn how to achieve perspicuity.
Reviewed by R.O., Grade 10
Casa Verdugo Library
In my opinion this book is very entertaining and captivating. The book deals with romance, adventure, and plenty of mystery. I think people aged 13+ would enjoy this book because of how realistic and intense the story itself is. The book did make me feel a wide range of emotions because of the storylines and emotions that are described of each character.The author John Green did an amazing job of creating a book that had an ending that was very unexpected but realistic which made me feel bittersweet. All in all, a fantastic read!
Reviewed by Annabel G., Grade 9
Glendale Central Library
Paper Towns is a very beautifully written book. The character are very relatable and the plot is extremely interesting. You just can't wait to get to the bottom of the mystery and find out whether or not Quentin gets the girl. Margo is the character in the book that I find most fun to read about. Every interaction that happens between her and other characters is fun and spontaneous, reflecting her personality.
Reviewed by Rima, Grade 8
Glendale Central Library
To be completely honest, I did not love this book. Although it can be hilarious at times, the ending really set me off because it teaches a very very very deep life lesson. I liked the book for what it was but the ending really killed it for me. I would recommend this novel to teen girls looking for a fun read and will never read this book again. I hope you don't have to same experience as i had reading Paper Towns.
Reviewed by Zack H., Grade 9
Montrose Library
This book really changed my life because first I have never read a book that had been so realist in its writing. The way that the author wrote the characters to life was amazing and was so realistic. I was also drawn in by the mystery of the story and is one of the larger reason why I decided to finish the book. Over all I would most certainly recommend this to anyone who would like a long mysterious book that will leave them in awe. My only flaw with the book is that there is a slight amount of swearing.
Reviewed by Kevin N., Grade 9
Grandview Library
From hearing and reading basic points of this book, I thought would be really good. But, I'm not impressed. It sounded a bit confusing while reading the words and some of the slang it had. It was also too basic. I think the author could've done better with this, especially since this is John Green we're talking about because I know some of his books are bestsellers. I liked the cover of the book at least since it helped make this book more appealing. At first glance, this made me feel it's going to look pretty cool but later on in the ending perhaps it just became a bit boring. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to everyone but at the same time I probably would. If you really dedicate your time into reading literature and unique stories a lot, then I suggest you should read this even though this a three-star rating novel.
Reviewed by Hannah R., Grade 10
Downtown Central Library
I really enjoyed Paper Towns. The suspense and the ending of the novel was top notch, and each of the characters and their motives were explained by Quentin nicely. The book also portrayed teenagers realistically. I didn't really enjoy the almost hopeless ending, but I think that it was necessary for the story. People who like John Green books or books about teenage romance/ school would enjoy this book, but I would encourage everyone to give it a try. This book made me feel suspenseful, and it had plenty of parts that had me on the edge of my seat. The ending was sad, but it finished the story nicely. I liked this novel very much and it is a perfect John Green novel to try out without it being too sad.
Reviewed by NK, Grade 10
Montrose Library
Paper Towns is a story about Quentin "Q "Jacobsen who is intrigued by his across from the street neighbor, Margo Spiegelman. The two have been nothing more than acquaintances. Q admired Margo’s eccentricity and adventurous personality from afar. However, as seniors in high school, one night, Margo sneaks into Q's room and asks him to help her plan a revenge plot against numerous people she believed wronged her. Several days after Q helps Margo, she goes missing. Q notices that Margo had left small clues in her room that could be the solution to finding her whereabouts. It is up to Q and his close friends, Radar, Ben and Margo's friend, Lacey, to find out what happened to Margo and the reason for her abrupt disappearance.
I have mixed feelings about Paper Towns. The positives of this story are its characters. Q is a unique protagonist that has relatable struggles for young adults such as an existentialism crisis of what he wants in the future. However, he tries to set goals for himself to accomplish as can be seen when he has a conversation with Margo during her revenge plots. His friends, Ben Starling and Radar (otherwise known as Marcus Lincoln) while falling into the outcasts and nerd tropes, have comical personalities that give lightness to the sometimes heavy parts of the story. However, the one character that was problematic to me the most was Margo Spiegelman. While I enjoyed her character in the earlier parts of the novel, by the end of the story, she seemed to be out of character and the most unlikeable out of all the cast. She went from a calm collected and mischievous person to an ungrateful and spiteful character. I did like the clever usage of "paper towns" or fake towns mapmakers use to catch copyright infringers into the story-which was also a smart way of relating to the message of the story; that the smallest details are those that usually go unseen.
The weak points of "Paper Towns" was its overall plot and ending, While I think the overall plot was interesting, the execution of it was not done well. While the smaller answers to the mysteries were quite clever I felt like it dragged on too long a little bit. And when we get to the climax where they finally find out what happens to her, the quality of the book drops immensely. Returning to Margo's change of character, she shouts at Q and his friends for trying to find her and explain that the clues were to assure them she was okay. Naturally, finding clues on a person who disappeared with no reason would logically result into the characters piecing out where she went. I did not like how she insults Q and claims that he only went to find her to build his ego. While possible, I do not think Q's intentions were that and it was more of people did not care about Margo's disappearance so he wanted to initiate action, worried for her. He even mentioned he wants her to join his friend group. Qs friends leave but he stays. This was when Q realizes how horrible of a person Margo is and ends in them ultimately parting ways. The ending was underwhelming and unnatural. While I think it is good Q did not end up with Margo, them arguing and having a strained relationship only made their friendship worse than when they first decided to sneak out that night to help her. It had them return to them being acquaintances, if not worse-stranger and not showing any growth or development throughout the entire book.
Overall Paper Towns is an okay novel at best. John Green wrote much better works like "The Fault in Our Stars" and his lesser known works such as "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" with David Leviathan were much more consistent. I suggest reading this if you find yourself bored, an avid John Green fan, not having much options to read and/or need a time killer. It isn't a bad book, far from it, but one that gives itself promising expectations only to fall short on them.
Reviewed by Rafi, Grade 10
Glendale Central Library