- Paper Towns by John Green
- Available from Dutton Juvenile
- 352 pages, hardcover
- Published October, 2008
- ISBN: 978-0525478188
It’s hard to find a good coming of age novel that rings true without coming across as trite, has good solid characters that are easy to identify with at its center and can hold your attention. John Green’s Paper Towns does all these things effortlessly. With colorful characters, an intriguing plot and a sympathetic protagonist, Paper Towns is a tender love story, mystery novel and the epitome of a young adult novel all rolled into one.
Paper People in Paper Houses, Living in Paper Towns…
Quentin ‘Q’ Jacobson, a high school senior a few short weeks from graduation, is in love with--and has been since his adolescence--his next door neighbor, the fee spirited, reckless and undeniably beautiful Margo Roth Spiegelman. After her circle of friends betrays her, she enlists Q’s help in getting revenge before promptly disappearing, seemingly off the face of the planet.
It’s up to Q, following a series of clues left by Margo--some intentional and some not--to learn her fate. What follows is a fascinating mystery that unravels artfully before your very eyes, with a climax that will take your breath away.
This Time, You Should Believe the Hype
Somewhat of an internet celebrity, due to the popularity of a vlog project with his brother called Brotherhood 2.0, John Green has a built in audience for his novels. After Green read the prologue of Paper Towns on youtube, preorders for the book exploded. On its release, Paper Towns landed smack dab in the middle of the New York Times Bestseller List.
Often, books that are hyped through word of mouth can be a disappointment. Paper Towns deserves all the praise that it has received and any more positive publicity that is heaped on its reputation.
In Paper Towns, John Green constructs three dimensional characters with flaws, quirks and real problems. The dialogue is real; the situations, while sometimes far fetched, believable. Right up until the last page, the book keeps you intrigued; on closing it, you may find yourself wishing the story would continue.
In Q and Margo, the audience can find different sides of the same coin. Quentin, the book's narrator, is the scaredy cat in all of us who likes to play it safe. Rather than going after what he wants when the opportunity presents itself, he lets his chances slip by. Margo, carefree and grasping at adventure with both hands, is his opposite and his perfect match; she brings out in Q what he can't bring out in himself and vice versa. Their relationship is complicated. There is no monumental moment of whispered endearments or a grand confession of love; it's simple, dignified and utterly realistic.
For a Young Adult novel, Paper Towns digs pretty deep, with insight you might not expect from a book targeted at teenagers. It raises questions of depth that even adults can appreciate and lacks the typical shallowness of most YA books you can find.
While Paper Towns is not flawless--sharp, analytical minds and veteran watchers of police procedurals will pick up on the clues to the story’s central mystery and decipher their meaning long before the characters themselves do--on the whole, it’s positively astounding. Emotionally potent and poignantly heart breaking, Paper Towns is a book to be enjoyed by teens and adults. If there’s any justice in the world, Paper Towns will make John Green a household name.
