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Paper Towns: Review

Synopsis: 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.

Details: Paper Towns by John Green, 305 pages, 4.10 stars on Goodreads

My Thoughts: First off, I really hated this cover. I'm not a fan of covers with just people's faces on them because it takes more than just a seemingly-ordinary girl's face to draw me in. At least in Firelight, the girl on the cover has those awesome pupils and scales. The only thing that made me pick this up was because it was written by John Green, and I loved his other two books, Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines. I adore his writing style with the witty dialogue and narration, and so I was looking forward to reading this.


For once :P, I wasn't disappointed. Well, okay, I was disappointed on one respect. In Looking for Alaska, the protagonist was named Miles. He was a little nerdy as well as shy, sweet, and sensitive. He was in love with an unpredictable, bold, indescribable girl named Alaska, who he doesn't get. In An Abundance of Katherines, the protagonist was named Colin. He was a little nerdy as well as shy, sweet, and sensitive. He was in love with an unpredictable, bold, indescribable girl named Katherine, who he doesn't get. In Paper Towns, the protagonist was named Quentin. He was a little nerdy as well as shy, sweet, and sensitive. He was in love with an unpredictable, bold, indescribable girl named Margo, who he doesn't get.

When I read Looking for Alaska, I was thinking, "Wow, this is an amazing book! Miles is such a real character! Alaska is fascinating!" When I read An Abundance of Katherines, I was thinking, "Wow, this is a great book! Colin really reminds me of Miles, though, and Katherine is basically Alaska. I like Lindsey, though!" When I read Paper Towns, I was thinking, "Wow, this is a good book! But seriously, John Green, I get it. You were a little nerdy as well as shy, sweet, and sensitive when you were seventeen. You met a crazy girl. Now please, please, please write about something else."


That said, I still looooove this book. And John Green. I mean, John Green's writing. Of course. UMM LET'S CHANGE THE TOPIC NOW. LET'S TALK ABOUT ADAM GREGORY.



Oh. I'm sorry. I'll go back to the book now. Even though yeah, it's the same plot again, it didn't pain me to read it because he has the wittiness and the quirkiness and the funniness going on. And sure, the themes are repeated a bit, but they're so fascinating. For the duration of the book, John Green makes you believe in Margo, in her craziness (how many times did I say "ness" in this post? Green has that effect on me - err, John Green, not the color green), and that maybe, just maybe, Quentin will get her. 


There's so much more I want to say about this book, but it'll be full of adjectives and adverbs and all sorts of poor writing. And so I'll leave you with the rating.


Plot - 3/5
Characters - 4/5
Writing - 5/5
Impact - 2.5/5
Overall - 72.5% = B+

(Note: My new grading system is somewhat unconventional. A B+ is about four stars, which is what I gave it on Goodreads.)

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I've heard so many great things about John Green that I really want to get one of his books and read it soon. I'm with you on the cover of this one, I'm not a big fan of it either. Maybe I'll read Looking For Alaska first, great review!

Izzy G. said...

cynthial - You definitely should read one of his books, they're amazing! LFA is my favorite, followed by Paper Towns, and then ABOF. :)

Angela @ Reading Angels said...

I've never read John Green, but you've made me decide to go look one up!
I think I'll go with Looking for Alaska since you seemed to love it so much!

Izzy G. said...

Reading Angel - Great! I hope you like it :)

Darlyn said...

Wow..that is some great review i ever read..it's entertaining to read your review but it's fun. i have not read any of his book but my said he's good too =)

I'm from CEP.

Jennifer Hoffine said...

I totally agree! I love John Green's writing, but I get it too! I hope he listens to your plea to please write something else.

Natalie said...

I've heard awesome things about Paper Towns and John Green, but I haven't read it yet. I'm glad you enjoyed it (mostly)!

Izzy G. said...

Darlyn - Thank you :)

Jennifer - I hope his next book is about something else!

Natalie - You should definitely read him at some point. =]

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