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.)
