From Goodreads:
Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime
loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when
she cracks open a window and climbs 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 he
gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...
Rating: 5 stars
It
is no secret to those who know me that John Green is one of my favorite authors
ever. I recently re-read Paper Towns as a read-along with a Goodreads group and
I must say that this book was even better the second time around.
If
you are familiar with John Green, you know that his books are full of
symbolism, deep understanding of human perception, literary references, very
important life lessons, and lots of humor. While Paper Towns is considered to
be a YA novel, I think that people of all ages can learn a lot from the story.
The
book is divided into three sections. In the first section we meet Quentin, who
goes by Q, a nerdy high school senior, his friends: Ben and Radar, and his
life-long crush Margo Roth Spielgelman. Margo is one of the most popular girls
in school, she is very adventurous and unconventional. She also happens to live
next door to Q. One night she sneaks into his room and convinces him to
accompany her on a revenge exploit against some of her friends who have wronged
her. The night is filled with adventure and some illegal acts, making this
section extremely fast paced and exciting. In this part we also get a glimpse
of the depth of the feelings Q has for Margo and we get to see the parts of the
real Margo underneath the persona she portrays. This night leaves Q feeling
that maybe a new page was turned and that he and Margo really do have something
special. But the next day he discovers that Margo has vanished. This is not the
first time she has run away, so at first he thinks nothing of it; until he
discovers new clues that Margo left for him.
In
the second section, Q is following all the clues that Margo left for him and we
get a better understanding of both of them, but particularly Margo. This
section also develops Ben and Radar who are mentioned in the first part but not
explored. I absolutely adored both of them. The bond of friendship between the
three seniors is developed and tested over and over as the clues become harder
and Q becomes more and more obsessed with finding Margo. Radar and Ben offer a
very much needed comedic relief in the most intense situations; I often found
myself laughing out loud when Radar and Ben were around. One of my favorite
things about this section was the exploration of “Song of Myself” by Walt
Whitman. There were so many angles of this poem discussed that I finally feel
like I fully grasped the message of the poem. I tend to struggle when reading
poetry, but John Green managed to offer a lot of insight into Whitman’s message.
This section is slower paced than the first, but still offers a lot of intense
moments as Q not only learns more about Margo, but also about himself.
The
third section I won’t discuss much because it is very short and it offers the
resolution to the book. I will just say that I thought it has a very satisfying
ending without being predictable or conventional.
To
sum it all up: I loved this book; the story was very well written and unique. I
believe this book will leave readers pondering different ideas that were
presented and that there are many valuable lessons to be learned from this
book. I am super excited about the movie adaptation that will be released this
summer. So go forth and read this amazing book before hitting the theater!
Okay so I have this book but I haven't started it yet. I've only read one book, The Fault in Our Stars before it came out in theaters. I wasn't sure if I was ready for such deep feels. But the movie trailer looks amazing and your review only increases that desire to read the book. So it looks like I'm going to be upping it on my TBR list. I can't wait to discuss it with you when I do finally do so.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to discuss! I think you are really going to love this book. I've left out all spoilery things from the review. There is so much depth. John Green is just amazing; I would ready anything he wrote, even his grocery list 😜
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