REVIEW: Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns by John Green

My rating: 

Who is the real Margo?

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... 

"You are going to papertowns. And you are never coming back."

REACTION AFTER READING THE BOOK

I didn't hate this book but I didn't exactly love it either. I liked the first few chapters of this book, but towards the second half of the book, it became really boring and dragging on a lot of parts. The ending too was pretty anti-climactic and dull.

I would just like to say though, I still love John Green. The Fault in our Stars is probably still his best work for me in my opinion.

HOW IT BEGINS

"The way I figured it, everyone needs a miracle."

THE GIST

Quentin or Q was a boy who have a bright future ahead of him. He was smart, has good friends, has supportive parents. Also, he has a bit of an obsession with his childhood friend, Margo Roth Spiegelman. And when I say obsessed, I don't mean it in a creepy kind of way. Just in a way that he repeats her entire name like it was a prayer. It was annoying sometimes really.

"The thing about Margo Roth Spieglman is that really all I could ever do was let her talk, and when she stopped talking I encourage her to go on, due to the fact that 1. I was incontestably in love with her, and 2. She was absolutely unpresidented in every way, and 3. She never really asked me any questions, so the only way to avoid silence was to keep her talking."

One night, the girl of his dreams came to his bedroom and asked for his car keys. Margo had a revenge plot against her boyfriend or rather her cheating ex-boyfriend. So our boy Quentin here obviously decided to help her, despite the craziness of her plans. Why? Well because he was crazy for her. And this was his chance to spend some time with her before they graduate.

So what happened was, they went all around down doing all the stuff that Margo has planned. And for once in his life, he felt fearless. And then he started to see Margo in a different light. Then of course the night ended, they had to go back to their houses.

And the next day, Margo Roth Spiegelman went missing.

“Margo always loved mysteries. And in everything that came afterward, I could never stop thinking that maybe she loved mysteries so much that she became one.”

THE CHARACTERS

Quentin

He was an okay character. He was too generic for my taste though. He really reminded me of Pudge (if that was his name) from Looking for Alaska, which is not a good thing. They were both shy, quiet type of guy who seems to know what they want in life. And also, both had a crush on this outgoing, spunky girl who has family issues.

One thing I think kind of separated him from Pudge (if that was his name), was his insane love for enumerating stuff. I think I gave an example on the gist part of this review. He likes enumerating his reasons and all that.

Another thing... he was obsessed with Margo, or sounded like it. And it gets annoying sometimes, I mean come on man... There are other girls out there. It's kind of creepy Quentin. Stop.

Margo Roth Spieglman

I actually liked Margo. At least during the first quarter of the book. The quirkiness. Her personality. How she wasn't the one to cry because her boyfriend cheated on her, instead what she does is plot against him and her so-called slutty best friend, Becca. I'm not saying its okay to get back at them, but I just really liked how she wasn't a sob-fest. I liked that she knew what she wants and knows how to do it.

It was weird though, because this girl who we met planting dead fishes to other peoples car or houses seems like a different girl to who I met towards the end of the book. It was like she wanted to be found but when she was found... she didn't know what to do. I dunno... I'm a bit pissed at her reaction and all the things she said towards the last quarter of the book. And I was like... "meeeehh.. i didn't think she was worth the effort of driving all night to be with." In the end, she seems to me like she was just this rich girl who had rich girl problems... That was all she was to me on the end. Eeehh.. Sorry. No not sorry.

The Secondary Characters

They were actually okay. I felt that they had more personality that Quentin and Margo. Haha. I actually liked Ben and Radar. Q's parents were okay. Margo's parents and her ex-boyfriend was a douche. Hehe. Enough said.

MARGO + QUENTIN = I DON'T BUY IT

I was not convinced. I did not know how Quentin could assume he loved Margo when all they ever shared was this long ago past when they were kids. And Margo may have liked him, but why? Why? I don't get it. She explained it near the end, but I still don't buy it.

MY ISSUES

- I'm not sure if this book was supposed to make me root for TEAM MARGO AND QUENTIN, because if it was, then it didn't do it for me.

- The roadtrip was too long and too boring. I don't think much have happened except that near accident thingy I guess. But other than that, I feel that it could have been shorter.

- I wanted more puzzles and clues. I wanted Q and the others to find Margo based on the number of clues she left behind, I didn't realise there was only that clue on the doorjam... Damn.

- The ending. Was an anticlimactic bullshit.

WHAT I LIKED

- The writing was good. I always had a thing for how John Green writes and all the metaphors he uses.

- The message of the story was clear.

a. To be who you want to be, even when no one else wants you to be who you want to be.

b. People aren't always what you want them to be.

c. Be fearless. Take chances.

FINAL WORDS

I love John Green. I really do. But I don't think I will be picking up any of his other books any time soon.

I think John Green is a great writer. I like how he writes but I felt that the characters on this book and Looking for Alaska are too similar. Quentin and Pudge were too similar and so it Margo and Alaska. So that was a bit of a let down.

Okay this book wasn't bad as I make it out to be. It does have its moments, especially during the first part. I breezed through that part pretty quickly because it was fun and very relateable. Although I wouldn't go through such lengths to just try and get even with someone. Haha.

I think the think about John Green's books that I like is the message that he always want his readers to think about after they're done with the book. And with this book, it was about taking risks, being who you want to be, and knowing that not everyone will be as you want or expect them to be. I think those are always a plus when it comes to his books.

I'll still be watching the movie though. Darn that movie trailer for being so catchy and piquing my interest. Haha. But yeah, I just wouldn't get my hopes too high this time.

If you guys have read the book what did you think of it, did you like it or were you disappointed? Let me know so we could talk about it down below. :)

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