Paper Towns

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.

My second John Green book in a row was just as impressive as the first one. 

I realized after reading Looking For Alaska and Paper Towns one after the other that they actually share a pretty similar model. Both books involve searching for a girl that the main character is fascinated by (and a little in love with). Although sometimes the "searching" is a bit more metaphorical, each quest is a journey of self discovery for the hero and the outcome of each search is not quite what you expect.  

Although Paper Towns has a lot in common with John Green's first book, it is a story unto itself with its own characters and settings. The main heroes in this story are really hilarious while still managing to capture the magic of pondering a deeper meaning that I believe is the author's trademark.
That's the thing that I really love about these books. You will really enjoy yourself while reading them, but at the same time, you're thinking about what you would do in the character's situation, and by the end, you've given your brain a good workout and maybe have even emerged enlightened about something that you'd never considered before.  

Aside from the deep stuff, the characters were especially fun to think about as just teenagers. Q and his friends are in their last stretch of high school, and I know how that feels. The mood of this entire book really reflects those emotions: adventure, uncertainty, and fun; as well as the desire to do something important with your life.

This is a novel that I will look forward to reading again and recommending to my friends! It also makes me even more eager to get my hands on other John Green books!


DFTBA!