Wednesday, December 17

Book Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Author: John Green
Title: Paper Towns
Genre: YA, Fiction, Romance, and mystery
Pages: 305
First Published: October 2008
Where I Got It: Borrowed from friend

"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..."


I read this book for the book club I am in, but I've been wanting to give John Green another go (I tried reading one of his books forever ago, but it was a DNF). I want to read 'The Fault in Our Stars', but I won't complain that I was made to read this book first. 

For this review, though, I am going to trying something different. I took notes after each part, so I will type them and expand about what I meant/thought/felt. 

Prologue 
You know me...I normally don't read these, but Sam demanded that I read it because it is important. She was right. Read it.
-3 stars

Part 1
-Slow beginning, but it sped up as it went along.
-It made me remember High School and some really good AND bad memories. I don't miss it, but it was a nice reminder of the old times.
-Ugh. Margo. I wanted to punch her attention-wanting ways. Yes, I loved the fact that she made Q go on an adventure of revenge with her...but still...ugh.
-Their adventure was fun! I am jealous I never did anything crazy like them! I especially loved Q's revenge on his bully - I was jealous!
-I loved the incorporation of TS Eliot. It really fit. 
-The end of part 1 left me agasp...so yes, I had to continue
-3 stars

Part 2
- After the grand adventure...everything hit a speed bump and slowed down again. 
-Meh, I hated Margo, but she did make things interesting.
-I skimmed a little bit.
-However, I'm glad the author gave some more spotlight to other characters; especially Q and his friends. It was nice to get to know them.
-As "clues" began to pop up, things got interesting again. 
-This was a long, long, loooooooong part. Honestly, I would have divided it into two, but that's my opinion.
-EEEK! The ending had me excited and dying to see what happened next!
-2 stars

Part 3
-Best section of the book. I simply could not stop reading the last 60 pages. 
-I loved how the author formatted the road trip. He went hour, by hour. It was fun and refreshing. 
-Ooooh, everything did tie together nicely in the end. Kuddos to the author!
-The ending....ohmygoodness. It was amazing, sad, and tragically hopeful. I still do not like Margo, but man....
-Poor Q.
-Poor Margo.
-I wish that the author had a little epilogue, but the get what the author was doing and he did a lovely job with ending. I love the last sentence of the book. It was simply my favorite. 
-5 stars 

Conclusion
I was a little worried about this book due to my previous attempt at reading this author, but I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It was good especially for a YA book (you know how picky I am on these). The characters were fun, even though I was not a fan for Margo. Q deserves a hell of a lot better in my opinion, but the heart cannot stop wanting what the heart wants.

I loved all the references to popular writers and quotes. It added extra flavoring to the story. I totally recommend this to those that need a good shake-up in their reading list. Especially for those looking for not a typical love story. Yes, it was an odd love story about a hopeless love, but also an adventure to find oneself. Part of part 2 was slow, but it was worth it to get to part 3, which was the best part throughout the whole book. 

Ok...I did an average of all the parts and it came out to 3.25, so I shall round and give this 3 stars.

Favorite Character(s): Q, Radar, and Lacey
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Margo, Margo's parents, and Ben (Meh)



5 comments:

Anachronist said...

Something out of ordinary in an YA position? I might be tempted, thanks for the review!

Blodeuedd said...

One day I will try something by him

Carole Rae said...

Ana, it certainly was out of the ordinary in YA.

B, do! Maybe start with this one? lol

Melliane said...

well at last you were able to finish it this time. I haven't tried any book by him but I heard so much that I know I'll have to try one one day.

Carole Rae said...

You should! Maybe start with this one.