Book Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns by John Green
Publisher: ‎ Dutton Books
Release Date: October 16, 2008
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificent Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. When their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Margo has disappeared. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they’re for him. Embarking on an exhilarating adventure to find her, the closer Q gets, the less he sees the girl he thought he knew.

Quentin has been friends with Margo Roth Spiegelman since childhood. By high school, they had grown apart – she was the most popular girl in school, while he hung out with the band nerds. However, he never stopped having a crush on her. One night, she climbs through his bedroom window and convinces him to take her on a wild ride, playing pranks on her cheating boyfriend and other friends who have wronged her. The next day she’s gone. Quentin won’t stop looking for her – did she run away or did something bad happen to her?

Margo Roth Spiegelman is a damaged, enigmatic girl that reminded me of Alaska from Green’s Looking for Alaska. However, Margo wasn’t nearly as developed as Alaska. When she shows up at Quentin’s window, we know almost nothing about her, and I didn’t feel like we learned much about her later. Quentin is in love with her but I never understood why since I didn’t get to know her that well. A few flashbacks to her at school or something might have helped. I felt like Quentin and his friends were developed more than her, which is good.

The road trip that Quentin and his friends embark on to find Margo is ridiculous but in a good way. I think teens will find it funny and also wish that they could go on a trip like it. It exhausted me just reading about it! Margo leaves behind her copy of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman and Quentin refers to it often. I think Whitman lovers will appreciate that. I thought of my mom while I was reading Paper Towns – she loved Whitman.

Even though this wasn’t my favorite John Green novel, it’s written by John Green so it was still pretty darn good. Recommended.

Other John Green books I’ve reviewed:

Looking for Alaska
An Abundance of Katherines
The Fault in Our Stars
Turtles All the Way Down
Will Grayson, Will Grayson (co-authored by David Levithan)