Book Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Title: Paper Towns
Author: John Green
Series: None
Published: September 2009
Publisher: Speak
Pages: 305
From: Walmart
Rating: 9/10

A long time ago, like probably ten years or so, I got the novel Looking for Alaska from Barnes and Noble or somewhere. The candle on the cover had caught my eye. I read it and instantly loved the entire premise of that book.

Since then, I hadn’t read anything else written by American author John Green until I decided to pick up the book Paper Towns, mostly thanks to the movie that was coming out (I usually don’t like watching movies before reading the books).

This was the third John Green novel I’ve ever read. The second, The Fault in Our Stars, wasn’t what I was hoping for. Paper Towns, on the other hand, was perfect.

Green has a knack for bringing to life such relateable characters. Margo and Quentin are regular teenagers, going through high school and unsure where they fit in. They have quirks, just like everybody else, but they keep that to themselves, just like everybody else. That is, until Margo goes missing and Quentin believes she created a map for him to find her.

I love Green’s humor. He gives each of his characters their own personality in this novel, and they each have similar but differing senses of humor. It’s refreshing compared to his latest novel, when I couldn’t tell one character from another during the dialogue.

I suppose one thing I didn’t like would have to be how these interesting books are always for young adults. It’s great, getting kids to read and such, but sometimes the ones I find the most interesting are geared toward the younger generation, when I feel so many adults would love to read something as intrinsic and interesting as Paper Towns.

And, the storyline was intense. Green looked at unusual themes in literature and made them normal and relateable: not fitting in, wanderlust, greed. Green then used these themes to weave an intricate mystery, and out popped a wonderful story called Paper Towns.

Overall, this is one of my favorites by Green so far. I plan on rereading Looking for Alaska, and catching up with his other novels, but this one shows Green’s personality and writing style very well.

For more John Green, check out his other novels, such as Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines. Or, watch Paper Towns, which is out in theaters and soon to be released on DVD (if it isn’t already, anyway).