Author: John Green
Enjoyment Rating: ***
This book would be rated: PG-13 for teenage pranks and lots of language
Source: Library Copy
Books I've read this year: 120
It's been so long since I last reviewed books that I will undoubtedly forget some that I read. In fact, I've almost forgotten the plot of Paper Towns, and I certainly would have forgotten that I'd read it if it hadn't been for the draft here on Blogger. This has been the year of John Green for me, and now I think I might have read all of his YA novels. In Paper Towns, Quentin and Margo are high school seniors living next door to each other in suburban Orlando. Quentin has always had a thing for Margo, but she has always seemed distant-- aloof, removed, too cool. Then one night, he finds Margo at his window and she leads him on an adventure all over town-- a night he will never forget. And then, Margo disappears. The thing is, though, that Margo has disappeared in the past, so no one seems overly concerned-- in fact, her parents just want her to turn 18 so they don't have to worry about her any more. But Quentin is focused on finding her-- and he thinks she has left clues to let him know where she is.
I don't want to give any spoilers here, but one of the things that surprised me most about Paper Towns was that Green was willing to write a story where the ending wasn't entirely happy. He does a great job capturing teen dialogue (particularly the kind of raunchy talk that we, as parents, desperately hope our kids don't engage in). He also does a great job with characters-- I felt that both Quentin and Margo were richly drawn and complicated, and I loved Quentin's nerdy psychotherapist parents.
No comments:
Post a Comment