After reading The Fault in Our Stars, I became obsessed with John Green. I picked up as many of his books (second hand) as I could. I also read An Abundance of Katherines and it was terrible. I had higher hopes for Paper Towns since the world had seen fit to turn it into a movie!
The Story
Paper Towns follows Quentin. “Q” as he is affectionately called is a college senior in the second half of his year, leading up to prom and graduation. In the middle of the night, his neighbor (and childhood friend) Margo comes to his window and asks for his help in a series of pranks (and revenge) all over Orlando.
It’s very clear very early that Q is in love with Margo. She pushes him past his desired comfort level, but he loves her anyway. Then, she goes missing just a few weeks before graduation.
The Let Down
When I read young adult novels, I want a cheesy love story. I want to connect with a character and get nostalgic for that time in my life and connect with young love. John Green really let me down. Spoiler: Quentin and Margo don’t end up together in the end. It’s this massive build up, and then we’re just let down.
I think I gave this three stars on Goodreads. Not awesome, but I didn’t feel it was a major waste of time. Will I read it again? Probably not, but do I regret reading it? No. It was a nice, fluffy, summer read to help me get back on track with my reading goals for 2019.
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