Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Format: Paperback
Pages: 305
Publisher: Speak
Publication Date: September 22, 2009
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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...

My Thoughts 

I was anticipating the day that I got to start reading Paper Towns. I had always wanted to read this book, especially after reading The Fault in our Stars (which I loved), but just never got around to doing so. Finally, someone on Goodreads chose for me to read this in a challenge that I was participating in. Although, I rated Paper Towns with just a 3.5, I am glad that she chose this book for me. Here is why...

Paper Towns is a book that definitely has it's twists and turns, which is what kept me intrigued and turning each page, but it, no doubt, had some very slow parts. Margo and Quentin, Q, are the two main characters of this book, but these are the two characters I had no connection to...whatsoever. I was very disappointed in the lack of personality and underdevelopment we received from Q, I desperately wanted some growth from him.

The book starts off with something that no one would want to go through, but the young lives of Margo and Quentin have to go through that pain. Soon, we fast forward to their high school days where Margo is miss popular and Quentin, a 'band geek.' The two have drifted a part from their younger days, but from afar Q is still admiring Margo. One night changes it all, when a thrilling adventure turns their lost friendship into something new. But, soon the friendship is gone when Margo makes a decision that effects everyone around her. 

Q searches for clues and goes through the rest of his senior year desperately trying to figure out what went wrong...or even what he did to have caused this. He just wants to know, is his childhood friend alive or dead? 

Throughout this story there are a tremendous amounts of ups and downs, which I enjoyed. John Green, a spectacular author, did keep me intrigued throughout the book, but I do think there could have been more because at times I tended to doze off. The clues become obvious, but no one else in the book seems to think so and there are moments that go on forever that should only last a few pages. I wouldn't say I was disappointed in this book, I just wish that there would have been more depth within the two main characters.