"Margo always loved mysteries. And in everything that came afterward, I could never stop thinking that maybe she loved mysteries so much that she became one."
I don't know why I waited so long to read Paper Towns, because I loved it oh so very much. Okay, maybe I do know the reason why I put off reading it. Because I was totally put off by the un-originality of one of John Green's other novels, The Fault in Our Stars (which I didn't read), that I kind of wrote him off as just another YA author with unoriginal stories about teens in love in high school. And Paper Towns was just that, except it wasn't unoriginal.
There's just something so endearing about YA contemporary novels. Like I can sink my heart and teeth into them almost no matter what happens. I'm so glad I finally decided to read Paper Towns. Everything about it is very original, funny, heartwarming and heartbreaking. Quentin, who narrates the story, has been in love with neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman since they were kids. When she goes missing after a night of payback to those who had hurt them, Quentin decides that he must find out what happened to her. With a fun and quirky cast of supporting characters, overall, it was a very entertaining read. I think it's worth pointing out that Green wrote Paper Towns a few years before The Fault in Our Stars, so my opinions of his writing may not have been completely valid.
There were a few minor issues I had with the plot, but I'm choosing to overlook all of them because as a whole, I really enjoyed Paper Towns. It may be cliché, but it's just so lovably cliché. It reminded me of the first time I read Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park; it was just so quotable. There are so many passages that I wanted to write down in a notebook and stare at forever because they are so accurate, so real and so true. I also found Quentin to be one of the best YA protagonists I've read. The way he thinks and the way he narrates just really stood out to me, and I soon fell in love with him as a character. He basically reminds me of a straight version of myself. If Paper Towns was my narrative, I'd be chasing after Quentin!
I'm glad that I chose this to be my first John Green read. Clichés aside, he does have an exceptional voice in the YA literature community and his writing style definitely reflects that in Paper Towns. If you haven't read any John Green (like me a week ago), I'd definitely recommend starting with this one. It's original, quirky and downright lovable. 5/5 stars.
(I also watched the film adaption after finishing the book. Overall I enjoyed it and I can respect the changes they made from the book, but my only problem with the movie is the actor who portrayed Quentin, Nat Wolff. I kind of liked him at first, but he just really did not live up to the image of Quentin I had in my head. I obviously know the filmmakers' vision could probably never match up with that of mine, but I just didn't like Wolff as Quentin and what bothers me is that I think I could have; he's definitely cute enough to be Quentin, but the actor's mannerisms and overall body language gave me the sense that Quentin was just another high school boy pining over a high school girl who has trouble expressing his feelings, and that is just NOT the impression I got from the character in the book. But this is just me; everyone feels something different about the characters they read in a book, and I can respect the filmmakers for what they created. I did, however, really enjoy Cara Delevingne as Margo and I think that was an excellent casting choice. I'd give the Paper Towns movie 3.5/5 stars; maybe a little closer to 4.)
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