Linda
Written on Dec 30, 2019
Using this for class reading with one of my classes next semester - students' choice.
From the bestselling author of The Fault in our Stars and Looking for Alaska, now a major TV series
Quentin Jacobsen has always loved Margo Roth Spiegelman, for Margo (and her adventures) are the stuff of legend at their high school. So when she one day climbs through his window and summons him on an all-night road trip of revenge he cannot help but follow.
But the next day Margo doesn’t come to school and a week later she is still missing. Q soon learns that there are clues in her disappearance . . . and they are for him. But as he gets deeper into the mystery – culminating in another awesome road trip across America – he becomes less sure of who and what he is looking for.
Masterfully written by John Green, this is a thoughtful, insightful and hilarious coming-of-age story.
- ISBN10 140884818X
- ISBN13 9781408848180
- Publish Date 19 December 2013 (first published 1 October 2008)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint Bloomsbury YA
- Format Paperback
- Pages 320
- Language English
Reviews
Using this for class reading with one of my classes next semester - students' choice.
moraa
Written on Nov 9, 2019
Not too bad. Not too great either.
Steph L
Written on Apr 25, 2016
layawaydragon
Written on Feb 19, 2016
Q's adventure on the wildside and the road trip were fun and I liked seeing Lacey become a real character. I understand Margo's need to run but in the end only Q became a person to her. Not Lacey, her friend she was wrong about, nor anyone else. Maybe that's the problem, Q and his friends learned a lot and Margo...
Oh well. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood or (more likely) it's not the John Green novel for me. *shrug*
thepunktheory
Written on Jan 16, 2016
As my regular readers will know, I was very fond of John Green's The Fault in our Stars and its adaptation. You can guess that I was super excited when found out Paper Town will also be turned into a movie. However, it took me a bit to finally get started with the book and then also check out the film.
Let me begin with the novel:
Well, well. Unfortunately I don't have too many positive things to say about it. Basically everything about the book annoyed me. Margo Roth Spiegelman is not special but an egoistic bitch who cares only about herself and never thinks about consequences. It only took me a few chapter to become totally fed up with her character.
Furthermore, her actions were - well - a bit extreme. I was very irritated that no matter what she did (breaking into a house, setting of the alarm, having the cops rush there, etc.) there never were any consequences. That made the book extremely unrealistic.
Another point that really really really annoyed me: Walt Whitman. When Margo disappears she leaves some clues behind, one of them being a copy of Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Throughout the book Quentin goes back to the poem Song of Myself. Not only once but several times. I reached a point where I just wanted to throw the book against the wall just when Whitman was mentioned.
And finally: the ending. I just hated it. It wasn't credible, it wasn't inspiring, I was simply glad I had reached the last page.
Now the movie:
I liked the cast, the actors really matched with what I imagined the characters would be like. It's nice to see some familiar faces from The Fault in our Stars, especially Ansel Elgort's cameo appearance was brilliant. Moreover, a bunch of the unrealistic stuff from the book was changed or left out. Therefore many events felt much more credible. And I really appreciated that they cut Whitman down to a minimum. They also changed up the ending and thus made Margo look far more sympathetic. She's far less of a bitch in the adaptation!
But unfortunately the movie wasn't anything special. Not really fascinating, the story not intriguing or unique. It's a typical teen flick.
To sum it up I have to state that neither book nor movie are particularly awesome but the film is far better. Basically everything about John Green's novel disappointed and annoyed me. However, as many bits were different in the adaptation I enjoyed it far more!
Bianca
Written on Jan 15, 2016
What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.
ammaarah
Written on Jan 8, 2016
Paper Towns follows the typical John Green formula of a quirky and intelligent main character with lewd sidekicks and an unattainable girl and also has the same type of characterizations as Looking for Alaska e.g. Quentin/Miles, Alaska/Margo, but I couldn't care less. Green creates nerdy and quirky characters that embrace their nerdiness and doesn't apologize for it. Green also has a unique writing style that's nerdy and quirky and that I thoroughly enjoy reading.
Paper Towns starts off with a really cool concept. The main character, Quentin is assigned by Margo, his neighbour and crush, to help her take revenge on many people one night and the next day she disappears. She has left clues and now it is up to Quentin to find her. However this whole concept did fail me.
This story revolves around finding Margo. Firstly, I couldn't understand the relationship between Margo and Quentin. They were friends as kids, but I didn't get to see this friendly relationship or Quentin's crush towards her develop. Secondly, I found it unlikely that Quentin would help someone do something that they don't really know about for someone that they haven't spoken to in 8-9 years. Lastly, I didn't like Margo as a character. She was too much of a mystery and reminded too much of Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby (don't ask me why, but she did) and I don't like Daisy.
"Margo was not a miracle. She was not an adventure. She was not a fine and precious thing. She was a girl." (Quentin Jacobsen)
I also did not enjoy the way this book ended, but this issue is more of a personal one. I do like all the loose ribbons to be wrapped up into a neat little tiny box called THE END. I do understand that endings need to be realistic and I appreciate and respect all books that do that, but I'm a sucker for happy endings. I read books to escape from reality and for things to go right in fictional worlds. This is why the ending just didn't work for me.
Paper Towns might have started off being a light-hearted, silly, laugh-out-loud book with mostly likable characters (Margo is not one of them), but the shallow waters becomes a deep ocean. I didn't realise how much of depth this book had, until I closed it and pondered over it. This book takes what I thought about characters and people, what the main character in the story thinks about others and reveals in tiny bits and pieces that what we see from the outside and what we think isn't who that person really is.
"What a treacherous thing it is to believe that a person is more than a person." (Quentin Jacobsen)
I wasn't sure whether I wanted to read Paper Towns, but I'm so glad that I did. This is definitely my favourite John Green book!
Kim Deister
Written on Jul 27, 2015
Q has lived next to Margo his entire life, a childhood friend that eventually became his unrequited first love. As they grew up, their worlds became farther apart. She was the popular girl and he was a bit on the geeky side. He is obsessed with her, blind to anything that could possibly mar his love for her. One night, she climbs into his window in the middle of the night dressed and coerces him (not that it took much coercing!) into an unexpected adventure. It's a night that gives Q a renewed hope for a future with Margo. But then the next day arrives and everything turns on edge. Everything Q thinks he knows about Margo is turned upside down and now he has to follow clues, clues that she left for him, in order to find answers.
As Q finds and follows the clues Margo has left, his character grows so much. He learns as much about himself as he learns about Margo. One of the most important themes of this book, in my opinion, is that what we see in a person is often very different from the reality. We see the surface, what we want to see. And that can make us blind to anything else that could tarnish that perception. And then when the veil is removed, it leaves you bewildered. That is Q's journey. But this is also a book about friendship. A group of his friends and hers come together and the stupid cliques of high school, at least in a small way and in a small moment, are ignored Family dynamics also play a key role in the unfolding story, and how those dynamics can affect a person.
There is so much to enjoy about this book. There are no easy answers, no perfect solutions, no perfect people. And that is a good thing because that is how life and the people living really are.
My Recommendation: As with all of his books, I definately recommed Paper Towns! These books are full of relatable characters and a story that engages every emotion.
THis review originally appeared on my blog, The Caffeinated Diva reads.
jeannamichel
Written on Jul 3, 2015
Margo Roth Spiegelman is the next door neighbor to Quentin Jacobson who has always been in love with her. They used to hang out as children but as they got older, high school cliques brought them apart. Still, Quentin pines after her. When Margo, out-of-nowhere, shows up at his window one late night, she takes him on an adventure he will never forget—which includes taking blackmail pictures of a naked guy, seeing the world for what it is, and breaking into Sea World. The day after, Quentin believes things to be changed between them but when Margo doesn’t show up to school, he realizes she is missing. Left with clues that only Quentin understands, he must find the girl who showed him a glimpse of the world she knows.
I haven’t read a lot of John Green novels. I know enough, however, to believe that something is lacking with Paper Towns. With both, The Fault in Our Stars and The Abundance of Katherines, John Green’s ever-present poetic style of writing shines through. As much as this does not take away from the story, Green’s writing style lacks the poetic flow in this novel. Instead, his voice becomes much more Quentin, an immature senior in high school. And when I say immature, I mean immature. Paper Towns will have readers laughing but shaking their heads at the same time.
Despite it lacking some John Green-ness, Paper Towns is one of those books readers will look back upon and recommend to others.
Even though the protagonist prides himself on being so immature with continuous inappropriate jokes, Paper Towns needs to be looked at differently. It is not just about the main story, but what runs deeper than that. John Green creates this title on a few speeches Margo announces to Quentin. The philosophy behind paper towns and for Margo’s personality is genius. The message which Green brings forth is something that a lot of people forget. It is not about living a cookie-cutter life; it’s about doing what you want. Think outside the box. Do what your heart tells you to. As seniors in high school, John Green chose the best sort of characters to tell his message from.
With this, Paper Towns became about a girl trying to live outside the box. This is extremely relatable. If readers can’t relate to Margo, they certainly can relate to Quentin. With the complete opposites that are Margo and Quentin, readers were able to witness a character pushed out of his shell, in which he realizes that there is more to life than his small little town. John Green creates an original coming-of-age story like no other.
Overall, Paper Towns may not be John Green’s best work but it is certainly a work that should not be overlooked. Its movie, based on the book, is being released July 24 which I definitely look forward to. Paper Towns takes readers on a wild ride across Orlando, Florida and New York and shows them a little piece of the world.
ellieroth
Written on Jun 18, 2015
Luego de terminar el libro, tuve varios inicios para la reseña, solo que cada vez que me decidía por una, quería profundizarla más adelante y sentía que iba a sonar repetitiva. ¿Me gustó el libro? Se podría decir que sí, no lo amé de principio a fin PERO...
Tengo una relación extraña con los libros de John Green, a penas terminé de leer 'Bajo la Misma Estrella', sentí que había encontrado mi siguiente mina de oro. Entonces, leí 'Buscando a Alaska' y comencé a pensar que quizá el autor era del tipo one hit wonder, porque leyendo las sinopsis de sus siguientes libros, no sentí que aportará nada diferente de lo que ya había leído en Alaska. Terminando ahora Ciudades de Papel, sigo sintiendo que sus historias van por un mismo camino: Chico idealiza chica, chico no consigue nada con chica, chica desaparece, chico se obsesiona con chica. Eso por ponerlo de una manera delicada.
Ciudades de Papel no fue un libro fácil de leer para mí, 1) porque tiene capítulos y párrafos que sinceramente hubiera obviado totalmente y 2) porque soy Margo Roth Spielgerman.
Según BuzzFeed al menos.
Una de las razones, muy superficiales, de leer Paper Towns era eso, en el test de BuzzFeed (soy ADICTA a los tests), los comentarios decían cosas como "Margo es la mejor" "Margo es tan compleja" "Tienes una suerte que te tocó Margo" y parecidos. De verdad quería saber si teníamos algún tipo de parecido.
Lo irónico de esta idealización por parte de muchos lectores hacía Margo, es la misma cosa que Margo detesta, toda esta gente de papel que la hizo sentirse cómoda siendo una chica de papel. Y sí, tenemos un montón en común, las dos somos de irnos sin despedirnos, hemos quizá creado una imagen entre nuestras personas cercanas que no es, sino la versión de nosotras que nos gustaría ser. Hemos lastimado personas que queremos por el cansancio de pretender, la parte de pretender a veces sin querer, ser o sentir algo. Incluso la relación con su familia es un poco parecida a la mía (no al extremo del libro), los padres son personas también y tienen un límite. No soy creyente ni apoyo eso del amor incondicional.
Tengo sentimientos ambivalentes con ella, me veo en ella cuando no estuve/estoy en mis mejores momentos pero a la vez admiro su capacidad de poder escapar.
No pude disfrutar el libro a un 100%, como dije más arriba hay muchísimas cosas que hubiera suprimido, tiene un inicio demasiado largo (Margo se me hace tan presuntuosa), el cuerpo de la lectura es muy repetitiva y frustrante muchas veces y es recién el final donde puedo agarrarle cariño a la lectura.
No hablo de los otros personajes porque el libro es básicamente la obsesión de Quentin con Margo, no digo que los personajes secundarios no son interesantes o divertidos, pero no aparecen tanto como me hubiera gustado.
Al terminar el libro no me reconcilié con los libros de John Green, sigo creyendo lo mismo pero no voy a negar que resalte muchas frases y me reí unas cuantas veces.
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