Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - Paper Towns

Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Paper Towns by John Green

7 reviews

fanboyriot's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Read For:

Road Trip

Small Town

Good Friendships

High School Setting

Missing Person/Runaway

I loved the writing style of this book. The adventure and mystery was so entertaining to read. It felt a bit ridiculous but it was so enjoyable to read. Though the ending wasn’t as satisfying as I was hoping for.

Release Date: 16, October 2008

POV: First Person

Spice: n/a

Rep: BIPOC (SC)

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kassidyreads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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b00ks_'s review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Paper Towns by John Green wasn't terrible, but I’m not going to actively try and recommend it to anyone. It was a nice and quick read, but I have three major complaints. 1. The slang and jokes in this book are super outdated and didn’t age well. They weren’t anything I couldn’t deal with, but they definitely didn’t make me laugh. 2. Lacey had no personality, and it felt like the only reason she was included was to check the “female character included in story” box. It was really annoying. 3. Margo’s obvious mental illness was completely glossed over. She ran away enough times that people were no longer surprised by her disappearance and she basically idolized death. Instead of using Margo’s actions as a way to discuss mental illness, she turned into a stereotypical “manic pixie dream girl.”

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chowie's review

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I enjoyed the characters and the adventure. It was a book I wanted to keep reading and finish, but the end left me feeling underwhelmed. I understand that the main character, through the story, had much personal growth and gained some beautiful friendships. However, the end made it seem that all his hard work and adventure was for nothing. The ending left questions unanswered, actions of the characters unexplained and my heart unsatified.

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stampest's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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rachel_here's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Paper Towns is kind of a funny book to me. We follow Quentin, an average high school guy who embarks on a one-night adventure with his neighboor and childhood crush Margo Roth Spiegelman. But the following day Margo has gone missing, and Quentin figures it is up to him to gather the clues that will lead him to her - and possibly help him understand who she really is.

The story was pretty entertaining. There is a mystery, clues that lead Quentin from one place to another, a road trip, american highschool shenanigans... But I can't say I enjoyed the book all that much.

Quentin as a main character isn't exactly likeable. He's judgmental, a bit of a snob, and assumes he knows people better than they do - which often leads him to devalue them or put them on a pedestral, as he does Margo. Which isn't a problem in itself because he has an arc to go through to grow as a person. Except I don't think his story arc was really all that conclusive.

For someone who was supposed to learn how to see Margo as a real person instead of this inaccessible, grand mystery he had to figure out, he sure kept seeing her as a metaphor or a poem or whatever-else until the very end. And since we only ever see Margo through Quentin's narration, where he never really listens to her or take to heart what she's trying to say but thinks he does, it kind of defeats the purpose of showing that she is her own person unrelated to him - which itself isn't exactly groundbreaking, or at least shouldn't be.

For what it is, it's a fun mystery / coming-of-age story. But it still is overly stereotypical, both with its characters (especially the side cast) and the way some of the themes are written. Some casual remarks treated as facts or "boys will be boys" also made me raise an eyebrow, but it was otherwise pretty okay. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

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gray_713's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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