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suchonalways__'s review against another edition
4.0
First things first! This is exactly like other john green stories! same characters, same kind of plot, same kind of recklessness, same nerdy boy and super cool girl, same kind of idea about life but still i loved it!
there is something innocent about this book that i loved! the beginning , the ending was great! my complain was with the middle part which i felt really unnecessarily dragged!
and the characters! well they were real! this kind of people live in real life and even if i dislike some of them i don't blame the writer for writing stories with such characters!
may be i'll forget the story soon but it was a fun read!
there is something innocent about this book that i loved! the beginning , the ending was great! my complain was with the middle part which i felt really unnecessarily dragged!
and the characters! well they were real! this kind of people live in real life and even if i dislike some of them i don't blame the writer for writing stories with such characters!
may be i'll forget the story soon but it was a fun read!
blancat's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
erikthiem's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
bantwalkers's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. I could not put this book down. Part self-discovery story and part mystery, John Green has mixed so much wit and downright insightfulness into this book few people will find it hard to put down. I don't read fast, but this book was just so easy. Plus it made me want to read and research other things. I have been listening to Mermaid Ave. ever since reading it. I checked out a Walt Whitman book. Seriously, read this book.
sareidle's review against another edition
I kept starting this book from the beginning when traveling via airplane and never completed it upon completing my journey. I've enjoyed John Green's other books, but I don't know if I can overcome my history of DNFing this one.
stitchkid's review against another edition
2.0
This review is also published on http://wordsofwonders.com/2015/03/30/paper-towns-john-green/
A book with a promising start, gripping plot only to end on a disappointing note.
This was one of those books that I really desperately tried to like, after the disappointment of TFIOS, my friend recommended I read this, and naturally I tried to get it in before the trailer showed up and spoiled everything(which I managed to by a day!).
I thought it was marginally better but the ending was flatter than a pancake.
Paper Towns is about two young teenagers, Quentin and Margo Roth Spiegelman, coming to the end of final year and the prospects of college and adult life looming ahead of them. One inconspicuous night, Margo lets herself in Quentin’s window and together they embark on what can only be described as a revenge plot. Her BF is cheating on her with her best friend and she delivers justice in a truly fishy way. After the eventful night, Q feels energized, as if his life is about to get infinitely better now that Margo is back in his life(they use to be childhood friends) but the next day, she abruptly disappears.
Margo is done with school, done with home and done with Florida. She wants out. And so she leaves in the middle of the night but not without leaving clues as to her location. And so the wild goose chase begins.
The characters in this book were well thought out and complex, fantastic and believable all except the one that the book revolved around – Margo. Margo was difficult for me to read, difficult for me to meld with, and I’ll be glad if I never have to read or hear her name again. I hate her, and if you’ve read it, you’ll know exactly why, if you are to read it, then you’ll find out.
The dialogue between the group of friends was perfectly executed and the right sense of humor, given the often tense tone of the novel.
The first part of the book was highly enjoyable as the premise was set up, the mystery surrounding Margo, not only after she’d disappeared but before too. We gained a pretty clear picture of Q and his friendship circle, and Margo and hers, clearly worlds apart, yet they are somehow drawn together.
For the most part, I enjoyed the middle of the book. The hunting and deciphering of non-existent clues, trying to not only find Margo but understand who she was as a person, and finding that she might not be the girl they thought she was.
It baffled me slightly at how easy it was for Quentin to become obsessed with finding Margo after spending one night of rebellious fun with her. I find it hard to believe that he would put so much effort into finding someone who would ditch him at the drop of a hat. She purposely ignored him for 9 years, yet their relationship was instantly rebuilt after a few hours. It seemed too much like a damsel-in-distress situation with Q being the knight in shining armor and the whole thing swiftly panned.
As the book came to a close, and all that tense atmosphere had finally built up to its climax, the ending was stupid, pointless, infuriating and abrupt. It completely ruined the book for me.
Margo is a selfish little girl with her head up her arse, attention seeking and ungrateful, at the end, not going to lie, I actually wished they’d found her dead or not at all. Anything would have been better than that insufferable girl.
I feel like John Green may have been trying a little bit too hard with the metaphors this time, sure enough there are plenty in his other books, quotes and sentences that are strung out for effect and meaning. In Paper Towns, it eventually got infuriating. The detective and his balloon talk? I mean what the hell was that? It was completely out of tune with the rest of the book and there were other times when the scenes got just a little bit too quirky to be believable anymore.
But on the whole, I did enjoy this book. It was engrossing and entertaining right up until the final chapter. I only wish that Margo had been someone else, a different personality altogether, really for Quentin’s benefit. After analyzing and decoding Margo’s clues as well as herself, I felt that Quentin had grown quite a lot as a character from what he was at the beginning, gaining more and more responsibility throughout the book and in the end, good old Quentin sort of got the sore deal in the end.
For those of you who are Greenies, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this as much as you have the others. But I for one am done with Margo Roth Spiegelman!
Intriguing and gripping throughout with a lack lustre finish.
A book with a promising start, gripping plot only to end on a disappointing note.
This was one of those books that I really desperately tried to like, after the disappointment of TFIOS, my friend recommended I read this, and naturally I tried to get it in before the trailer showed up and spoiled everything(which I managed to by a day!).
I thought it was marginally better but the ending was flatter than a pancake.
Paper Towns is about two young teenagers, Quentin and Margo Roth Spiegelman, coming to the end of final year and the prospects of college and adult life looming ahead of them. One inconspicuous night, Margo lets herself in Quentin’s window and together they embark on what can only be described as a revenge plot. Her BF is cheating on her with her best friend and she delivers justice in a truly fishy way. After the eventful night, Q feels energized, as if his life is about to get infinitely better now that Margo is back in his life(they use to be childhood friends) but the next day, she abruptly disappears.
Margo is done with school, done with home and done with Florida. She wants out. And so she leaves in the middle of the night but not without leaving clues as to her location. And so the wild goose chase begins.
The characters in this book were well thought out and complex, fantastic and believable all except the one that the book revolved around – Margo. Margo was difficult for me to read, difficult for me to meld with, and I’ll be glad if I never have to read or hear her name again. I hate her, and if you’ve read it, you’ll know exactly why, if you are to read it, then you’ll find out.
The dialogue between the group of friends was perfectly executed and the right sense of humor, given the often tense tone of the novel.
The first part of the book was highly enjoyable as the premise was set up, the mystery surrounding Margo, not only after she’d disappeared but before too. We gained a pretty clear picture of Q and his friendship circle, and Margo and hers, clearly worlds apart, yet they are somehow drawn together.
For the most part, I enjoyed the middle of the book. The hunting and deciphering of non-existent clues, trying to not only find Margo but understand who she was as a person, and finding that she might not be the girl they thought she was.
It baffled me slightly at how easy it was for Quentin to become obsessed with finding Margo after spending one night of rebellious fun with her. I find it hard to believe that he would put so much effort into finding someone who would ditch him at the drop of a hat. She purposely ignored him for 9 years, yet their relationship was instantly rebuilt after a few hours. It seemed too much like a damsel-in-distress situation with Q being the knight in shining armor and the whole thing swiftly panned.
As the book came to a close, and all that tense atmosphere had finally built up to its climax, the ending was stupid, pointless, infuriating and abrupt. It completely ruined the book for me.
Margo is a selfish little girl with her head up her arse, attention seeking and ungrateful, at the end, not going to lie, I actually wished they’d found her dead or not at all. Anything would have been better than that insufferable girl.
I feel like John Green may have been trying a little bit too hard with the metaphors this time, sure enough there are plenty in his other books, quotes and sentences that are strung out for effect and meaning. In Paper Towns, it eventually got infuriating. The detective and his balloon talk? I mean what the hell was that? It was completely out of tune with the rest of the book and there were other times when the scenes got just a little bit too quirky to be believable anymore.
But on the whole, I did enjoy this book. It was engrossing and entertaining right up until the final chapter. I only wish that Margo had been someone else, a different personality altogether, really for Quentin’s benefit. After analyzing and decoding Margo’s clues as well as herself, I felt that Quentin had grown quite a lot as a character from what he was at the beginning, gaining more and more responsibility throughout the book and in the end, good old Quentin sort of got the sore deal in the end.
For those of you who are Greenies, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this as much as you have the others. But I for one am done with Margo Roth Spiegelman!
Intriguing and gripping throughout with a lack lustre finish.
panda13's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
gracenextdoor's review against another edition
5.0
Quentin Jacobsen has lived his whole life in Florida. He spends most of his days hanging out with his friends and thinking about his lifelong neighbor and childhood friend, Margo Spiegelman. She's the girl every girl is jealous of and every guy wants to be with. Quentin is in love with her, but he never dreams that she would pop into his window one night, demanding he drive the getaway car for a night of revenge.
Quentin imagines that night of staying out all night and exacting revenge on their enemies would change his life, but it doesn't. Instead, Margo doesn't show up to school. Not that day, or for several weeks after. Believing she left clues for him to follow, Quentin enlists his friends to help search for Margo, the realMargo, in the last few weeks of their senior year of high school.
I've been reflecting on this book for the last few days since I finished it. While many people call it formulaic and a copy of [b: Looking for Alaska|99561|Looking for Alaska|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394798630s/99561.jpg|919292] and [b: The Fault In Our Stars|11870085|The Fault in Our Stars|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360206420s/11870085.jpg|16827462], I find all three of these books to be completely different. Yes, they're all about young people finding their footing in the world, [b: Paper Towns|6442769|Paper Towns|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349013610s/6442769.jpg|3364505] distinguishes itself as a story about making choices, and seeing people for who they really are.
There's a reason [a: John Green|1406384|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1353452301p2/1406384.jpg] is so popular and his books are critically acclaimed: he's a fantastic writer. His books so perfectly encapsulate what it is to be a teenager, to be confused and looking for who you are. In Quentin's search for Margo, he learns more about the girl he's looking for, and reflects on how he may not really know who she is at all. It's not one night, but the journey afterward, that changes him, and how he looks at the world.
When I read this book, it brought up a lot of similar feelings I had when I graduated high school. Paper Towns captures those feelings of being young and feeling like nothing can stop you. In the end, I found it to be a moving story about how you can know someone and not really see who they really are. It's a story about what it means to leave, to pull up your roots, and say goodbye to a place, or a time, or a former self.
Quentin imagines that night of staying out all night and exacting revenge on their enemies would change his life, but it doesn't. Instead, Margo doesn't show up to school. Not that day, or for several weeks after. Believing she left clues for him to follow, Quentin enlists his friends to help search for Margo, the realMargo, in the last few weeks of their senior year of high school.
I've been reflecting on this book for the last few days since I finished it. While many people call it formulaic and a copy of [b: Looking for Alaska|99561|Looking for Alaska|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394798630s/99561.jpg|919292] and [b: The Fault In Our Stars|11870085|The Fault in Our Stars|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360206420s/11870085.jpg|16827462], I find all three of these books to be completely different. Yes, they're all about young people finding their footing in the world, [b: Paper Towns|6442769|Paper Towns|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349013610s/6442769.jpg|3364505] distinguishes itself as a story about making choices, and seeing people for who they really are.
There's a reason [a: John Green|1406384|John Green|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1353452301p2/1406384.jpg] is so popular and his books are critically acclaimed: he's a fantastic writer. His books so perfectly encapsulate what it is to be a teenager, to be confused and looking for who you are. In Quentin's search for Margo, he learns more about the girl he's looking for, and reflects on how he may not really know who she is at all. It's not one night, but the journey afterward, that changes him, and how he looks at the world.
When I read this book, it brought up a lot of similar feelings I had when I graduated high school. Paper Towns captures those feelings of being young and feeling like nothing can stop you. In the end, I found it to be a moving story about how you can know someone and not really see who they really are. It's a story about what it means to leave, to pull up your roots, and say goodbye to a place, or a time, or a former self.
lil_13's review against another edition
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
3.5
I went into this book with a bad feeling, I LOVED Fault in Our Stars and that book just felt like it never needed to be repeated and I didn’t want to ruin that book if I didn’t like the author. Paper Towns was definitely out of my comfort zone and I just didn’t latch onto any of the characters. Maybe it’s because I don’t relate to teenage boys, I also felt some parts really dragged and I pondered a DNF. Though the road trip was so much fun to read!