Paper Towns

So I thought that since the movie is coming out tomorrow, I would share my thoughts on Paper Towns.  I would love to know if people plan on seeing the movie, and then what your thoughts are with it!  I definitely am going to check it out, so fingers crossed it will be good!!

Paper Towns by John Green
Publication Date: Sept. 22, 2009

Who is the real Margo?

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...  

Even though this review will just get lost in the thousands already written, I did want to get my thoughts out there too. This is another great read from John Green that will have you laughing out loud and thinking deeply at the same time. I loved the metaphorical aspect of this novel, in that we are all connected to each other, sometimes in ways we don't exactly expect. However, at the end of the day, our lives are interwoven with others and we never really know the impact we have on other people's lives. The one thing that resonated with me while reading this novel is the fact that one person can truly change and shape your life; they can come in like a burst of color and your life will never be the same.

Quentin (or Q) is our lead character, and has that dry, witty, sarcastic voice we have come to love from John Green. I felt though that in this novel, it shined through the pages. It was radiating off the pages, and you just couldn't help but laugh at things the characters would say, or Q's inner monologue, or even just the situations. It makes for such an amazing read, and makes you love Quentin as a character that much more. The one thing I loved about Q's character though is his growth over the course of the novel. We see this guy at the beginning that is afraid to take risks, and is perfectly fine with just taking a backseat in high school so he can move on to Duke for college. But over the course of the novel and having Margo crash back into his life, we witness Q become a risk-taker that realizes the importance of living in the moment and going the distance to discover the things you want to know. And Quentin's friends just make the experience all the better. You seriously want to be best friend's with all of these people.

However, one of my favorite aspects of this novel was the way John Green wove in poetry. It wasn't just there in the story, it was actually a part of the story. It had it's own role. It moved the story forward and never once felt like a forced element. The poetry flowed so effortlessly in the story, and you find yourself wanting to go and find the full edition of the poems so you can discover the beauty for yourself and come up with your own interpretation.

Overall, this was a touching contemporary novel that is definitely for fans of John Green. If you haven't read this one yet, check it out. John Green does what he does best...writing realistic characters that you instantly fall in love with and makes you question things about yourself and your thoughts.

Happy reading :) 

~Cassie