Paper Towns by John Green

Title: Paper Towns
Author: John Green
Pages: 305
Rating: 4 out of 5
From Goodreads:
Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back 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 of the girl he thought he knew.

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“It is so hard to leave—until you leave. And then it is the easiest goddamned thing in the world.”

Quentin has been in love with Margo Roth Spiegelman, literally the girl next door, since before he can remember. The only problem is she's hardly spoken to him since they were nine years old. One night Margo catapults herself through his window and back into his life. After a crazy night of adventure Q hopes that the next day at school Margo will have ditched her in-crowd friends, but when he gets to school and Margo isn't there it throws Q into an all consuming quest to find her. Following the clues Margo leaves behind brings him to realizations about the girl he thought he knew.

John Green is an entertainer. He's the kind of writer that can evoke every emotion you could feel, all in one book. My love for John Green started this year, yes I know I'm behind on the times. Paper Towns was sitting on my shelf for months before I picked it up and now I find myself wishing that I had picked it up sooner.

This book should come with a warning. You will laugh out loud, whether you want to or not. I had a serious case of the giggles while on my lunch break, and I definitely got the look from people. Not that I cared, I was enjoying the hell out of this book.

The characters are so damn real. I didn't feel like I was reading a story about fictional teens, I felt like this was a story written about real teens.

Quentin has this good guy vibe that I love. He was also super funny, though not quite as funny as his best friend Ben. Sometimes his obsession with Margo was a little much and it really made me want to punch him. But I think that was kind of the point of the story.

Radar is the trustworthy, always there for you type of friend who offers up the best bits of wisdom. And his parents own the world's largest collection of black santas. Nuff' said.

Ben, oh Ben. I think I had a little bit of a crush on him. He was so damn funny and crude. He caused the majority of my giggle outbreaks. There were so many gems from Ben that I swear I could create an entire post based on his dialogue.

Margo Roth Spiegelman, who is some kind of goddess at her school, is usually referred to by full name. Margo Roth Spiegelman who is also some kind of grand adventuress. Margo Roth Spiegelman really pissed me off. I couldn't help feeling like she was selfish and annoying, which is bad because she wasn't even in the majority of the book. I started off loving her when she took Q on this awesome trip in the middle of the night, but then she just up and leaves without thinking about anyone but herself. Seriously? MRS was somewhat of a let down, but just like with Ben, I think that was the whole point of the story.

“What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person.”

I am definitely hooked on John Green. And I just received an early Christmas present from my dad, a John Green box set I've been wanting since I read TFiOS. So, be on the lookout for more John Green reviews.

Any fellow Nerdfighters out there?

-Kait[Vixen1]