Ok first of all I am so sorry I was gone for so long my life got crazy! However I am back with another post about a fantastic novel I just read (Paper Towns by John Green) so without further ado lets get to it.
Brief Summary of the Book:
Everyone gets one miracle in their life and Quentin Jacobsen's miracle is living next to the endlessly captivating, fearless and utterly extordinary, Margo Roth Spiegelman. Margo and Q were childhood friends who become more distant as time wore on. So when Margo burst into Q's window dressed in all black and beckoning him to and experience an adventure with her Q agrees hoping to reconnect the with the girl he has always adored from afar. After one crazy night of late night grocery shopping, breaking into Seaworld and carrying out the perfect plot for revenge Q is hopeful that something may bloom between him and Margo. Until she disappears the very next day, leaving Q only with a set of vague and difficult clues that lead him to her. Fearing her safety and desperately trying to discover who the real Margo Roth Sprienglstien is Q sets out on a mission to find her. Facing creepy abandoned buildings, intense poetry and a giant road trip that will take him to a Paper town. Q discovers more about the girl of his dreams and himself then he could possibly imagine.
Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
My Thoughts on the Novel:
You need to read this book. It is a simple as that the characters are amazing and so relatable the plot is interesting and interwoven in a fascinating way. John Green infuses the book with humor while deeply reflecting on human emotion and what it means to truly be yourself. I loved this book I laughed, I cried and it made me think. Like really think, like lay in bed and contemplate your entire
existence sort of thinking. The most amazing thing about this book is how relatable it is, despite the
epic storyline is seems so plausible. You can't help feel wonderment towards Margo and groan at Ben's brilliant stupidity and relate to Q's experience in high school. You become so involved in the story line the pages turn themselves (ok not literally but close enough). However despite all this I have to say my absolute favorite thing about this book was the characterization of Margo. When you are introduced to her you automatically see her as this impossibly brave and bold character that you just want to be. However as you get deeper into the story you discover her flaws hidden beneath the surface and you come to terms with the fact that everyone has their shortcoming but that in no way makes them less of an incredible person. Margo was just as lost as the rest of us no matter how confident in herself she appeared and the amount revealed about her in the book really touched me. This daring, courageous version of her is really a superficial version, a mask that she puts on because she loved the idea of "being Margo" and so did everyone else. The thing is we all wear this masks deep down we are all connected, and we are all paper people and that's ok because at the same time we all have our inner Margo Roth Speiglemans and when you read the book you'll come to
understand what an amazing thing that is. We are all a little cracked but those cracks let the light shine through. So in short this book is definitely worth the read. The only thing I didn't really like was the road trip. That whole section of the novel had a slightly choppy feel and it was a little to long for my liking. However this book will leave you with an obsession with "Stars Fell on Alabama" and a warm feeling in your heart. So just go read it. Now!
