Paper Towns by John Green
Paper Towns by John Green follows his typical path of writing. However, it does seem that he uses a different method of transportation along this path.
This is a story of a boy named Quentin who has a bizarre and amazing night with an extremely popular girl he has had a long standing feelings for. This girl, Margo, then disappears, and Quentin sets out to find her.
Spoilers start here. Be Warned.
I loved and hated this book. Perhaps it is because the characters were so realistic, or that these charters reflect a lot of what I have come to realize in the past few months, that I have unwittingly come to surround myself with. It might even be because I can see myself in some of these characters.
So many of them are back and forth. You love them, but you hate them. They have so much value and wonderful qualities, yet they also have horribly shitty sides as well. Yet, it was very easy to forget the appalling flaws when they were being wonderful, and vice verse. This is extremely true for real life as well.
But some of these people have flaws I couldn't stand. I simply could not do it. Yet many of these characters seem to ignore them, until they are staring them in the face. Yet other characters, who have very manageable flaws are overlooked because of assumptions based off of nothing.
I particularly dislike Margo. I think this is because she tries the hardiest to hide her flaws. Everyone else, while not exactly embracing or eager to show them, at least don't actively try to hide them. I understand hiding them, if her other actions supported that fact, but they don't. She wants to be seen as uncaring, and reckless, and yet she spends hours planning her spontaneous adventures. She is so busy trying to present an image, and then she wines that no one really knows her. She clearly understands that people are more then what they appear to be, because she herself is more then she appears to be. Yet she so harshly criticizes everyone else, and expects them to be the exact way she assumes they are. She is infuriating I understand that people are contradictory, but Margo takes it to a whole new level. I could manage a few major contradictions in a personality, but when the entirety of who you are is one fat contradiction, it pisses me off. She is far worse then even Holden Caulfield, for Catcher In The Rye. At least he is contradictory because he is at odds with everything. Margo seems to have no reason.
It also shows a side of humanity that we all have, yet we rarely show. We all get obsessed about ideas. While some are obvious, like Quentin's search for Margo, others only appear at choices moments. Like Radar, one of Quentin's friends, has a borderline obsession of hating his parents collection. Quentin's other friend, Ben, has a weird expectation for prom that is clear, yet only talked about in passing.
I really do like this book, despite the fact that at points, I wanted to slap some of the characters.
If you haven't read it please do. It doesn't follow his usual romance driven writing, even though that is an element in the book. I would also recommend reading his other books. Give them a try. You won't be disappointed.
