This novel aimed at older teens is a funny and tender story of friendship and (believe it or not) poetry. Margo has gone missing, leaving clues for Quentin and his friends to follow. A major clue is a copy of Walt Whitman’s long poem, Leaves of Grass. Margo has highlighted certain lines, but what do they mean? There is also her record collection. How did none of them know that she was such a fan of Woody Guthrie and Billy Bragg? How do we really know anything about another person? Old maps, abandoned buildings, clues left on archane ‘Omnipedia’ entries, lead to Q. & co missing graduation to try to save a friend. In Paper Towns John Green takes us on a merry ride across several American states, has us considering the wisdom of lines of poetry we wouldn’t have thought twice about yesterday, and introduces us to some odd, endearing and also some pretty annoying characters.

It is 1:34AM and I have successfully read Paper Towns within 24 hours. I started some time after 6PM. Although I positively adored John Green's book An Abundance of Catherines, this one lacked something. I have to admit it did keep me reading but there was no...reason behind it all. Not really. Perhaps that was the point: sometimes life gets random. But I did not like the ending and the story itself didn't seem to have very much grounding. I was rather dissapointed. ( )

Quentin "Q" Jacobsen is in love the perfect Margo Roth Spiegelman. One day, Margo shows up at Quentin's window, and together they play pranks on Margo's enemies. The next day, Margo has disappeared. Soon, Quentin finds clues left by Margo, and his quest to find her begins.

I absolutely loved Paper Towns. I could not put this book down, and I ended up finishing it in three school days. Usually, with school, it takes me at least a week to finish a book. The book was witty, meaningful, and just plain fun. The deeper meaning was my favorite part of the novel. Because of the similar theme, Paper Towns strongly reminded me of The Great Gatsby. In fact, after I finished reading The Great Gatsby and Winter Dreams (a short story also by F. Scott Fitzgerald with the same theme) for English last semester, I could not stop thinking how people wrongly perceive other people as idols or perfections. Now, I am experiencing the same feeling.

Green also seamlessly wove symbols into the story. One example is the black Santas that Radar’s parents collect. I actually did not catch this one while I was reading. How did I find out about it, then? By looking at a vlog by John Green. I don’t know how many of you have seen it, but if you’re interested, it’s at the end of this post. Another thing I enjoyed about the novel was the inclusion of interesting tidbits. The obvious one is paper towns, specifically where Margo disappeared to. Omnictionary was also a clever name, and I enjoyed Leaves of Grass too. Paper Towns is now one of my favorite novels. ( )

I wasn't that impressed with the book. I personally found it hard to stay interested and follow it. Not until then end, when they were searching for Margo, did I really get into the book.
The strength was the characterization - you did feel like you knew the characters and could relate them to someone in real life.
The weakness I thought was that it was a little long and drawn out. I thought it was hard to understand in parts and wonder if middle school aged kids would miss a lot from that. I don't think some of the profanity and sexual connotations added to this book. ( )