Paper Towns

The prologue to the novel opens with our protagonist Quentin “Q” Jacobsen recalling an incident from when he was nine-years-old; when he and his neighbour and childhood friend Margo Roth Spiegelman found the body of Robert Joyner, who had committed suicide.

The novel flashes forward, Quentin is now a senior in high school and like many childhood friends he and Margo have drifted apart. It is a month before his graduation, when in the middle of the night, Margo shows up at his bedroom window with a plan to seek revenge on those she feels have wronged her.

After their night of revenge on classmates who have wronged them the duo break into theme park SeaWorld.

The next day at school Quentin wonders if he and Margo will reconnect. Margo does not come to school that day or the next. After three days her parents file a police report. As Quentin was the last person to see Margo he is questioned by police.

Quentin learns that Margo has run away multiple times before and that her parents now seem to be beyond caring – her mother plans to change the locks. The police point out she is not a minor and that she left on her on accord.

When looking at Margo’s window Quentin notices a poster of musician Woody Guthrie taped to back of her window shade. Quentin enlists the help of his best friends Ben and Radar and they bribe Margo’s younger sister to let them search her room. This search leads them to Guthrie’s song ‘Walt Wiltman’s Niece’, which leads them to a collection of Wiltman’s poetry with lines highlighted.

He believes that Margo has left these cryptic clues for him to find her. With the help of Radar, Ben and his girlfriend Lacey, the four set off on a road trip in search of Margo Roth Spiegelman.

Before reading the novel I was unaware of the term ‘Paper Towns’ and found it interesting to learn about Paper Towns along with the characters and have done more research on the subject since finishing the book.

There are incidents of excessive underage drinking, sex and nudity. These incidents are not glorified but rather a portrayal of teenage life. I would recommend Paper Towns for junior high school age students and older.

This book is about a girl Margo who goes missing and Quentin takes it upon himself to try and find her as his own personal mission.
I believe this was a great book that kept readers intrigued for most of the book. Paper Towns has a great plot and was interesting through the entire book but I don't like the characters in this book as I believe it was over the top. The obsession Quentin has with Margo was annoying as I read the book and so many important things he put off. Also, Margo sounds like a very selfish character which I just didn't appreciate. I did not enjoy the end of this book but the creativity of John Green to not go with the obvious ending most people would have expected. I would recommend this book to anyone because it is enjoyable and has a very interesting plot.

People are always fascinated by those who treat them badly and thats exactly what Margo Roth Spiegelman does to Q in this book and he just EATS IT UP! This is a good book but I found myself getting it really mad at both of them. Her for being so manipulative and him for being such a chump. I recommend the book but be prepared to grit your teeth sometimes with Margo's insane behavior.

I’m going to be honest here and say that I didn’t really like Paper Towns much for most of the story. I didn’t hate it or anything, but I didn’t especially like it either. I hated Margo, I hated that Quentin was so obsessed with her, and I hated that Margo hated that Margo hated the future and started to make Quentin question the entirety of his life. As you can see, pretty much all my problems revolved around Margo :P

But then we get to the road trip. I can’t even count how many times I laughed out loud during that long car ride. It was just so freaking fantastic. The side characters are what really added to it. I mean, I lonely road trip is all fine and dandy, but Quentin had some seriously awesome friends who were pretty much made to go on a road trip. I already know I’ll reread the chapters containing the road trip multiple times for years to come.

For those of you who’ve read Paper Towns I just wanted to talk about the whole idea of paper towns for a minute. Now, I know it mentions them about a gajillion times in the book but I’m referring to Margo’s version: that the whole world is made of paper and made of people who live in the future and how that’s a terrible thing. I feel like I’ve gotten weirdly offended by this. I have no idea why I feel so strongly about it, but maybe it’s partly that I can identify with Quentin’s enjoyment of boredom. I like sameness and planning and knowing what’s going to happen. In fact, I not only like it, but I kind of rely on it. So in a way, it felt like Margo was telling me that my idea of life was the wrong one. And yes, I realize I just referred to a fictional character talking to me.

And now I think I’m done being “deep” :P

The Nutshell: So, I wasn’t a fan of Margo, but I did, in fact, like the rest of the characters. Paper Towns is one of those books you read because it’s fun, it makes you think, and the side characters are all freaking fantastic. And there’s a road. And it’s an awesome one.

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Paper Towns is about a boy named Quentin who has been infatuated with a girl named Margo Roth Speigelman for all of his life. Margo appears in his room one night and they embark on an all-night revenge-seeking adventure. The next day at school, Margo is not there. Nor the next day. Nor the next week. Quentin and his friends discover clues about Margo and her whereabouts as the story continues.
The blurb on the cover says that Paper Towns is "profoundly moving," but I wouldn't go that far. The characters are developed very well in this story, and I applaud John Green for that. Green also took the time to carefully arrange each piece of the story arc, like it was a spider web; if you took one little strand, you'd find yourself led to the next one until you found Margo in the center. Although the book did receive a four star from me, it went downhill after the first half of the book. I became a bit confused with where Quentin was searching and why he was there, so you definitely have to pay close attention to all of Margo's clues.

Reader reviewed by Tessa'sTalkingTigers

                Quentin Jacobson has always admired
Margo Roth Spiegelman so when she invites him on an adventurous night of
revenge he goes. After their revenge adventure Margo disappears. She has left
clues for Quentin to find her and he cant ignore them. As he follows these
clues he starts to see Margo as a whole new girl.

            Our group rated this book a 4 on a
scale of 1 to 5. We really enjoyed the book but the ending could have been
stronger. This book was very entertaining, funny, and interesting. Our group
would recommend it to and teen looking for and adventurous yet realistic book.
This book helped us realize that just because you see a person one way doesnt
mean that they are not a completely different person behind closed doors.

Reader reviewed by Alisha, Kate, Robert, Jessica

Margo
Roth Spiegelman is more unique then many people think. After being back stabbed
by multiple friends, Margo plans a long nights worth of revenge and Q is just
the person to be her partner in crime.

On a
scale from one to five Id say this book is a four. From the beginning it was
interesting and kept me wanting more. I would recommend it to young adults,
especially women.

Reader reviewed by yayreader

Quentin and Margo used to be friend, then they grew up and grew apart.
Now, unexpectedly, Margo appears on Quentin's "Q" window and takes him
on the night adventure of a lifetime which include fish, SeaWorld, and
broken windows. Q feels that he and Margo are back to being friends.
That is why he is surprised when next day at school, Margo is not
there. He doesn't give it much thought until it is apparent that Margo
has disappeared. And she has left clues that only Q would know.



Q follows these clues until finally, he comes across the word Paper
Towns. He fears that Margo has committed suicide and searches all of
the paper towns in Central Florida for her body.



One day, his graduation day to be exact, Q finally figures out where
Margo is hiding. Q and his friends undertake a nineteen hour road trip
to a fake town were Margo is hiding.



When they discover her, Margo explains that she didn't mean for them to
find her, only just one of her other many hiding places. And the sad
part is: she's never coming back.



This beautiful story mixes everything perfectly, humor, romance,
sadness, and mystery. We are following Q on his quest to find the girl
he has always loved. The adventure begins from page one. It is fast
paced and has an ending that you will never guess. I've always wanted
to do a road trip with my friends and found that this story has just
that. Time crunching, near-death experiences, and amazing humor that
portrays teenage life, and love, very realistically.



In one sentence:

What an adventure!

Reader reviewed by Elise

Paper Towns was
extremely fantastic. Let me just say that now. The writing and voice
was hunorous and witty, but also very real. There was a distinct yet
not unbelievable difference between Quentin's internal
narration/thoughts and his actual dialogue. It made him very real and
created depth. Major kudos to
John Green for his character development and voice--both of these
points surpassed my expectations by miles and kept me reading until I
couldn't possibly go further. The character of Margo Roth Spiegelman
was beautifully constructed out of a medley of all-too-human emotions
under a facade of a girl we all wish we were. Through Quentin, we come
to know Margo and, consequently, the entire human race. This is a book
of discovery, philosophy, and speculation that took me on a journey
from which I emerged feeling cleansed. I strongly urge anyone and
everyone who has ever admired someone from the outside to read this
book.

Paper Towns
takes place in a modern American town, with the protagonist a modern
American eighteen-year-old boy. Quentin and his friends are just like
all teenage boys at their age--foulmouthed and interested in girls. At
first, their awful stereotypical teenage antics offended me
and made me question my choice of the book. But I quickly got over it.
Green's narration more than makes up for the language and jokes, and,
though I don't guarantee that you will be able to look past it as I
did, I do urge you to go ahead and read the book if this is your only
qualm.

Reader reviewed by Melissa

When Margo Roth Spiegleman shows up at Quentin Jacobsen's (Q's) window late at night and dressed all in black, Q knows something big is going on.  She enlists him in an all night campaign of revenge against some of their classmates.  Q thinks this might be his chance to reconnect with Margo, but she runs off the next day leaving him some very cryptic clues.  While Q and his friends Ben and Radar try to find the missing Margo Roth Spiegleman, they actually find out more about themselves and their lives along the way. 

There were moments that were laugh out loud funny.  I found this book very enjoyable, and the characters well drawn and likable.  Ben and Radar are the two best friends you wish you had when you were in high school.  My only gripe with the book was the ending, I was hoping for so much more, but the journey to get there was so enjoyable that even that didn't bother me.  Highly recommended.

I would recommend caution to sensitive readers and teachers, who do not like foul language or references to sex or sex organs in books they read or recommend.  There is some bullying, and mild violence.