MY WORLD

PAPER TOWNS

Hello! In this post I’m going to talk and do a little review of a book that I have recently read. This book is Paper Towns, by John Green.  First, I’m going to tell you a little bit about the plot.

SYNOPSIS

Quentin has been always in love with his neighbour, Margo, the most popular girl in the high school and who always seems to live the craziest adventures. One night, Margo enters in Quentin’s room through the window and asks him to drive her to get to different places to do some mysterious stuff. After spending a night full of adventures together, the next morning Margo disappears and Quentin finds some clues that seem to be left for him by Margo. Following the clues, he will try to find her, while he starts realizing that she is so different from the person he thought she was.

PERSONAL OPINION

I was excited to read this book, not only because of the book itself but also because it’s the first book that I have read in English. Of course, I have read some English books at school, but I had never read a book in English by my own.  I was excited about it but I was also a little scared, because I didn’t know if it was going to be a too difficult book to start reading in English and if I would understand well enough the book. But now that I have read it I’m happy because I understood pretty much everything and it was a good experience that I will repeat for sure.  

When I read the plot I immediately liked it, because I love the stories about mysteries and people missing, and even more if there are clues and enigmas that lead to them. 

Actually, I imagined the book a little bit different than it was, maybe with more mystery, but after reading it I realize that even though the main issue about the book is Margo’s disappearance, the author also wanted to add parts in which the friends and friendship are important, and some of this parts have become some of my favourite parts of the book, because of the touch of humour that John Green gives to them.

As the book it’s not very long (305 pages), the author doesn’t really go into detail about the characters, and in my case, I didn’t really get the chance to grow fond of any of them.

The main character is Quentin, an ordinary boy who seems to be lucky about being part of Margo crazy plans. He’s a good main character, but I think that he sometimes gets too obsessed about finding Margo, which makes him kind of forget about his life and his friends. That makes Ben, one of his best friends, get tired of him talking the whole day about Margo.

If I had to choose a favourite character I would probably choose Radar, the other Quentin’s best friend, because I liked his personality and I think he’s really good friend, who tries to help Quentin to find Margo, but also knows that Margo is not the whole world, and that she’s maybe  just playing one of her games.

The book is divided in three parts: the first one is the night that Margo and Quentin spend together; the second one, which is the longest, is the whole part about Quentin finding the clues and trying to find the sense of this clues and to find Margo; and the last one is when Quentin finally realizes what the clues mean and, along with some friends, they start a trip against the clock to find her.

Although the second part is the one with more mystery, because of the clues, is my least favourite, because it’s the longest and in some parts is a bit repetitive. And, even though I really like the first and the last part, if I have to choose I would choose the last one, because it’s the funniest and the one in which you connect the most with the characters.

So, my conclusion is that if you want to read an entertaining story that will make you laugh and have a good time, Paper Towns is a good choice.