#BookReview :: Paper Towns by John Green

Quentin has always loved Margo Roth Spiegelman, for Margo (and her adventures) are the stuff of legend at their high school. So when she one day climbs through his window and summons him on an all-night road trip of revenge he cannot help but follow.

But the next day Margo doesn’t come to school and a week later she is still missing. Q soon learns that there are clues in her disappearance . . . and they are for him. But as he gets deeper into the mystery – culminating in another awesome road trip across America – he becomes less sure of who and what he is looking for.

Masterfully written by John Green, this is a thoughtful, insightful and hilarious coming-of-age story.

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Unlike The Fault in our stars, which I had picked up with much trepidation because of its hype, I had picked up Paper Towns with much expectation. I mean once I had read about Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters, I picked up each of John Green’s works with expectation of nothing but pure awesomeness, including from M and Q in Paper Towns.

Quentin and Margo have known each other since childhood. They have been neighbours since they can remember and they even attend the same school. Yet they are just barely friends as Quentin is a nerdy nerd and Margo is obviously Miss Popular. Things changed, at least that’s what Q thought, when one night M climbed through his windows asking for his car keys. What that leads to is a night of fun, adventure and getting to know M. Just when Q thought things between him and M were about to develop, he wakes up to find that M is gone. She has left town, leaving everyone clueless about her whereabouts. Well, almost everyone. She has left clues for Q to follow and that leads to another road trip of a lifetime. In the end will Q catch up and find M?

The characters were awesome in the story. Quentin, Ben and Radar as so much fun to get to know. They are the guys everyone would love to hang out with, nerds or not. Their sense of humour is just off the charts. Quentin felt weird at times what with his obsession of Margo. I mean would you miss your graduation for a girl? But he sure knows how to go after what he wants. Margo felt a bit of self-absorbed kind of a girl to me. However, seeing her through Quentin’s eyes, it was just too difficult to not like her at some parts. Also, I was expecting another Hazel-Augustus kind of relationship. So, it was my mistake that I was disappointed by Q & M.

Being the genius that John Green is, he has conveyed a lot through his story and even more with the things that are absent in the story. It is amazing how I enjoyed the story so much while I was reading it, but once I looked back, it feels like an average story. It is John Green’s magical narration that has given life and elevated this average story to another level. Also, a lot of people have told me how they did not enjoy the ending. But for me the ending was as perfect as it could be. I love the story because of its ending.

Review Copy received from Bloomsbury India