Indiana resident John Green has earned his fair share of bestsellers, medals and other literary awards. Green’s notable fan base is now eagerly awaiting the release of “Paper Towns,” which is due to hit theaters this summer, on July 24.
The book was first published in 2008, and is pretty easy to access from the King County Library System. It is also readily available in bookstores.
Paper Towns is a fictional story about the adventurous lives of several high school seniors from southern Florida.
When Quentin Jacobsen’s childhood flame (and next door neighbor), Margo Spiegelman, shows up at his bedroom window one night, his monotone and unremarkable senior year gets a jolt that changes not only Quentin’s life, but also the lives of the friends Quentin drags with him along on a cross country adventure.
However, Margo’s thirst for the unknown and electric adventure-loving spirit causes her to abrupt exit out of Florida. No one knows where she went or if she’ll return, leaving Quentin to follow the clues she left behind.
The book was an easy read. It has the kind of story that’s laid back, relaxed, and is there for an easy enjoyment. At just over 300 pages long, it is also a relatively short book.
That said, John Green is a magnificently talented writer, spinning stories of adventure, love conflicts and friendship into an intricate web, which is all the more impressive to me since he does it in a shorter length book.
The novel starts off with Quentin remembering himself much younger, and it brought a childhood flashback of running around my neighborhood and the nearby park back to my memory’s surface with just the first chapter.
Of course, the novel isn’t completely based in nostalgia, and the plot quickly blossomed into a riveting and pretty relatable tale.
Green’s use of witty characters, strategically and sparsely applied foul language, and a unique writing style all brighten the pages of “Paper Towns to an irresistible glow. The novel had me unable to put it down, and I had it done in two days.
What I loved most about this book is that it brought to life the daydreams and secret hopes I and surely many others have had at one time or another. The idea of getting out of a home town, be it a big city or some small town.
There is a silent yearning in all of us for the unknown, for the open space we so desperately desire so that we can stretch our wings and see just how high we can go.
Overall, I would totally recommend “Paper Towns” as a fun, light read, and certainly one to finish before July gets here.