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February 15, 2015
I caught this book on a Kindle sale and since I’ve dug the other two of his I’ve read - “The Fault in our Stars” and “Looking for Alaska” - I figured this one would be good too. However, for me....it was just so-so.
There were parts that sprung up where I really liked it and I thought it was going to take off, but then it didn’t. And, strangely, I didn’t love the characters. In the other two novels I mentioned above, the main characters are superb. Hazel and Augustus in “Fault” are such a great couple whose love inspires you and breaks your heart in pieces. In “Alaska”, I really liked Miles Halter and his group of buddies. I wanted to be in their clique.
In “Paper Towns”, the MC is a soon-to-graduate boy named Quentin. He goes to school in Orlando, FL, he has a couple of best friends and he has a long-time, unrequited crush on the literal girl next door, Margo Roth Spiegelman. That’s more or less it. I never connected with Q or really pulled for him to come out ahead. The story is about half him just going through the last month or so of his senior year of High School and half him investigating the disappearance of Margo. The mystery parts are excellent and it was in those chapters where I kept hoping for things to skyrocket into suspenseful, surprising directions. They didn’t.
Even at the end, when Q completes his quest, I just shrugged. A further part of the problem was - I didn’t fall in love with Margo. In “Looking for Alaska”, the main girl (whose name is Alaska, of course) is this desirable, amazing beauty who everyone wants but can’t have. Alaska is awesome. Margo never got to that level for me. Interestingly, I liked Quentin’s buddies the best - Radar and Ben. A couple of smart, witty kids who were fun to read about.
The novel certainly has some great John Green moments, scenes and one-liners. Without a doubt, this guy is a phenomenal writer and his skills shine through in most of this book. But the story just didn’t energize me. The main thing I did get out of it, is something I’ve written about many times in my recent book reviews: parents MUST be aware of what their kids are reading, and they should join with them in order to deeply connect.
There aren’t any vulgar, violent or overly sexual parts in this book so it’s not that I think it’s inappropriate. It’s relatively clean, though it’s a story that only high schoolers should read just because of the subject matter and mature tone. These are just everyday kids, who talk like most high schoolers probably do, saying ridiculous things like “I would literally suck donkey balls instead of going to that class again.” But it’s their issues, dreams and problems that would be interesting to discuss with your own high schoolers, if you have any.
“How did you feel about the way Miles handled this?” “Do you think prom is just for hooking up?” “Do you have any of the same feelings as Margo?” “Do you feel like you are trapped and you need to get out?” And so on.
Great books will influence kids, this is an undeniable fact. You can be involved and help guide them, or you can just sit back and let authors like Mr. Green lead them. But if you do that, you may not like the direction they go. Be aware of what your kids are reading. Share your books with them and get into what they are reading. You just might be stunned at the strong bonds that will be created.
In closing, if you really love John Green, you’ll probably like parts of this book. If not, I’d skip it. Best for high school boys and girls (and any parents looking for a chance for deep discussion!)
I still respect Mr. Green's writing so much that I plan to read his fourth book “An Abundance of Katherines”. Look for a review on that one soon.
Happy Reading!
My write-up on "Looking for Alaska"
My write-up on "The Fault in our Stars"
There were parts that sprung up where I really liked it and I thought it was going to take off, but then it didn’t. And, strangely, I didn’t love the characters. In the other two novels I mentioned above, the main characters are superb. Hazel and Augustus in “Fault” are such a great couple whose love inspires you and breaks your heart in pieces. In “Alaska”, I really liked Miles Halter and his group of buddies. I wanted to be in their clique.
In “Paper Towns”, the MC is a soon-to-graduate boy named Quentin. He goes to school in Orlando, FL, he has a couple of best friends and he has a long-time, unrequited crush on the literal girl next door, Margo Roth Spiegelman. That’s more or less it. I never connected with Q or really pulled for him to come out ahead. The story is about half him just going through the last month or so of his senior year of High School and half him investigating the disappearance of Margo. The mystery parts are excellent and it was in those chapters where I kept hoping for things to skyrocket into suspenseful, surprising directions. They didn’t.
Even at the end, when Q completes his quest, I just shrugged. A further part of the problem was - I didn’t fall in love with Margo. In “Looking for Alaska”, the main girl (whose name is Alaska, of course) is this desirable, amazing beauty who everyone wants but can’t have. Alaska is awesome. Margo never got to that level for me. Interestingly, I liked Quentin’s buddies the best - Radar and Ben. A couple of smart, witty kids who were fun to read about.
The novel certainly has some great John Green moments, scenes and one-liners. Without a doubt, this guy is a phenomenal writer and his skills shine through in most of this book. But the story just didn’t energize me. The main thing I did get out of it, is something I’ve written about many times in my recent book reviews: parents MUST be aware of what their kids are reading, and they should join with them in order to deeply connect.
There aren’t any vulgar, violent or overly sexual parts in this book so it’s not that I think it’s inappropriate. It’s relatively clean, though it’s a story that only high schoolers should read just because of the subject matter and mature tone. These are just everyday kids, who talk like most high schoolers probably do, saying ridiculous things like “I would literally suck donkey balls instead of going to that class again.” But it’s their issues, dreams and problems that would be interesting to discuss with your own high schoolers, if you have any.
“How did you feel about the way Miles handled this?” “Do you think prom is just for hooking up?” “Do you have any of the same feelings as Margo?” “Do you feel like you are trapped and you need to get out?” And so on.
Great books will influence kids, this is an undeniable fact. You can be involved and help guide them, or you can just sit back and let authors like Mr. Green lead them. But if you do that, you may not like the direction they go. Be aware of what your kids are reading. Share your books with them and get into what they are reading. You just might be stunned at the strong bonds that will be created.
In closing, if you really love John Green, you’ll probably like parts of this book. If not, I’d skip it. Best for high school boys and girls (and any parents looking for a chance for deep discussion!)
I still respect Mr. Green's writing so much that I plan to read his fourth book “An Abundance of Katherines”. Look for a review on that one soon.
Happy Reading!
My write-up on "Looking for Alaska"
My write-up on "The Fault in our Stars"