Did you hear all the hoopla around the Paper Towns movie? People were all about it, because they all loved The Fault in Our Stars, and thought Paper Towns was going to be just as great. Well, I read the book, and then basically watched the movie immediately afterwards, and to sum it up: meh.
I'll give John Green this - he's a great writer. I really enjoy reading his books. They don't make me think too hard or feel dumb when I'm reading them. I hate books like that. I can read his books with ease and whole-heartedly enjoy reading them. It's not ever so often that a book makes me laugh out loud- like really truly laugh like someone told me a hilarious joke- but his books do. And Paper Towns is no exception there.
I love the main characters' personalities: Q, Ben, and Radar. I think they're an awesome group of friends and have a great relationship together. I don't like the story line. I hate that this kid just drops everything that is important to chase some girl he hardly knows across the country. I get it: prom isn't important to him. But he basically chooses this mystery of a girl over his friends, and that really bothers me. The weird thing is, I wouldn't even call this a love story. How can he love this girl, when he hasn't talked to her in almost 10 years? I don't know. This book isn't about friendship. It isn't about love. I guess it's about infatuation and a desire to be a part of something that you aren't.
Also, I hate Margo Roth Spiegelman. This girl isn't cool. She's rude and a bad influence. Ugh!
Another thing that bothered me, which others may not notice, happened within the first couple of chapters. It's 12:30 at night, and Margo and Q go to Publix. AT 12:30 AT NIGHT. So, I'm like wait a minute. Publix closes at 10. Then I think, "Well, they are in Florida, where Publix is based, so maybe they have some 24-hour stores." So I Googled it. Orlando Publix store hours. Nope. Still closes at 10. I mean, I get it. It's a book. Make stuff up. But make up things like Hogwarts and flying monkeys. Don't make up Publix store hours. Fact check those things.

Anyways, I watched the movie too, which left out some fun parts I was really hoping for, but that seems to be the point of movies adapted from books, right? I did like that you got to see a little bit extra that extended past how the book ended. That extra part was the part that kind of made me tear up a little bit, so I thank the screenwriters for that!

So, the books an easy read. I read it in like a day. It's funny and will make you laugh out loud, but the story line kind of sucks.


Have you read this book or seen the movie? What were your thoughts? Have you read any other John Green novels. What did you think of them?