Paper Towns by John Green

After reading this book, I only have two questions (okay, it might be more than that, but bare with me here). 1. Where was this book when I graduated college last year? Or better, where was this book when I graduated high school five years ago? And 2. Why the hell was this book so freaking long? I mean, I get that a story had to be told here, but did it really need that many pages?

Some of the reviews for Paper Towns on Goodreads haven’t been kind. A lot of people said that John Green continued the storyline of An Abundance of Katherines and Looking for Alaska in this book, and in some ways I get where they’re coming from, but in others I feel like a new story was told here.

Quentin or ‘Q’ for short is going through the last month of his senior year in high school. One night he goes on an adventure with his next-door neighbor Margo as she exacts revenge on her boyfriend and some of her friends who knew that he was cheating on her. It’s an insane plan – one that involves breaking and entering (but not breaking and entering the felony), vandalism, hair removal, and various other things. When the trip comes to an end, Q is left wondering by things that Margo has said. His wonderment continues when she goes missing…again. Her parents are fed up and change the locks refusing to look for her. But Q notices clues and starts to put things to together.

Most of the second part of Paper Towns I could have honestly done without. Q thinks that he’ll never find Margo alive. That she has gone off for the last time to off herself. But it’s the last four or five chapters in the second part, that I absolutely adored. Q’s wittiness with his friends, them hosting parties like usual high school seniors, was fantastic. And when Q does finally figure out where Margo is twenty minutes before graduation – or so it seems – Ben, Radar, and Lacey come with him for an epic road trip.

The ending was sort of disappointing. Q doesn’t get the girl. Margo never wanted to be found. At least she wasn’t dead and she’s been planning this since Q and her found that dead body in the park when they were ten years old.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. Compared to Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars it was okay. A little too long for my liking, it did drag on in some parts. I kind of wished Q’s friends Ben and Radar had been in it more.

Bookshelf worthy? I’m passing on this one, so support your local library.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the last few years, you know that this is the story of a girl who falls in love with a boy for the first time. The catch is that both of these characters have cancer. The girl’s cancer is Stage IV and is placated for the moment thanks to some miracle drug, while the boy’s cancer is in remission.

A lot has been said about this book since it came out a few years ago, so I won’t bore too much with the details. And those who’ve read my review of If I Stay know that I spent four days back in 2012 reading not only this book, but also 13 Reasons Why as well, and for about a week afterwards I was a complete wreck.

In honor of the movie coming out, and because it’s been two years since I’ve read the book, I decided to reread it and I completely forgot how much of a quick read this book is. The only reason it took me three days to read was because I always, always get stuck on what happens after Hazel and Augustus come back from Amsterdam. It is just…

Okay? Okay.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Another John Green book that is just amazing, and another YA book where the parents didn’t get on my nerves. Hazel had amazing parents. Augustus did too.

Bookshelf worthy? I’ll confess, I own two copies. One is the one pictured above the other is the digital edition for my iPad.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

So about 8-9 years ago (I can’t remember when in freshman year I picked this book up) I was at the library and I came across this book. I had never heard of John Green and his reputation for telling stories. I read the book and fell instantly in love. It wasn’t until I reread it this week, that I realized how relatable this story actually was. Between readings of this book, I lost my aunt unexpectedly so I guess I get where Pudge and Colonel are coming from… But I’m jumping ahead of myself again.

The book begins with Myles (Pudge’s real name) going off to a private school in Alabama. At this school he meets his roommate Colonel and his friend Alaska. The two take him under their wing, give him the nickname Pudge and start off a journey that sort of resembles self-discovery as they try to deal with the big questions of life. Alaska is beautiful and eccentric, her moods changing in an instant and it’s no surprise when Pudge falls for her, but she already has a boyfriend. Colonel is cunning and has a superior attitude. He doesn’t like rich kids because he thinks they’re snotty and believe that they’re above everyone else. Everything is going like high school should be, until one night after some heavy drinking and an interesting game of Truth or Dare that leads to Alaska and Pudge making out. Alaska comes bursting into the room at three in the morning in hysterics asking Pudge and Colonel to help her get off campus. They do and go to sleep.

The next morning, the principal announces to the school that Alaska Young died in a tragic car accident. This sends her friends into a tailspin asking questions and trying to figure out what happened to her. What caused her to be so hysterical? Where was she going on three in the morning? And most important of all, how can they cope with their friend’s death?

This book never makes me cry until the pieces all start to click together and they figure out what Alaska was really doing out that late. My favorite part is when Pudge is writing the answer to his final exam and realizes that they may never figure out truly why Alaska did what she did. That everyday without her, her friends are starting to forget, their memory of her is disappearing and after losing my aunt I get that. Your memories sort of get fuzzy until you just remember the best parts and nothing in between.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. John Green is a masterful storyteller and I’m glad I read this book twice.

Bookshelf worthy? I’m going to pull an Alaska Young one of these days and just start piling books on the floor.