Book Response #3~ Paper Towns

 

 

I happen to be writing, once again, about a novel by John Green. I have yet to find a book by him that does not continue the seemingly effortless flow of words. His novels are mostly well written so that it is not difficult to keep up with the words, however, the plot of Paper Towns is proving to be difficult to understand. But that may be due to the fact that I am only 63 pages in so far.

The book is written from the perspective of Quentin. He is a senior at Winter Park High School in Florida. As a child, a girl named Margo Roth Spiegelman moved next door to him. They became play mates, for lack of better words, and were friends. The opening of the novel takes you back to when they were nine and on their way to a park in which they often played in. Upon arriving, they could tell something was wrong and noticed a dead body lying against a tree. This is not a major turning point, nor seemingly important, so don’t get upset about the spoiler. Upon the discovery they ran home and Margo told him that she was going to investigate. This leaves him ending the first few pages with, “Margo always loved mysteries. And in everything that came afterward, I could never stop thinking that maybe she loved mysteries so much that she became one.” (page 8)

Years later, Margo and Quentin are no longer what we would consider to be “friends.” They haven’t talked since they were young and the cliques and popularity in high school seemed to have also separated them. Margo is a very popular girl, along with all her friends, which leaves Quentin to just admire her from afar. Until one night when she shows up and asks for his assistance in getting much needed revenge. He reluctantly agrees and an action packed night begins. The night ranges from catfish to spray paint to boxers to guns and nothing Margo does is expected. She has devised the perfect way to get revenge on someone who wronged her and has also perfectly planned it out.  

If you are confused by my summary, don’t worry. I am confused by the book so far so I don’t necessarily expect people to understand what is going on. I love John Green and I am sure that the book will begin to answer my questions soon enough, so I will continue reading.

 

I chose a picture of a map of Orlando, Florida because during the crazy night of revenge they drive all over the city and considering the title of the book, I figure that this will be important.