Recently I have started to read Paper Towns by John Green. Last year I had read another one of Green's book, the ever so popular, The Fault in Our Stars. Although I liked it, I wasn't as enthused about it as many others were. I've heard great reviews about Paper Towns, and after the first few chapters, I can see why.
The main character Q (short for Quentin) is quiet and I perceive as a bit of a wallflower. Meanwhile, his lifelong crush and childhood best friend, Margo Roth Spiegelman is the exact opposite. She's insanely outgoing, and extremely popular. When the two of them find a dead man in the park, they begin to grow distant, and part ways. Q has heard everything about Margo, but nothing from her, yet he still admires her from a distance.
Margo suddenly comes back into Q's life at midnight on a school night, through the window she once left him through (quite literally). It's the last week of senior year, and she finally acknowledges the friend she had all but forgotten. She recruits him to help her on her eleven-part plan to get revenge on her enemies. At around 4 AM, Q and Margo's adventure is finally over, and Q is left wondering whether anything has changed between the two of them.
So far, I find Margo to be the most complex and interesting character. She's the most popular girl in her school, and has good grades and a bright future, yet there's a mysterious nature about her. She has an almost distant nature to herself. Margo always speaks poetically, her dialogue once even described as a soliloquy. She also disappears often, only to come back with stories of her exploits. From sneaking into concerts to breaking into places, there's nothing she hasn't done. Margo herself is described as very beautiful, yet she finds that beauty is only true from afar, and that everything including herself, is ugly up close.
As I continue reading, I hope to find out more about Margo's mysterious nature. Hopefully the plot will deepen in the next few chapters, as currently only the characters and setting have been established.
The main character Q (short for Quentin) is quiet and I perceive as a bit of a wallflower. Meanwhile, his lifelong crush and childhood best friend, Margo Roth Spiegelman is the exact opposite. She's insanely outgoing, and extremely popular. When the two of them find a dead man in the park, they begin to grow distant, and part ways. Q has heard everything about Margo, but nothing from her, yet he still admires her from a distance.
Margo suddenly comes back into Q's life at midnight on a school night, through the window she once left him through (quite literally). It's the last week of senior year, and she finally acknowledges the friend she had all but forgotten. She recruits him to help her on her eleven-part plan to get revenge on her enemies. At around 4 AM, Q and Margo's adventure is finally over, and Q is left wondering whether anything has changed between the two of them.
“Here’s what’s not beautiful about it: from here, you can’t see the rust or the cracked paint or whatever, but you can tell what the place really is. You see how fake it all is. It’s not even hard enough to be made out of plastic. It’s a paper town.”
- John Green, Paper Towns
So far, I find Margo to be the most complex and interesting character. She's the most popular girl in her school, and has good grades and a bright future, yet there's a mysterious nature about her. She has an almost distant nature to herself. Margo always speaks poetically, her dialogue once even described as a soliloquy. She also disappears often, only to come back with stories of her exploits. From sneaking into concerts to breaking into places, there's nothing she hasn't done. Margo herself is described as very beautiful, yet she finds that beauty is only true from afar, and that everything including herself, is ugly up close.
As I continue reading, I hope to find out more about Margo's mysterious nature. Hopefully the plot will deepen in the next few chapters, as currently only the characters and setting have been established.
