Paper Towns: Pin Point a New Way to Look at Love and Life

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Two teens try to discover themselves as one works to uncover the other.

Sophie Feinberg, Editor

Our Rating: A

Meet Quentin (Q) Jacobsen, a dorky high school senior, and Margo Ruth Spiegelman, a popular girl ready for adventure, the respective protagonist and antagonist of Paper Towns. Quentin and Margo were once close childhood friends – united by their story of finding a body in the park. However, with growth in age came distance in reality. That is until Margo mysteriously climbs into Quentin’s bedroom window one night ready for an adventure around their town, Orlando, to get back at her ex-boyfriend.

However, their relinked paths are ripped apart almost as soon as they were joined back together. Just when Quentin’s love for Margo comes to the forefront, she leaves, but not without leaving a series of clues concerning her whereabouts that keep their paths tied together, if only by a string. Quentin works with his best friends, Radar and Ben, to piece together the clues and find Margo.

Together, after hours of sleuth work, they board Quentin’s minivan and depart on an unforgettable journey to a paper town, called Agloe, on the day of graduation. Paper towns are fake towns, created as a trap of sorts, and mimic the central theme of the novel: the dangers of imagining love as more than human. Later, the events of the novel come full circle to illustrate something author John Green faced in his own life with crushes, making the book’s storyline more personal.

Green takes readers on an unforgettable journey filled with humor, sorrow, love and anger. Paper Towns is a relatable tale for many teens as it mimics the emotions many may struggle with as they grow up. This mystery novel works to redefine love and take readers on their own adventure.

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My favorite part about the book was really the sense of adventure. From the beginning when Q first reunites with Margo until the end, it’s kind of a nonstop plot. I also found their relationship very interesting to read about,

— senior Claire Shillington

With many positive reviews and diehard fans, Paper Towns is being made into a movie starring Cara Delevingne as Margo and Nat Wolff as Quentin (Check out the trailer here!), coming to theaters July 24, 2015. For now, read the novel that, like so many other Green novels, truly highlights the struggles most teens grapple with.