Review - PAPER TOWNS by John Green

review 2 Responses »
Aug 312009

I’m conflicted about this book. I have read John Green’s work before, and I love his writing style and characters. However, Paper Towns does, as other reviewers have mentioned, tread well-worn ground: in many ways, his characters Quentin (“Q”) and Margo may as well be clones of Miles (“Pudge”) and Alaska in Looking for Alaska, or Colin and his Katherines in An Abundance of Katherines. The formula seems to be the same: Take one intelligent, quirky, neurotic, nerdy-geeky guy. Add one unattainable, mysterious, beautiful/bad-ass/brilliant girl with at least one deep flaw, not immediately apparent, who this guy obsesses over anyway. Throw in a dash of ethnically random friends who are even quirkier than the guy, and about as intelligent, which results in incredibly quirky, witty, though sometimes hokey, banter between them.

However, Green executes this formula excellently. I’m torn between giving Paper Towns or Alaska the crown, here, since I liked different things about the books. I think Alaska had the better plot, since Paper Towns starts off with engines roaring, switches gears abruptly, chugs along at a steady pace, then peters to a put-putting halt. There’s so much beautifully worked tension that builds and builds, but toward the last third of the book, I found the suspense exhausting and started reading so fast the words blurred, just to get to the end. When I did hit that final climactic scene, it was anti-climactic. I went through the final pages, hoping, hoping, then cried, “What? Seriously? Was that IT?” and wanted to throttle a certain character.

Although… I suspect Green intended the ending to be a little anti-climactic, at least according to the setup of the story and the expectations of Quentin, which I shared. I don’t think Green wanted Paper Towns to be a book that fulfilled readers’ desires for a tidy plot, perfect romance, or happy ending, since these literary devices rarely occur in reality. Paper Towns appears to aim higher, and deeper, for a story that makes you question what fulfillment and purpose actually mean. His exploration of the term “paper towns” being a prime example. But still, I can’t say it wasn’t disappointing.

Different readers will take away different messages from this book. I recommend that you read it if you’re looking for beautifully written contemporary YA, or if you like literary explorations of character. However, don’t expect Paper Towns to satisfy your every desire as a reader. That is, I think, the point.

Posted by karenkincy at 9:27 pm Tagged with: , ,

Review: LET IT SNOW

review No Responses »
Mar 312009

One afternoon when I was sick and it was stormy outside, I rummaged through my To Be Read pile and grabbed this book. I’d read (and liked) John Green before, so I expected at least a third of LET IT SNOW to be good. Curled up on my bed, I read the first half in one sitting, then read the rest that evening. This is very good, for me, since I read fast but also have a short attention span when tempted by many books.

Curiously, my initial expectation of Green’s third being my favorite part of the book didn’t turn out right. Green’s “A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle” came in second to Maureen Johnson’s “Jubilee Express,” while Lauren’s Myracle’s “The Patron Saint of Pigs” came in a distant third. In more detail, here’s my lineup:

#1 Johnson wrote my favorite third of the book, carried off by the delightful narrator, Jubilee, named after one of the buildings in a fictional line of Christmas collectibles. These same collectibles, by the way, lead to a shopping riot that lands Jubilee’s parents in jail and sends Jubilee on a train-ride into a blizzard… but I won’t spoil what happens next in this quirky, charming story. Lots of little details make this story seem feel both real and amusingly ridiculous. The romance, especially, was sweet and fun.

#2 Green’s strengths seem to consistently be dialogue and character, though his characters do seem rather familiar at times. His story felt a lot like his other books that I’ve read–LOOKING FOR ALASKA and AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES–with a group of clever (sometimes a little too clever, if you ask me), crazy friends examined through the eyes of a more normal guy who has a crush on a smart, eclectic, mysterious girl. That’s fine with me, I guess, since I liked his other books, though I would like to see him try writing from the viewpoint of a girl for a change. Though I suppose he balances out the other authors, who write through the eyes of female characters.

#3 Myracle’s third would have to be my least favorite. It felt like the book lost some of its spark when she took over, and the ending dragged a little while the beginning and middle flew past. I’m not sure why, though I have my theories: perhaps Johnson and Green wrote their thirds first, and then Myracle had to work with the characters and material they came up with rather than introducing too many of her own ideas. Granted, Johnson and Green are tough acts to follow. Or maybe this is just Myracle’s style, which I happen not to like as much as those of the other authors. Disclaimer: I won’t go as far as to say Myracle’s writing ruined the book, because at this point I was already intrigued by the interlocking stories and how the characters rubbed shoulders.

Overall, LET IT SNOW wasn’t an epic or deep book, by any means. Rather, it was a banana-bread kind of book: tasty, not too complicated, and when you’ve finished enjoying it, you don’t feel too guilty. (As opposed to fluffier, junkier books.) I would recommend it to anyone who likes sweet romances and quirky teen characters.

Posted by karenkincy at 6:55 pm Tagged with: , , , ,