Title: Paper Towns
Author: John Green
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 312
Rating: 3/5
The first thing to say about this is that you can definitely tell it’s a John Green novel. I’ve heard critics of his who say he can’t write, but whether that’s true or not, he does at least have a distinctive voice that makes sure that you know whose book you’re reading.
I wasn’t much of a fan of Paper Towns, mainly because I really didn’t like Margo, but I also thought that the plot was a little weak. I’ve read four of Green’s books now and this is my least favourite of the lot of them, but it’s still not so bad that it’s unreadable. I guess I can also see why other people like it, because I think that parts that I disliked are the same parts that other people do like.
For me, though, this read more like a YouTuber’s novel than like a writer’s novel, which is a shame because I think he’s got better at it as time has gone by. None of the characters are particularly likeable or even believable, and it also feels more “YA” than most YA novels. It’s almost formulaic, and I can’t say that I was surprised by any of it.
But still, I kept on reading, and I guess that’s all you can ask for in a book like this. I certainly don’t regret reading it because now I can tick it off the list, but I also doubt I’ll be re-reading it any time soon. I think the only two John Green books that I have left are Will Grayson Will Grayson and the story he has in Let it Snow, and after reading this, I’m in no particular rush to read them. But I’m also a completionist, so there’s that.
Click here to buy Paper Towns.