Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Paper Towns

Paper Towns
Paper Towns
Author: John Green
Genres: Children's Books, Teen & Young Adult
Book Type: Paperback
reviewed on + 1437 more book reviews


This book takes readers back to their own high school years. Many of us knew people like Margo, Quentin, Radar, Ben, and Lacey. Like Margo, I wanted to leave my small town to explore other places. As the tale rolls out the reader begins to wonder what happened during Margo and Quentin's childhood when they were friends.

Just before prom, one realizes that Quentin will not attend for any reason whatsoever. Then Margo appears at his window dressed like a ninja asking him to help her with a plan. He is enamored by Margo and most willing to help her with a list of things she wants to do. Their nighttime adventure takes them all night. The next day, so sleepy, he doesn't at first realize that Margo is not in school. Wondering where she has gone, he begins to find clues that can lead him to her. At least he hopes so because the questions that run through his mind are frightening. Has she been kidnapped? Is she dead? Or, has she just run away? Much of the book centers on his search for Margo.

While the two live different lives, the author somehow weaves them together in a most skillful manner. This is a fast paced read with richly developed characters. Margo has a way of putting people off while Quentin is quiet and sometimes slow to catch on the what is happening. I liked this clever book with its wonderful characters. Good read.