Book Reviews: Paper Towns

Paper Towns by John Green

 “The town was paper, but the memories were not.” 
- John Green, Paper Towns.

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer Q gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew.


Now let me just start this review by saying this book is very similar to Looking For Alaska and I can see why some people got annoyed, but I didn't really mind, I thought it had it's own originality even if the main characters were basically a carbon cutout of Miles and Alaska. 

Paper Towns is the story of a boy named Quentin who is in his Senior Year in school, Ever since he was a child, he has been in love with the quirky, eccentric Margo. One night Margo enters Quentin's bedroom window and takes him on an adventurous night full of pranks, breaking into SeaWorld and scenting cars with the smell of fish, however the next day, Quentin finds that Margo has disappeared, que a book full of mystery, humor and many pretentious characters. 

I really enjoyed this book, much more than I thought I would. It wasn't my favourite John Green book but it was really fun and quick. I had my problems with it, but overall I thought it was a good novel, not outstanding though.

Characters:

I really enjoyed Quentin's character at the start of the book, but towards the middle he got quite annoying with his obsession with Margo, even missing his Prom and Graduation just for her. It was quite unrealistic since he had only talked to her about 3 times in his life. Also he was in his Senior year in school and he didn't even care about his future education.
I really liked Radar, Lacey and Ben, they were really funny and made the book much more interesting. The minivan scenes were really funny to read about.
Margo was a 50/50 character, I really liked her at the start, but she was really annoying at the end, and I found her to be quite attention-seeking.

Plot:

I loved the start of the book, it was really fun and I loved all the pranks Margo and Q pulled, however when Margo disappeared the book started to get quite slow and boring.
My favourite scene was probably the shopping/minivan scene, it was hilarious.
I felt the ending was a bit anti climatic and I thought it should've been a bit longer so we could see what would happen after (SPOILER) Quentin leaves Margo, I would of loved an epilogue happening after Q started College and finding out what happens to Margo.

Overall I thought this was a good novel and I really enjoyed it, not one of my favourites but it was a nice summer read. I have read every John Green book now except An Abundance of Katherines, which I plan to read quite soon. I'm giving this book 4 stars out of 5.

Bout of Books 10 Update: Days 1-4

Hello guys!
Well Bout of Books 10 started on Monday 12th May, and it has been one helluva week so far! I have has some high reading moments and some very bad ones....
Here is my progress so far and what I am planning to read for the remainder of the week.

So I started off the week with Reading Paper Towns, and I was already 141 pages in before the read-a-thon. Monday was the worst reading day so far, I only read 6 pages! I actually have no excuse other than I was too lazy and I couldn't stop watching The Office US. On Tuesday I did slightly better, I read 87 pages bringing my total of the read-a-thon to 93 pages. On Wednesday I read quite a lot and ended up finishing Paper Towns, I also started Miss Peregrines home for Peculiar Children and read 30 pages of that.
Overall Mon-Wed statistics:

Monday: 6 Pages of Paper Towns (On Page 147)
Tuesday: 87 Pages of Paper Towns (On Page 234)
Wednesday: 104 Pages altogether, 71 pages of Paper Towns (Finished on Page 305) and 33 Pages of Miss Peregrines home for Peculiar Children.

So far today, I have read 110 pages of Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children, meaning I am on page 143. I plan on reading about 40 pages more today. So far my page count is 307, and I am very happy with that, My goal is to read 500 pages altogether for the read-a-thon, and I think that I am on track.

So I am planning to finish Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children by early Saturday, and then starting The Darkest Minds as said in my TBR post last week, however I am thinking of changing that and reading Hollow City, the sequel to Miss Peregrine's instead, I just bought it today and because I am in love with the first one so far, I might want to continue on with the world. So that is it for now, You can keep up with my progress on Goodreads or Twitter, I will leave the links down below.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RainingKnight18
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9990480-haroon

Don't forget I am going to be doing a full wrap up when the read-a-thon is finished. Bye For Now!

Bout of Books 10 Reads!

Hello!
In my last post, I announced that I would be participating in the Bout of Books 10 read-a-thon happening during the week of 12th-18th of May. I have picked out three books which I am planning to read during the week. I am very excited about all these choices.



Miss Peregrine's home for 
Peculiar Children

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

I recently bought this books and I am extremely excited to dive into this story, it sounds amazing and the pictures are truly creepy. I may even read this before the read-a-thon...



Paper Towns 


Two-time Printz Medalist John Green’s New York Times bestseller, now in paperback!

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life — dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge — he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues — and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

I am really interested to see how this book turns out, since I have heard mixed things about it, but I think the plot sounds really interesting and mysterious. Also I am a massive John Green fan and I have really liked all the books I have read by him so far, With Looking For Alaska being my favourite.



The Darkest Minds 


When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that's killed most of America's children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she's on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her-East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can't risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

I have been hearing non-stop hype surrounding this book and I am so excited to read this book because it just sounds so amazing and unique, Also it involves road-trips which is like the coolest thing ever. Nuff' said.