“ maybe Margo loved mysteries so much she became one”
The novel Paper Towns by John Green follows Quentin Jacobsen ( Q to his friends) as he and his friends try to find Margo, his childhood best friend and secret crush after she disappears weeks before senior graduation, Q and his friends follow a string of elaborate clues to find her location, but are they prepared for what they might find.
A message I took from the text was that there are so many different versions of everyone, the way Q thinks about Margo is entirely different to the way Margo sees herself. Q sees a popular well known girl, he sees the same Margo he was best friends with all those years ago, however Margo feels alone, overlooked and leaving the city is the only way to have a fresh start. “Your not even pissed at me Q, your pissed at the idea of me you kept inside your brain from when we were little” I think this quote shows Margo knows how she is viewed by Quentin but wants him to understand she’s not a small child anymore, she has grown since then and isn’t the same girl she was 10 years ago.
A challenge that the characters had to face in the novel paper towns was the disappearance of Margo. This was a challenge for Q and his friends as they didn’t know where she went or why she left in the first place. Following Margos clues proved challenging and could mean many different things. To add to the challenge a wave of panic washed over them as they realised Margo could be dead, many times they became stumped on the clues Margo had left for them as they only led them to dead ends and disappointment.
A character in the novel I found interesting was Margo Roth-Spiegelman because she’s witty and always looking for adventure despite the consequences. I find margo interesting as she and I are so different but have similar factors that make us so similar, for example she lives her teenage years waiting for the perfect moment to leave the paper towns like me I like the town I live in but I feel there is nothing here for me, I think like Margo if I left there would be endless opportunities for me that are better than staying in the same place for your whole life, however we are different as she is a rebel, she is confident and knows how to stick up for herself. The character Margo reminds me of Alaska from the novel “looking for Alaska” also written by John Green, as they both has a badass attitude but feel the world has done them wrong.
I believe Paper towns is a suitable title for this novel as it shows that nothing is permanent. I believe John Green is trying to tell us that like the town being paper, fragile and delicate so were the people, misunderstood and not as strong as you think this leads to Margo getting tired of trying to fit into the town’s stereotype and leaving her old life and everyone in it behind.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone over the age of 13 who has an intrest in problem solving, mystery and adventure as it follows four friends as they try to follow a series of clues so difficult and unique the city detectives can’t even follow it.
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