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Paper Towns
Unavailable
Paper Towns
Unavailable
Paper Towns
Audiobook8 hours

Paper Towns

Written by John Green

Narrated by Dan John Miller

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

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.

Printz medalist John Green returns with the brilliant wit and searing emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of listeners.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 16, 2008
ISBN9781423380023
Unavailable
Paper Towns
Author

John Green

John Green grew up on Long Island and has worked in New York City since graduating from the School of Visual Arts with a degree in graphic design. He was the comics consultant for Disney Adventures magazine and has also worked on comics for Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, Scholastic, DC Comics, and First Second Books. His latest project is Hippopotamister, his first graphic novel as both writer and artist. John lives in Brooklyn, and you can see more of his work at www.johngreenart.com.

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Reviews for Paper Towns

Rating: 3.8797148726462725 out of 5 stars
4/5

3,367 ratings269 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    There were some interesting moments and ideas in this book, but overall it was a bit meh. It was a little crude for my taste, lots of dirty teenage-boy jokes. And it kind of followed a hyper-intense nerd stereotype which was almost painful to read. And it had all the immature high school cliches & drama that I loathe. Not to mention it had way too any metaphors and monologues and really bad literature references.

    I did get into the mystery of what happened to Margo, and what kind of person she really was, which is why I gave this book three stars. And there were some good lines in the mess.

    I LOVED The Fault in Our Stars, so to not love this book was really disappointing. TFIOS just seemed more mature, polished & sincere to me. Every line in TFIOS was special, whereas in Paper Towns many of the lines were kind of trashy.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It was good. By the third part I was ready for it to end. I want to see the movie now.

    This is the story of a boy named Quentin Jacobsen and the adventures he has with a childhood friend and secret love, Margo Roth Spiegelman. In part 1, they are children who discover a dead man's body; an event that connects them in ways they do not realize. They grow up and their lives are separated. The setting is Jefferson High in Orlando, Florida in the early 2000s and the reader is introduced to Quentin's good friends, Radar and Ben Starling, his fellow nerds. In contrast, Margo is the most popular girl in school who has an incredible reputation for her wild spirit and pranks. In one particular event, Margo sneaks into Quentin's bedroom and asks him to help her execute an eleven-part plan, which largely involves taking revenge on her ex-boyfriend. Quentin is exhilarated and his love for Margo is reenergized.

    In Part II of the book, Margo completely disappears and Quentin wonders if he will see her again. Interestingly, Margo has left him a series of clues as to her whereabouts. Quentin pursues Margo with the help of his friends, until high school comes to an end. Quentin follows a string of false leads, which leads him to gradually accept that he has made Margo into a magical non-person, a "paper girl" and that he loves someone who may not exist. He eventually decides that the only way to find Margo is to learn to understand who she is. As Quentin seeks his love, he grapples with Margo's use of the phrase "paper towns" in her clues. Eventually he figures out that a paper town is a false city on a map that cartographers once used to detect copycats. Margo had left for the paper town of Algoe, New York.

    In Part III it is the night of graduation and Quentin grabs his friends to leave on an intense, twenty-one hour road trip from Orlando to upstate Agloe. Quentin, Radar, Ben, and Ben's new girlfriend Lacey, must catch Margo the day before she leaves Agloe forever. When they reach Agloe, they find Margo in an old barn, writing. After arguing over Margo's apparent selfishness for leaving, Ben, Radar, and Lacey storm out. Eventually Quentin and Margo come to realize with regret that their love was based in falsehood, him being a "paper boy" and she a "paper girl." Quentin, however, does not give up on Margo. They admit their romantic affections for one another but realize that their values must lead them to separate futures.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Many parts were laugh-out-loud funny, but Green mixes in plenty of thoughtful commentary. There were so many coincidences and lucky breaks to make the mystery pretty darned unbelievable, but Green's writing style is enjoyable enough that I'm happy to go along for the ride.The one character who confused me was Lacey - I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I found this John Green novel better than The Fault in our Stars. The teens seemed more characteristically teen-like. I love that his characters are smart and usually a bit nerdish. His fast-paced storyline and silly character shenanigans were fun to read. A YA book to recommend to teens at BHS.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I didn't know paper towns was a real thing until I heard the editor's notes at the end of this book. I enjoyed this as an audiobook. Quentin lives next to Margo and Quentin fell in love with Margo when they were 10. One night Margo sneaks into Quentin's room and takes him on an all-nighter that ends at daybreak. Next day she is gone. Quentin wonders what has happened to her and when he finds out that she has left clues before when she has ran off, he starts to follow the clues and drags his friends into it to help.

    Not a bad young adult book. I look forward to the movie to see how close they stick to the story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    At the end of their senior year, Quentin's (Q's) first childhood love, Margo, appears at his bedroom window one evening, requesting that he take her on a road trip. Now who wouldn't accept an invitation like that from THE Margo Roth Spiegelman? Like all the high school seniors would do, Q accepts, and a crazy night of adventure ensues. Unfortunately, the fun doesn't last long, because as quickly as Margo reappeared in Q's life, she disappears just as fast. Now with Margo's safety in mind, Q and his buddies follow the trail that she has left behind. Q is determined to rescue her.Now that I have read two John Green novels, I think he just doesn't write books that fancy my inner young adult. While I found the adventures to be somewhat interesting and exciting, they were certainly not realistic. There was nothing special about the main character, Q, that helped me connect or truly care about him and I didn't care for Margo at all. One of Q's buddies was okay, but he didn't play a huge role. Now, the book's saving grace was the mystery itself. Following clues and solving the puzzle of where Margo could possibly be was the best attribute of the novel. (3.5/5)Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..."
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Gasp if you must, but this is only my second John Green book. I read TFIOS a long time ago, back before it became this huge movie-type thing, just because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. People love John Green. They spout his quotes all the time, and I was wondering what I was missing. I was one of those people who loved TFIOS, so I decided that more exploration was in order. I purchased an audio copy of Paper Towns and settled in with no expectations.

    That being said, I was pleasantly surprised with this book! Paper Towns manages to mix some very heavy thoughts on life, with the awkward, hilariousness of being a teenage boy. Quentin, or Q as his friends adoringly call him, is your typical teenager. He hangs with his friends, crushes on girls, plus adores and gets annoyed with his parents in equal turns. To Q, there are two things that are constant in life. Number one, his friends Ben and Marcus (Radar) will always be there to play video games and goof off. Number two, Margo Roth Speigelman is someone to be placed on a pedestal. A whirlwind of a girl who has wild adventures, speaks her mind, and is perfection embodied. That is, until he discovers that nothing is really ever constant.

    Following Q and his friends was honestly a ton of fun. I was transported back to my days wandering the high school campus. When life was full of homework, funny conversations, and that blessed normalcy that comes with school life. John Green captures the essence of the teenage boy perfectly in this story. I loved that these guys sat around and had serious conversations, peppered with silly jokes. I watched as they navigated friendship potholes, debated life lessons, and planned for their futures. It was just so familiar and comfortable.

    When Margo went missing, that's when things really picked up. Suddenly I was holding on tight as clues were found, possibilities explored, and all manner of deep thoughts pondered. Let me tell you, I want a physical copy of this book just for some of the quotes in Paper Towns. They are things that, while they fit perfectly in the story itself, apply to everyone. Thoughts on the way we see ourselves and the way others see us. Thoughts on pretending to be something you're not. If there's one thing that I've noticed John Green excels at, it's slipping messages into his writing. You see them, you know they're there, but they blend in seamlessly.

    So why the four star rating? To be honest, it was all about the ending. It just didn't satisfy me at all, especially after the epic build up that led to it. Still, I'm impressed with this book as a whole. I think I'll continue my John Green exploration.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed reading this. The characters were all a lot of fun, and the mystery was intriguing. There were a lot of great quotes to be found in this book (both from John Green and from other famous writers, like Whitman). The book gets a little "rambly" at the end, but within the last few pages, it redeems itself.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great narration on the audiobook. I really like John Green.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Very disappointing, since I liked The Fault in Our Stars so much...
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was simply amazing. I liked the characters especially Q and his unwillingness to give up on Margo. Easy read but also intense at some parts. Some parts had me laughing out loud. Hated the ending. Majorly bummed out about how it ended.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    As a John Green fan, I was surprised I couldn't make it through this book. I almost called it quits twice before stopping about two-thirds of the way through this largely forgettable yarn. The characters didn't captivate me. The clue-crammed scavanger hunt was just plain boring. There were some amusing passages, but not nearly enough to keep my interest.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It's actually 3.5 stars for me.

    I seem to like only the parts where Margo Roth Spiegelman is present as well as the actual trip where they look for her. The rest seem to be dull, although the rest of the characters start to develop and have their lives turned around. Who'd have thought Ben would end up with Lacey? Who'd have thought Radar and Angela would last this long? (I wonder though if they're still together after Radar leaves her on graduation for the trip to finding Margo)

    That's it. The Fault in Our Stars remain superior.

    EDIT 06/09/13
    I seem to have liked this book much better. Does it have that effect when you're rereading it? Because it worked for me.. I mean, I liked the trio's nerdy banter more. Yeah, the night with Margo will always be the best part, but I wasn't that bored anymore with the succeeding pages.

    I think the ending moved me much more than the first time I finished this.. ok that's all
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is the 2nd John Green book I have read and I enjoyed both of them. Both books brought back long buried memories of High School, girls, friends and road trips. I haven't seen the movie, but I can't imagine it is as good as the book. Now I just may have to read A Fault in the Stars, which I haven't seen either.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Good quick reading. Not entirely dissimilar to Looking For Alaska in that it involves impressionable teenagers searching for a mythical missing female friend, and in the process finding themselves.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I am so glad high school only lasts a few years, and that my high school years are long past. Reading novels like this makes me realize just how different teen perspectives really are. Granted, many adults never leave this limited perspective, and maybe that is part of why so many adults gravitate towards teen literature. The characters in Paper Towns are very full of themselves, but with absolutely no idea who they are. The metaphor of paper towns, placeholder towns on maps that have no real, physical counterpart, is actually quite good for this sort of empty but self-centered person. This book actually has a few adults who also fall into this type, especially Margo's parents, neither of whom can really understand, let alone care about Margo unless she conforms to their very superficial image of themselves as stereotypical happy, middle-class parents. Margo, while rebelling against this superficiality, has not really worked out what being a more complete person looks like. I am sure there are lots of great people all around her in her life, but she cannot see anyone but herself, so she has to run away in search of something she has a hard time defining, something besides 'paper'.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Very funny at the beginning and maybe some other parts throughout, but seemed to drag towards the end.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This book was not what I expected. I really hate Margo. I really enjoyed Quentin and his friends. It took me so long to finish this book. I was so determined to finish it that when I did, I left it on a bench.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    More of the same.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed reading this. The characters were all a lot of fun, and the mystery was intriguing. There were a lot of great quotes to be found in this book (both from John Green and from other famous writers, like Whitman). The book gets a little "rambly" at the end, but within the last few pages, it redeems itself.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    while Paper Towns is my least favorite John Green book, I still enjoyed it. I have very high expectations for John Green after his other novels, and while I did not feel that this was as deep and thought provoking as his other novels, it was a very enjoyable and exciting read. The swearing and slight vulgarity did surprise me at first, but when reading green, that is something that is expected. If, you want to continue reading reading Green due to his fantastic story lines, you must be willing to overlook crude humor, occasional vulgarity, and swearing. I was able to overlook these things and really enjoyed the novel.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    While the characters, plot, and writing are all engaging, Green's novels never quite strike the chord I'm hoping for. Paper Towns was no exception; an intriguing mix of all, yet when the climax and finale hit, it just felt like someone played a wrong note.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    After a night of mayhem with his longtime neighbour and friend, Margo Roth Spiegelman, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen discovers that she has gone missing with just weeks to go to graduation. Determined to find her, he enlists the help of friends Ben, Radar, and Lacey. Her parents file a missing person's report as Q tries to unravel the clues that Margo has left behind. But is Q's idealisation of Margo truly who she really is or is she just trying to escape and find her true self? Interesting read, but dragged a little.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    John Green's sense of humour and turn of phrase are so engaging that his books are always a pleasure to read. I enjoyed Paper Town's message that it's only when we suffer emotional damage that we become sensitive to other people and can understand them better.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    After my daughter urged me to read The Fault in Our Stars (which reduced me to a sobbing mess of tears in a mere three hours), I vowed never to read another John Green novel because clearly he was a cruel and deranged man. But then I have this rule where I won't let myself see a movie unless I've first read the novel and Paper Towns is going to be a movie that I will go see ... so I was forced to read the book.And I have to say this is a brilliant novel. I loved it. And that's saying a lot because I was determined NOT to like it.The characters are such that I immediately either loved them (Q) or hated them (Margo). This book is just so REAL and honest. Which is Green's trademark.The pacing of the novel is perfect, the ongoing mystery of Margo and Q's undying devotion to her is hard to resist. I also loved that this story is told entirely from Q's point of view. It was really refreshing to read a novel written from the male protagonist's viewpoint.I think Green really captures the angst and excitement that encapsulate the final few months of high school. This is a universally appealing book. If you haven't yet read it, you should!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Where did Margo go? That's what Quentin is trying to solve. He thinks that if he finds the suburbs that were only planned, never built he might locate the girl of his dreams. But who is Margo really?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wonderful tale about relationships in modern world. Really liked positive messages like it's ok to be different, even if you feel alone we all still connected. Paper town concept also was quite interesting as it was used both as not existing place and as a not real town, people. ?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The chapters were odd timed. The last one is almost an hour long. Just don’t go into thinking you can read it by chapter because the real book is made like this so it isn’t a mistake.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Sometimes reading a young adult book as an adult it means you don't identify with the characters. The things important to them are no longer important to you. That is what happened here. I just wasn't particularly interested in the kids.