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Paper Towns

Paper Towns

Contemporary LiteratureYoung Adult
Pages
336
Published
2008
Language
English

Synopsis

Quentin "Q" Jacobsen has spent his whole life a few doors down from Margo Roth Spiegelman, the magnetic, legend-making girl he has quietly loved since childhood. Then one night Margo climbs through his window and recruits him for an all-night campaign of elaborate revenge across their Orlando suburb — and by morning she has vanished.

Margo has disappeared before, but this time she has left a trail of cryptic clues that seem meant for Q. Convinced he is the one person who can find her, Q and his friends chase the breadcrumbs through abandoned "paper towns," fake map entries, and the gap between the girl Margo actually is and the mystery he has built her into.

A coming-of-age road novel about idealization, identity, and really seeing other people, Paper Towns is one of John Green's most beloved books and the basis for the 2015 film. It is funny and wistful in equal measure, and quietly skeptical of the manic-pixie-dream-girl fantasy it appears to indulge.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

ReflectiveAdventurousThought-ProvokingFunnyNostalgic
Coming of AgeRoad TripMystery Box

Genres

Contemporary Literature Young Adult YA Contemporary Romance Mystery

About the author

J
John Green

John Green's first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award presented by the American Library Association. His second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Paper Towns, is a New York Times bestseller and won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best YA Mystery. Starting in 2007, John and his brother Hank were the hosts of a popular internet blog, "Brotherhood 2.0," (ak...

Characters

Quentin "Q" JacobsenProtagonist

A cautious, methodical high-school senior who sets out to decode the clues Margo left behind.

Margo Roth SpiegelmanSupporting

Q's charismatic, unpredictable neighbor whose disappearance drives the story.

Ben StarlingSupporting

Q's brash, comic best friend along for the search.

Marcus "Radar" LincolnSupporting

Q's level-headed friend, obsessed with editing an online encyclopedia.

Lacey PembertonSupporting

Margo's friend, who joins the search alongside Q, Ben and Radar.

All characters in Paper Towns

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