About this title: With his trademark brilliant wit and heart-stopping emotional honesty, the Printz Medal-winning author of "Looking for Alaska" returns with a novel about a teenage girl who has mysteriously vanished, and the boy who looks for her by following the clues she has left behind just for him.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Audio Book
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781423344223ISBN:1423344227
Description: New. New in the shrink wrap! Factory sealed. NEW audio book on 7 CDs published by Brilliance Audio. Enjoy this unabridged audio performance! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780525478188ISBN:0525478183
Description: New. First Edition-First Printing 10-1. Slight shelf wear. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Speak
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780142414934ISBN:014241493X
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: Very Good+ Collectible ARC. Glossy color pictorial cover; "dual jacket treatment" features one photo front and another on the back. Target audience: Ages 14 and up, Grades 9 and up. Released nationally in hardcover October 2008. Slight reading curl to front cover. Interior clean and unmarked, no tears or page creases. Very gently used. read more
Binding: Audiobook CD
Publisher: Brilliance Corporation, Grand Haven, MI 49417
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781423344223ISBN:1423344227
Description: New in new dust jacket. 7 CDs. Audience: Children/juvenile; Young adult. Brand new and shrink wrapped. In stock for immediate shipment. Satisfaction guaranteed. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Books
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780525478188ISBN:0525478183
Description: New. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 305 p. Intended for a juvenile audience. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Childrens Books
Date Published: 2008-10-16
ISBN-13:9780525478188ISBN:0525478183
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780525478188. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780525478188ISBN:0525478183
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Spoken Word MP3-CD
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Date Published: 2008-10-16
ISBN-13:9781423344247ISBN:1423344243
Description: NEW. Spoken Word MP3-CD. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781423344247. read more
Binding: Audio CD
Publisher: Brilliance Audio on MP3-CD
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781423344247ISBN:1423344243
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
"I found myself quite taken by this book. Much more than what I expected when I first started.
I found Paper Towns on the staff recommendations shelf at The Book Cellar. Of course, I thought the girl on the cover was mega-cute, so that was a plus. But, after reading a few pages and seeing the low price (for a 1st ed hardcover) I thought I'd take a chance. And, after Never Let Me Go, I was ready for something lighter.
So, the plot of this book is that a girl disappears a week before her high school graduation and her neighbor, a kid who's had a crush on her since they were little, takes it upon himself to find her. Using what appear to be various clues left by the girl, and a well-loved copy of Walt Whitman's poems, the neighbor boy begins his search.
The mystery and the hunt for the girl is fun, but what really captured me were the characters. The boy is a member of this trio of geek friends who are pretty hilarious. They accompany our detective for some of his adventure. Other kids show up, and they all act and talk like real kids do, which is not easy to find in the world of literature (or film or television or whatever).
Eventually, the book begins to examine the differences between the perception and reality of a person, and how close the two of them can come together. It's dabbled with in the middle of the book, but there are some really nice passages on the subject at the end, which I read several times because I liked it so much.
When I showed my sister the book, she said she was curious about the author; she had seen his stuff in the young adult section of the bookstore. I didn't know the book was geared at young adults. The language was not overly poetic or difficult, and that could be because of the YA audience. (I confess, I haven't read a YA book since I was in high school and read The Pigman.) But, still, I enjoyed the book greatly for its great characters* and nice philosophical noodling.
* and I'm not one who really gets into characters, so that was a switch!"
"Maybe it's that I read all three of John Green novels in close succession, but I still have to say that "Paper Towns" is the weakest of his first three novels.
Quentin Jacobson has grown up next door to Margo Roth Spielgman and always harbored a crush on her. The two had a moment as eight year olds where they discovered a dead body in the woods near their home together. But since then, they've not really been what you'd call friends.
Until one night when Margo sneaks into Q's room and asks him to come along on an adventure. Q agrees and the two embark on a campaign including spray paint, a big jar of Vasoline, several catfish and a trip to Sea-World. In a lot of ways, it feels like Margo is bringing her life in an Orlando suburb to a close. Q figures it might be for Margo to get ready to go off to college--that is, until she vanishes the next day.
Apparently, this isn't the first time Margo has left home. But since she's 18, there's little her family can do about it.
Her disappearance and their adventures leave Q a bit disconcerted since he felt the two might have made a connection on their late night spree. He becomes determined (you might even say obsessed) with finding out where Margo has gone and why, eventually dragging in some of his friends on the quest.
One of the strengths of "Paper Towns" is that it keeps the fate of Margo very vague for much of the story. As rumors of where she's gone or what fate could have befallen her abound, the readers are presented with just enough supporting evidence to make each assumption reasonable but still keep you guessing.
And maybe it would have been better to leave it that way instead of the resolution we do get. Not knowing what happened to Margo might have been more interesting than what we eventually find out.
As I said, this was the least satifsying for Green's novels I've read so far. And it could be that I read them in rapid succession after enjoying "An Ambundance of Katherines" and have grown tired of quirky first-person narrators and the zany objects of affection they find."
"This book is about two different types of relationships. At first, it seems to be about a guy (Quentin, known as Q) who has been in love with his not-so-typical girl next door (Margo) since they were children together. Since being children, they've drifted apart and hang with very different crowds in high school. She's with the cool kids, and he's with the band geeks. But what happens when she decides she needs his help to carry out the ultimate revenge plan? And then disappears?
But there's also the relationship between Q and his two best friends. And I think that's what this book is really about. The interactions among Q and his friends as they try to figure out what happened to Margo and plan for prom at the same time had me laughing out loud even in this seemingly somber book.
I did have one problem with this book: Margo is almost the exact same character as Alaska from another of Green's books. The incandescent girl who plans elaborate pranks and captures the imagination of her peers is an excellent character, but surely Green has more than one leading lady in his repertoire. Incidentally, I like Margo better than her counterpart."
"Paper Towns By John Green 978-0-525-47818-8 305 pages, Published in New York, New York 10014 Published by Penguin Group, $17.99 USA
Susanne Smetana Writing Arts 9
A smiling girl on a bright yellow background hits your eyes when you pull this book of its shelf. The pleasant cover instantly pulled me in, as well as the author's name, John Green, in bold letters. This is his third published fiction work, and it's just as amazing as his other books: Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines. The title, Paper Towns, is enough to make you think. Certainly it's an odd title, but by the end of the story you'll be able to explain it to anyone. A complex theory followed by subtle explanations, until by the end of the book you'll realize - he never outright explained Paper Towns, but somehow you know what they are.
The way Quentin Jacobsen sees it, everyone gets one miracle. You could step foot on Mars, marry the Queen of England or get eaten by a whale. His miracle was being placed in a small subdivision in Florida, right next door to Margo Roth Spiegelman. Margo's behavior can be described as mysterious. Her spontaneous outburst and constant ideas always leave Q, as he likes to be called, and the reader pondering - what will she do next? One night, senior year, Q is left thinking about her. The last time they had truly hung out was at the age of nine, when they had found the dead body of a man in their local playground. Out of the blue she climbs in through his window, dressed as a ninja with a plan for the evening. Together they embark on an adventure to get revenge on anyone who has ever hurt them. Their night ends in one missing eyebrow, a break-in to SeaWorld, three catfishes (one of them squished under a car seat) and a naked picture of one cheating ex-boyfriend. The next day, Q cannot wait to see Margo at school. However Margo has disappeared. Slowly he begins to see clues that Margo as left for him, each one pointing closer and closer to her hiding spot. That one night is never forgotten, but it quickly results into the greatest journey of Q's lifetime.
Reading this book, I found that I had something in common with each of the characters. John Green makes his characters believable and easy for you to relate to. Every character is like an onion, waiting to be peeled and show another layer. They are all very complex, with background stories you wouldn't believe. Q for example, has spent his entire life being analyzed by his therapist parents. He turned out to be smart like them but he honestly doesn't understand people that well - especially Margo. Then again, Margo is one of the mysteries the book tries to make you figure out. As complex as chemistry, she has more twists and turns then a maze. You also get to enter the lives of Ben, who is known as Bloody Ben after a nasty kidney infection, Radar, whose parents own the largest collection of black Santa's in the world, and Lacey, who is very pretty but just doesn't get it. This brings out the question; do we ever truly know someone?
Green's writing style is definitely out of the ordinary. It is well plotted and tightly paced. His writing style is as thought-provoking as the title. Margo's unique view of the world ("You're just a really loud, awkward ninja, but we're both ninja's) leaps off the page as she stages pranks and plots clues. Q's blunt comments and metaphors ("Margo Roth Spiegelman was Germany. And Great Britain. And the United States. And czarist Russia. Me, I'm Luxembourg. Just sitting around, tending sheep and yodeling") will have you thinking and laughing. Basically, John Green weaves a complex tale of love, friendship, and well-hidden clues.
You will instantly be captivated, and you will have trouble putting this book down. Don't worry; the ending is just as satisfying as the beginning. As gripping as it is funny, this book is a genre on its own. The first few sentences will definitely catch your eye. But by the last 20 pages, your love for this book will be set in stone."
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