Paper Towns is an easy read and a fine enough book. It’s not great. It’s not deep. It’s not much of anything remarkable. But fine enough, that it is.
As I continue blending genres of books, it is nice to return every so often to a quick read that doesn’t hide much and doesn’t try too hard. This is where Paper Towns almost misses the mark. It seems to *want* to be more of a mystery than it is, but it comfortably falls back on its coming-of-age nature, thus being that easy, comfortable short-term entertainment. A necessary element of foreshadowing is absent; otherwise, the mystery might have had more hope to take over the reins and lead the reader, rather than being merely a story along the way.
On the other hand, I need to also remember that this work by John Green (The Fault in Our Stars) was published four years *before* The Fault in Our Stars—when Green was barely thirty. His writing matured between the two books, even if he remained loyal to his twist on the coming-of-age saga.
What I liked more about Paper Towns than the latter novel, from Green’s writing, was the teen boy as our protagonist. I think Green was more believable in this approach than that with Hazel. Then again, I’ve never been a teen boy, so maybe it’s just more believable because I’ve nothing genuine to which to compare.
I also like how accessible Green’s writing is to the reader. While well written, it is not too deep so as to leave readers behind, unable to follow. It’s rather direct, actually. This can be a downfall too, though, in that I could have grown bored. I didn’t, but at times, I felt myself not caring as much about the outcome as a reader should have.
This book, like the other, has been adapted into a movie. I think the story will make for a good summer movie—high school teens, not too popular but instead more relatable by most, on the cusp of graduation; middle-of-the-night hijinks thrown in; blossoming young love and crushes; and a mystery and race against time. These all make for an entertaining summer teen flick. As a novel, they were good enough.
I picked this book as I have many others—finding those about to be on the big screen. But even if future books by Green meet that same test, I think I’ll pass if they are the same formula. Green is a good storyteller, but I’m growing weary of his too-familiar tales. Then again, there will always be a new crop of teen girls, eager to read his latest tale. So it’s not as if I expect him to change his style.