grboph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Car accident, Alcohol, Excrement, Suicide, Death, Gore, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Blood, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Ableism, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Sexual harassment, Injury/injury detail, and Eating disorder
_mm_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Bullying and Car accident
a_sleepy_berry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Mental illness, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Car accident, Cursing, and Homophobia
stampest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcohol and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Bullying, Vomit, Sexual content, Self harm, and Misogyny
Minor: Death, Racism, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Cursing, Murder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, and Car accident
leilaliw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Suicide and Death
Moderate: Sexism, Bullying, and Car accident
Minor: Ableism and Toxic relationship
rachel_here's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
The story was pretty entertaining. There is a mystery, clues that lead Quentin from one place to another, a road trip, american highschool shenanigans... But I can't say I enjoyed the book all that much.
Quentin as a main character isn't exactly likeable. He's judgmental, a bit of a snob, and assumes he knows people better than they do - which often leads him to devalue them or put them on a pedestral, as he does Margo. Which isn't a problem in itself because he has an arc to go through to grow as a person. Except I don't think his story arc was really all that conclusive.
Spoiler
For someone who was supposed to learn how to see Margo as a real person instead of this inaccessible, grand mystery he had to figure out, he sure kept seeing her as a metaphor or a poem or whatever-else until the very end. And since we only ever see Margo through Quentin's narration, where he never really listens to her or take to heart what she's trying to say but thinks he does, it kind of defeats the purpose of showing that she is her own person unrelated to him - which itself isn't exactly groundbreaking, or at least shouldn't be.For what it is, it's a fun mystery / coming-of-age story. But it still is overly stereotypical, both with its characters (especially the side cast) and the way some of the themes are written. Some casual remarks treated as facts or "boys will be boys" also made me raise an eyebrow, but it was otherwise pretty okay. It just wasn't my cup of tea.
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Bullying, Fatphobia, and Sexism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Toxic relationship
maxiemumbo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, and Sexual content
Minor: Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Bullying, Animal death, and Abandonment
gray_713's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Ableism and Alcohol
literalottie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
There is one key issue that I have with Paper Towns: the deconstruction of the "manic pixie dream girl" trope is just not very well-executed. In fact, John Green had already done it well a few years prior with Looking for Alaska, and this just feels like a poor imitation with shallower characters and a flimsier plot.
Margo is just so, so selfish, and I have a hard time sympathising with her towards the end. I mean,
Spoiler
how can she get mad at her friend for coming to find her (after essentially abandoning everyone who cared about her) when SHE was the one who left the trail of breadcrumbs? And yes, she does explain her intentions behind the clues, and how she didn't actually intend them to lead to her, but honestly her excuses just feel like a pathetic attempt to deflect from all of the frustration she puts everyone throughThe one saving grace of this book, the one thing that keeps it from getting a 1/1.5 star rating, is the road trip which makes up most of the final third. It is full of genuinely hilarious moments and interactions that actually made me like the characters, even if just for that brief section. I haven't watched the film adaptation of Paper Towns, but I would do so purely to see those scenes adapted for the screen.
Moderate: Car accident and Bullying
Minor: Ableism