Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Paper Towns

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Paper Towns by John Green

9 reviews

hk98's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

I thought I would give this book a try and at first it was interesting to understand the relationship between Margo and Quentin. However, as the story got on, the plot line died a little - it got slow.

Until the third section of the book where Q takes a road trip with his friends.

The ending was a bit of a letdown, I expected more of a meaningful relationship that formed between Margo and Q, but it mainly focused on their past lives and made up stories from 10-year old Margo.

The characters were easy to understand and from it you can see why each and every one of them got on with one another or why did they not. However, the character of Ben can be quite grotesque with the vast amount of sexual and genitalia comments which can make for a difficult read at times, but I see where the author is coming from.

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bearystarry's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

The ending is beautiful, I love the sentiment and the prose. Unfortunately in the rest of the book the characters are insufferable and disappointingly typically-2008 teenagers using ableist and homophobic slurs every third paragraph.

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jsanders05's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.75

Vulgar. Over use of the r-word, and not sensitively. Boring. Forced enlightenment. Repeat of another book written by the same author. Outlandish. Unrealistic. Not a YA book.

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bbbookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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skyegbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.25

This book was a real disappointment. I found myself reading these adventures but not caring for the characters involved at all. The story ultimately ended in a unsatisfactory way.

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grboph's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

I read this book in middle school and decided to re-read it after finding a copy in a junk store for a quarter. My perception of it was definitely different this time around. I think the characters were well-developed, the story was compelling and entertaining, and the general message (that we never really know what is going on with other people and that people and things never exist in the ways you imagine them to) was nice, and that it was conveyed in a unique, creative way. I do think it tries a bit too hard to be profound at times (like the extensive and at times exhausting use of Walt Whitman quotes) and that it could have gotten its message across just as effectively without being so emo about it. While I loved Radar, Ben, and Lacey as characters (as well as Q's parents), I found the characters of Q and Margo to be sort of insufferable. Unfortunately, they are the two main characters, and the story is all about Margo and told from Q's point of view. In short, I thought Q was incredibly self-centered and for someone whose parents are both therapists, he had a remarkable lack of awareness that girls also, in fact, have thoughts and feelings and lives just like everybody else. Margo clearly had some mental health issues and shitty parents, but I still found her to be a bit "not-like-other-girls"-y and in my opinion, she does not treat those around her with the greatest degree of respect or kindness. In conclusion, I enjoyed reading this book due to John Green's writing and the interesting story, but the fake-deepness and annoying narrator definitely made me reconsider why I enjoyed this book so much when I was thirteen. (Of course, maybe that says something about the book's target audience, but I digress.) I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good road-trip story or is into books that are pretty meta and reference lots of other books to move their plots along.

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