friendship

Paper Towns by John Green

Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction, YA

Review: 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.