Tonight, darling, we are going to right a lot of wrongs. And we are going to wrong some rights. The first shall be last; the last shall be first; the meek shall do some earth-inheriting. But before we can radically reshape the world, we need to shop.
The twelfth book - Paper Towns by John Green - I read this year didn't fit into my reading challenge. I think I have reached the point where I need to start choosing new books to fit into my remaining spots...
Former friends Quentin and Margo have grown apart between childhood and their senior year of high school. The two share a wild night of mischief, "It was 2:49 in the morning. I had never, in my entire life, felt less tired." The next morning, Margo disappears, leaving only a few cryptic clues. Quentin takes it upon himself to track down the unpredictable firecracker that is Margo Roth Spiegelman.
My first reaction was that this book was written by someone who is very intelligent but chooses to be snarky and sarcastic. I pictured the author sitting there with a smirk on his face. It made for a unique author's voice which I appreciated, although it took a little getting used to. It spoke to that raw part of adolescence in a way that was at times a little unnerving. But at the same time, I think I wish I had read it when I was in that stage of life, just about to leave high school. The most relatable I found Quentin was when he was reflecting upon leaving the school for the last time. As someone very sentimental but with a very bittersweet experience with senior high, I knew the feeling very well and felt it was captured perfectly.
The pacing of the book was difficult for me to get through. The "parts" of the book felt to divide it a little too solidly, and the middle felt too stretched out. After continually returning to the same place several times, I wanted to shoo Quentin out of there myself, just to see him go somewhere else. The two car trips bookending the story I found to be much more engaging, even though they almost seemed to be a prologue and an epilogue to the time in between.
The characters were fun and dynamic, although I would have liked a little more pushback from Jase and Chuck. I felt that Quentin went through some good developments and learned some good lessons. My favorite though was Radar - no big surprise, as his namesake was my favorite character on M*A*S*H.
I would say that almost perfectly, the Hallmark version of this story is Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson. And perhaps its because I read that one first, but I enjoyed Matson's take better. But overall, a nice and interesting read.
Nothing ever happens like you imagine it will...
Yeah, that's true... but then again, if you don't imagine, nothing ever happens at all.
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