Paper Towns by John Green

Good Reads Summary

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

Printz medalist John Green returns with the brilliant wit and searing emotional honesty that have inspired a new generation of listeners.


My Thoughts

From the way Quentin describes Margo Roth Spiegelman… I am half in love with her myself. NO. I mean, really. He waxes on and on about how awesome, about how perfect, about how all that she is. She likes mystery. She is a mystery. She likes adventure. She is adventurous. She’s totally out of the box. She’s intelligent but doesn't play on it as much as others would. She’s admired by a lot. Girls want to be her; boys want to… well, you get the picture.

After having grown apart, her sudden re-appearance in his bedroom is quite the surprise. The things that follow are eventful to say the least. And those things are just the start of it because the next day she doesn't turn up. She’s missing… and well, I couldn’t not read the rest.

So PAPER TOWNS (and John Green,) why indeed do I love thee (both?) Words. Positive words would do me good right about now: witty, hilarious, honest. It’s written exceptionally well. I started with an audio book, but the narrator (although exceptional sounding as well) was just too slow for my taste. AND I just had to read on, and quickly! The story from that day when they discover a dead body (that could have been a zombie, but was in fact not) to the day that she pops back in his life, to everything else that follows was just enthralling. captivating. fascinating.

See? Words. I need positive words to convey how happy I am with this book.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green

Good Reads Summary

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both them legions of faithful fans.


My Thoughts

Will Grayson, will grayson. Their name is about the only thing they have in common… well, that and figuring out how to be themselves. To risk sounding repetitive: WG wg’s main draws are its humor (Oh, the humor!) and disarming honesty... it’s the world as told by 16 year olds.

Will Grayson doesn’t like to rock the boat much (“Don't care too much and shut up.”) but because Tiny Cooper is his best and only friend WG finds himself flouting these rules repeatedly. Tiny also just happens to be the world's largest person who is really, really gay, and also the world's gayest person who is really, really large.

will grayson, from the very start we know he isn’t the most cheerful fellow. He is the definition of “emotionally shut off” except to Isaac.

Their lives intersect when they both end up in Chicago…

This is a great book with which to end my year!

The first thing I enjoyed about it was that the story is told from both their POV’s alternately. Where WG’s chapters are traditionally written (making his side more clear and understandable,) wg’s aren’t (making things a little harder grasps.) The second thing is it is HILARIOUS! As I was reading I felt like there was a permanent stitch on my side from laughing so hard. While it was mainly WG (and Tiny) who was funny, surprisingly, wg made me laugh at times as well. Finally, WG and wg aren't perfect. There is no bad guy in this story. Not really… just people who screw up; people who pick themselves up then dust themselves off.

I ADORE this book... and Tiny!

4/5

Anna and The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Good Reads Summary

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

My Thoughts

In the last couple of days I have been reading YA contemporary after YA contemporary and Anna and the French Kiss is an awesome addition to my growing pile of YA contemporaries that I LOVE. It’s sweet, romantic, and HILARIOUS in turns. And it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Anna. Anna Oliphant. She reads so real: afraid of doing new things and embarrassing herself because she has all these stereotypes in her head. I found her particularly entertaining when asked if she was that obvious

St. Clair. Callipygian. See, YA contemporary isn’t all fluff, it actually taught me a couple of new words So, St. Clair. Anna and half the school are enamored with him because his nice, polite and just plain old exceptional looking.

All the other “secondary” characters were awesome as well. I put secondary in quotes because at times they just don’t seem secondary. Rashmi, Josh and Mer almost always did play apart in what was going on. Not to mention how initially most of Anna’s thoughts circled back home.

The story itself was excellent. I loved that they didn’t fall into each others arms as soon as they met, although she did develop a massive crush on him. Yes, she is a bit conflicted. She’s pining after a boy back home and he’s is in a serious relationship.

Read it! It’s heart felt and doesn’t take itself too seriously.