Refresher on Paper Towns by John Green

              As I read Paper Towns more and more, John Green keeps putting me on the edge of my seat! The suspense in this novel never stops accelerating at very high speeds, and never disappoints me anytime I pick it up. I believe that every book, especially mystery romances, should always be speeding up the suspense, because suspense is what keeps the reader interested and visualizing what is going on around and within the characters. I really enjoy how John Green balances the ideals of mystery and love in Paper Towns. He does this by showing how desperate Quentin Jacobsen is about finding more clues, because he loves this rebellious side of Margo, which shows both Quentin's hunger for adventure, and his lust for Margo Roth Spiegelman. If there weren't a balance between these two main ideas, then one characteristic would overwhelm the reader in believing that one topic is more important than the other, when the author wanted the ideas to be equal.

             In my life, I have realized that hope and faith are the two most important qualities you can have to be successful. Likewise in Paper Towns, John Green makes it quite evident that hope and faith are helping Quentin have the determination to find Margo. If it were me that had to go find a reckless, rebellious person that I barely knew, I wouldn't even listen to the clues or try to find them at all, but since Quentin feels a connection with her, he is more encouraged to find her, because she is obviously not the Margo he thought she was. Quentin's friends, Ben and Radar, may be the opposing conflicts in finding Margo throughout the novel because they always seem to be the people who tell him to give up or to stop because the clues are too confusing and don't lead anywhere. But deep down, Quentin knows what Margo wants from him; she wants to be found by him, and him alone. Quentin also knows that he must move fast because time is running out more quickly than he can control.

             As Quentin nears prom day, he despises his friends for thinking that it is more important than finding Margo, so as they get ready for a never- ending night on the dance floor, Quentin searches all around Florida for clues of Margo and what she wants him to know. As he goes back to the mini mall, where he found an address on the hinges of his door left from Margo, he searches inside for something to cling to and give him hope. That's when he finds Margo's nail polish bottle on an old desk with a calendar that has the date June 1986 on it. Quentin gets very excited about this because it proves that Margo was here, and that he is in the right place in the on-going exploration. As I turn each page of this book, I start to see how better off Quentin is when he is independently looking for clues, instead of having two people who drag him down as he searches. I believe that Margo wanted it this way, which is why Quentin is having so much success when he puts all of his trust in Margo to lead him into an eternity with her.    

                             http://www.embowman.com/2011/reading-paper-towns-by-john-green/

   BEING MADE INTO A MOVIE SOON!