I felt like I was observing real teens living real lives, even though the plot does contain some fantastical elements. Unlike TFiOS, these characters feel real.
Augustus, especially, seemed built around "intelligence" and "quirkiness" to the point that he didn't feel real he felt like a caricature of a "philosophical teen".īut coming back to Paper Towns made me realise that I hadn't changed. It felt like a book that set out with a mission to be deep, clever, to deliver a multitude of messages, to prove that teenagers are quirky and intelligent. In TFiOS, I believe he took these things too far. He loves philosophy and he embraces nerddom. You see, here's some truths about John Green: He's an intelligent writer. If perhaps Paper Towns wouldn't be the way I remembered it. And I began to wonder if perhaps his books had always been like that and I'd somehow missed it. I know millions loved his tragicomedy about teens with cancer, yet I found it cheesy and contrived, with unrealistic characters who wallowed in their own pretentious philosophy (sorry fans, but that's how I felt). Then TFiOS happened and I began to question my feelings for John Green's writing. And then it is the easiest goddamned thing in the world.” I first read it years ago back before I'd heard of vlogbrothers, back when John Green was only known by a handful of readers, way way back before The Fault in Our Stars.
I already said this in a status update but I am so glad I reread Paper Towns. "But then again, if you don't imagine, nothing ever happens at all." And then it is the easiest goddamned thing in the world.” Then "Nothing ever happens like you imagine it will," she says. "But then again, if you don't imagine, nothing ever happens at all." I already said this in a status update but I am so glad I reread Paper Towns. "Nothing ever happens like you imagine it will," she says.