''Paper Towns'' is a novel written by
John Green
John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author, YouTube content creator, podcaster, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including '' The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is ...
, primarily for an audience of young adults, and was published on October 16, 2008, by
Dutton Books
E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group.
Creator
Edward Payson Dutton (January 4, ...
. The novel is about the coming-of-age of the protagonist, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and his search for Margo Roth Spiegelman, his neighbor and
childhood sweetheart
Childhood sweetheart is a reciprocating phrase for a relationship (but not a partnership) between young persons. This may come about by an extension of friendship, physical attraction or develop from natural affinity.
The relationship is usually ...
. During his search, Quentin and his friends Ben, Radar, and Lacey discover information about Margo.
John Green drew inspiration for this book from his experience and knowledge of "
paper towns
''Paper Towns'' is a novel written by John Green, primarily for an audience of young adults, and was published on October 16, 2008, by Dutton Books. The novel is about the coming-of-age of the protagonist, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and his search fo ...
" during a road journey through South Dakota. It debuted at number five on the
''New York Times'' bestseller list for children's books and was awarded the 2009
Edgar Award for best
young adult
A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...
novel. A
film adaptation was released on July 24, 2015.
Plot summary
''Paper Towns'' mostly takes place in and around Jefferson Park, a fictional
subdivision located in suburban
Orlando, Florida and focuses on narrator and protagonist Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and his neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman, with whom Quentin has always had a romantic fascination. As preadolescents, Quentin and Margo together discovered the corpse of a local man who committed suicide in their neighborhood park. Nine years later, Quentin is an outcast whose best friends are Ben and Radar, while Margo is a popular student—both now seniors at
Winter Park High School
Winter Park High School (often simply abbreviated as WPHS) located in Winter Park, Florida, United States is one of nineteen public high schools in Orange County. Winter Park High School is a International Baccalaureate school and delivers Advan ...
. A month before their graduation, Margo suddenly reappears in Quentin's life, climbing through his bedroom window as she did during their first meeting. She has devised an eleven-part plan of vengeance on a group of people she feels have hurt her during her time at high school; these people include her cheating boyfriend Jase and peers Lacey and Becca. Margo needs an accomplice and a car to help her, and Quentin accepts. Margo and Quentin successfully complete the tasks, share a romantically ambiguous dance, and return to their homes around dawn.
The next day, Quentin wonders hopefully if Margo will start hanging out with him, but Margo is reported missing by her parents after three days. Quentin, Ben, and Radar soon discover a series of items that Margo has left hidden for Quentin: a picture of
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...
on Margo's bedroom window shade, Margo's highlighted copy of
Walt Whitman's poem "
Song of Myself
"Song of Myself" is a poem by Walt Whitman (18191892) that is included in his work ''Leaves of Grass''. It has been credited as "representing the core of Whitman's poetic vision."Greenspan, Ezra, ed. ''Walt Whitman’s "Song of Myself": A Sourcebo ...
", and a written address in Quentin's bedroom doorjamb. Quentin and his friends follow these clues to find an abandoned
mini-mall
A strip mall, strip center or strip plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. ...
in
Christmas, Florida, that contains evidence of Margo's recent presence. Quentin struggles to analyze all of Margo's clues and leftover materials in the mini-mall. He suspects the clues are meant to lead him to her current whereabouts, though he worries she may have committed suicide.
Based on a note Margo has left referring to "paper towns", Quentin realizes Margo may be hiding or buried in one of the many abandoned housing subdivisions—"pseudovisions" or "paper towns"—around Orlando. He drives to all of the pseudovisions where he feels that she may be hiding, but he cannot find her. On the day of his graduation, Quentin comes across an obscure Internet post, with a comment left on it which Quentin recognizes as Margo's due to its distinctive capitalization, which tells him that Margo has been hiding in a
fictitious town in New York State called
Agloe (which was created as a copyright trap by mapmakers) and that she plans to leave Agloe immediately after noon on May 29. Quentin, Radar, Ben, and Lacey impulsively skip graduation to drive to Agloe to search for her, rushing to get from Florida to New York before noon on May 29.
In Agloe, they discover Margo is living in an old, dilapidated barn. She is shocked to see them, which angers the group, who expected her to be grateful for their presence. Margo had left those clues only to assure Quentin that she is okay, and did not want to be found. Angry at her lack of gratitude, Radar, Ben, and Lacey leave and spend the night at a motel. Quentin realizes the image he had of Margo was as fake as the one that she had been projecting to everyone else and becomes furious at her for wasting his time. Margo argues that Quentin saved her for egotistical reasons: he wanted to be a knight in shining armor who saved the troubled girl. Ultimately, Quentin accepts that it was unfair for him to expect Margo to live up to his perfect image of her, and he begins to logically overcome his sexual attraction towards her. After their conversation, Margo decides to go to New York City and asks Quentin to accompany her. Quentin wants to stay with her, and they kiss, but he understands his home life and responsibilities prevent him from going. Margo promises to Quentin that she will keep in contact with him.
Characters
; : The protagonist and narrator of the story. Quentin is the stereotypical rule-follower. He likes things to be neat and simple, making him the complete opposite of Margo Roth Spiegelman. Quentin has had a crush on Margo since they were kids, but the distance he kept from her created a perfect image of her in his head that turned out not to be real. His desire to find her after she goes missing drives the events of the story.
; : A self-described "pretty girl" who runs away from home only to be pursued by her childhood friend. Spiegelman is assertive but is from a dysfunctional Jewish family, and is one of the most popular girls at her local high school. She has a love for American literature, music, and travel. Her pet dog, Myrna Mountweazel, is a reference to Lillian Virginia Mountweazel, a woman who never existed, but was listed in the 1975 edition of the New Columbia Encyclopedia.
; : One of Quentin and Radar's best friends, travels with them and his girlfriend, Lacey. He is in the school band. Ben is the comic relief of the book, providing a much needed humorous energy on the trip.
; : He is one of Quentin's best friends. He was nicknamed by Quentin and Ben after the character from ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
Th ...
.'' To his embarrassment, his parents own the world's largest collection of Black Santas. He is in the school band. He is also the brains of the group. He was very unwilling to follow along with much of the adventures they had, mainly because of his girlfriend, Angela, whom he was very loyal to.
; : Lacey is the best and closest friend of Margo. They were friends since kindergarten. She is dating Ben after breaking up with Chuck Parson. Margo and Lacey have a strange friendship; Margo feels Lacey has always been judgmental of her throughout their relationship by sometimes saying, what Margo sees as, little insults to their difference in body type. After they reunite, Lacey is hurt that she worried so much and traveled all the way from Orlando, just to find that Margo didn't even care that they had found her after looking for so long, thereby straining their friendship. They later reconciled after a phone conversation.
Structure
The novel is written in three parts. Each individual part is named for a specific metaphor used considerably in that section. The titles of sections are "The Strings", "The Grass", and "The Vessel". Each individual chapter within the first two parts is labeled with a number. However, the third part of the novel is divided into smaller sections. Each section refers to the hour of the characters' road trip.
Background
![John Green by Gage Skidmore](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/John_Green_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg)
Throughout the novel, the concept of
paper towns
''Paper Towns'' is a novel written by John Green, primarily for an audience of young adults, and was published on October 16, 2008, by Dutton Books. The novel is about the coming-of-age of the protagonist, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and his search fo ...
is mentioned several times. As a former Orlando resident, John Green had seen and heard of many "paper towns". His first experience with a "paper town" occurred during his junior year of college while on a road trip. In South Dakota, he and his friend came across a paper town called Holen. At the end of the novel, John Green states that the story of
Agloe presented in the text is mostly true: "Agloe began as a paper town created to protect against copyright infringement. But then people with these old Esso maps kept looking for it, and so someone built a store, making Agloe real."
Reception
''Paper Towns'' received mostly positive reviews. ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' said, "the title, which refers to unbuilt subdivisions and copyright trap towns that appear on maps but don't exist, unintentionally underscores the novel's weakness: both milquetoast Q and self-absorbed Margo are types, not fully dimensional characters". It also said the novel is "another teen pleasing read". ''Kirkus Reviews'' praised the novel as "a winning combination".
''
School Library Journal
''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...
'' said, "Q is a great social outcast main character who sometimes thinks a little too much, but is completely relatable. Though we only really see Margo for the first third of the book, the clues really create her character and give us the feeling she's a complex person. Finding out who Margo is through the things she left behind was a really great way to develop her character."
Rebecca Swain of ''Orlando Sentinel'' stated, "''Paper Towns'' has convinced me that jaded adult readers need to start raiding the Teen's section at the bookstore. Green, who grew up in Orlando and uses the city as a backdrop for the story, taps into the cadence of teenage life with sharp and funny writing, but transcends age with deeper insights." Chelsey G.H. Philpot, editorial assistant of The Horn Book Guide, said, "the end breaks your heart, and yet it feels right". Rollie Welch called ''Paper Towns'' "Green's best work" up to that point. Michael Cart praised John Green for his symbolism and ability to synthesize imagination and reality; he wrote, "Green ponders the interconnectedness of imagination and perception, of mirrors and windows, of illusion and reality".
Robert Corwin of Arizona State University wrote, "some readers may find the author's use of language and sexual content objectionable."
''The Cleveland Plain Dealer'' stated, “Readers will find that the structure and central mystery of ''Paper Towns'' echo Green's debut, '
Looking for Alaska
''Looking for Alaska'' is American author John Green‘s debut novel, published in March 2005 by Dutton Juvenile. Based on his time at Indian Springs School, Green wrote the novel as a result of his desire to create meaningful young adult fiction ...
', and
Gregory Galloway's 2005 novel, ''
As Simple As Snow,''" and ''Kirkus Reviews'' wrote that Green's novel was “reminiscent" of Galloway's novel.
On June 23, 2014, ''Paper Towns'' was removed from the summer reading list for 13-year-olds at Dr John Long Middle School in
Pasco County, Florida
Pasco County is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2020 census, the population was 561,691. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest city is Zephyrhills. The county is named after Samuel Pas ...
after a parent complained to a board member that she disapproved of the book's sexual content. The
National Coalition Against Censorship
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), founded in 1974, is an alliance of 50 American non-profit organizations, including literary, artistic, religious, educational, professional, labor, and civil liberties groups. NCAC is a New York-bas ...
responded to the removal by calling for the book to be reinstated to the reading list. In a letter to the district superintendent, the organization wrote, "No sound educational rationale for removing the book has been articulated, nor is it likely that one could be".
Consequently, it was restored to the reading list the following month.
Film adaptation
Fox 2000
Fox 2000 Pictures was an American film production company within The Walt Disney Studios. It was a sister studio of the larger film studio 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures specializing in producing independent films in mid-range re ...
developed the ''Paper Towns'' film with the same team that made ''
The Fault in Our Stars
''The Fault in Our Stars'' is a novel by John Green. It is his fourth solo novel, and sixth novel overall. It was published on January 10, 2012. The title is inspired by Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's play ''Julius Caesar'', in which the noble ...
''.
Jake Schreier
Jacob Stacey Schreier (born September 29, 1981) is an American commercial, music video and film director. He was a founding member of Waverly Films, a Brooklyn-based filmmaking collective, and joined Park Pictures in 2006, releasing his first f ...
directed the film.
Nat Wolff
Nathaniel Marvin Wolff (born December 17, 1994) is an American actor and musician. He gained recognition for composing the music for '' The Naked Brothers Band'' (2007–2009), a Nickelodeon television series he starred in with his younger bro ...
, who played a role in the film version of ''The Fault in Our Stars'', starred as Quentin,
Cara Delevingne
Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014.
Delevingne sta ...
played Margo Roth Spiegelman, and
Justice Smith,
Austin Abrams
Austin Noah Abrams (born September 2, 1996) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Ron Anderson in the fifth and sixth seasons of the television series '' The Walking Dead'' (2015–2016), as Ethan Daley in ''Euphoria'' (since 2019) ...
, and
Halston Sage
Roy Halston Frowick (April 23, 1932 – March 26, 1990), known mononymously as Halston, was an American fashion designer who rose to international fame in the 1970s.
His minimalist, clean designs, often made of cashmere or ultrasuede, were ...
played Quentin/Q's friends Radar, Ben, and Lacey, respectively.
Jaz Sinclair appeared in the film as Angela, Radar's girlfriend. The film was released on July 24, 2015.
Other editions
The paperback edition of the novel was released on September 22, 2009. The book was also released in the United Kingdom by
Bloomsbury Publishing on May 3, 2010.
Bibliography
*
References
{{John Green
2008 American novels
American young adult novels
Edgar Award-winning works
Novels set in New York (state)
Novels set in high schools and secondary schools
Novels set in Orlando, Florida
Dutton Penguin books
Novels by John Green (author)
American novels adapted into films
Novels about bullying
Novels about missing people
American bildungsromans
Novels about friendship