John Green’s rise to fame as an author has launched numerous movie adaptations of his bestselling novels. "The Fault in Our Stars" was, in my opinion, translated very well from the pages to the big screen. Green recently even announced that his beloved "Looking for Alaska" will be turned into a movie soon as well.
However, for now, the movie everyone is fixated on is "Paper Towns." Quentin Jacobs is a shy, smart, nice guy in his senior year of high school. To him, there’s only been one thing extraordinary about his entire life--Margo Roth Spiegelman. Margo is beautiful, popular, and sees the world in a unique way. The two were best friends when they were younger, but gradually grew apart. However, one night, Margo appears in Quentin’s room, summoning him on an adventure that will change his life.
I’m going to break down the "Paper Towns" book and movie in some short, spoiler-free reviews so you can decide which one to see/read first!
"Paper Towns" the book
Published: October 16, 2008
Length: 345 pages
My rating: 2.5/5
Amazon rating: 4.2/5
While I loved "The Fault in Our Stars," "Paper Towns" just didn’t work for me. Margo was a very interesting character, as were some of Quentin’s friends, but I didn’t like being stuck in Quentin’s point of view. The book started off pretty exciting, but lost almost all momentum and dragged on through the rest of it. Towards the very end, things picked up a little again, but it honestly would’ve been a much better book if it were 100 pages shorter.
Overall, the book had a great message, but it was a little on the boring side for the middle chunk. If you skim through the middle, you’ll probably enjoy it.
"Paper Towns" the movie
Release date: July 24, 2015
Length: 1h 53m
My rating: 3.8/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 55 percent
I find it very interesting that the book has a higher rating than the movie, because I’d have to say that I favor the movie. Cara Delevingne as Margo and Nat Wolff as Quentin brought John Green’s characters to life, and gave the story the vibrancy it needed to succeed. The movie also picked up the pace of the storyline, allowing the more exciting parts of the story to flow together without the drag in the middle. It had laughs, love, and tons of teenage nostalgia. Additionally, the movie really captured the heart of Green’s novel and the point he tried to make with the book.
My suggestion is to speed-read the book so you have some context, and then watch the movie to see the plot come to life.
