I've only read two John Green books so far - The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns (in that order). After reading Stars, I was a little disappointed in Paper Towns. While Stars was so focused on character and heart-rending situations and relationships, Paper Towns was more of an exercise in plot and mystery-solving. I also felt it was more boy-oriented than unisex if that makes any sense. I have a feeling that Stars would appeal more broadly to both male and female readers while Paper Towns seemed to be written more for boys - much more from a male perspective, and the main female character, Margo (the subject of the mystery), remains a bit of a cipher throughout the book. I know that's the point of the book - she disappears and no one really knows who she was, which makes it difficult to figure out what's happened to her. But even though the mystery was engaging and the main character was a nice guy (Quentin) who was easy to relate to, the book just didn't grab me. And I think part of the problem was that I never got a handle on Margo as a rounded character, or why Quentin liked her so much in the first place.
No question that John Green is a brilliant author and I'm sure to read more of his work - and I'm not ashamed to admit I cried most of the way through Stars. But Paper Towns just didn't do it for me. I read it through to the end and was still left feeling that I wanted more closure or more of a message or a lesson learned when push came to shove. In some ways, it was the ending that was the let-down for me. It's as if the book was building up to something really powerful and then it sort of fizzled. I don't want to say anymore because I don't want to give the mystery away - and the mystery does sustain the book. But at the end I either missed something or there wasn't enough substance for the emotional pay-off. Will definitely read more of John Green's work and I remember reading an interview with him where he tried to explain the runaway success of Stars compared with some of his earlier work. My two cents' worth is that Stars is simply an unbelievable book. And it would be difficult for anything else to hold a candle to it.
No question that John Green is a brilliant author and I'm sure to read more of his work - and I'm not ashamed to admit I cried most of the way through Stars. But Paper Towns just didn't do it for me. I read it through to the end and was still left feeling that I wanted more closure or more of a message or a lesson learned when push came to shove. In some ways, it was the ending that was the let-down for me. It's as if the book was building up to something really powerful and then it sort of fizzled. I don't want to say anymore because I don't want to give the mystery away - and the mystery does sustain the book. But at the end I either missed something or there wasn't enough substance for the emotional pay-off. Will definitely read more of John Green's work and I remember reading an interview with him where he tried to explain the runaway success of Stars compared with some of his earlier work. My two cents' worth is that Stars is simply an unbelievable book. And it would be difficult for anything else to hold a candle to it.
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