Book Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns

By John Green

Release Date: October 16, 2008

Source: Own Copy

Summary: Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

Review: This book has been sitting on my shelf for over two years, and I finally had the chance to pick it up. John Green is a name that EVERYONE knows, so I had pretty high expectations going into this one. I really enjoyed The Fault In Our Stars, my first John Green novel, so I couldn't wait to see how this one turned out. 

Quentin has always watched Margo from afar. Margo is the girl next door who's always been a wild mystery, even to her best friends. One night, when she shows up at Quentin's window asking him to join her on an all-night adventure of revenge and thrill, he's too shocked to say no. But when their adventure ends and it's time to get back to reality, Margo becomes an even bigger puzzle for Quentin to solve. The more time he spends trying to figure her out, the further away Margo is from the image Quentin has had of his infamous girl next door. 

Like I said, I went into this book with pretty high expectations. So while I wasn't completely blown away with this story, I still ended up enjoying it. Quentin and his friends are the perfect people to go through everything that happens in this story. Seriously, Q's personality is perfect and he has this image of Margo in his mind that he's so infatuated with. We've all had ideas about someone from afar, so he's really easy to connect with. Then, his two best friends are crazy and absolutely lovable, and they add so much more to the story. They're the perfect sidekicks to Q and his adventure to discover just exactly who Margo is. 

But getting to Margo, I wasn't all that big of a fan of her. Maybe it's because she's this mysterious girl who infatuates the guys, but I don't really see what the big deal with her is. To me, she's whiny and selfish, and she really only cares about what happens in her own life with no regard for anyone else. And the way she reacted in the end? Seriously? I guess it's good that this book figured out a way to defy the expectations of how we actually want Margo to be and exposed how life really does turn out in those situations. Not everything ends wrapped up in a big shiny bow, and this book definitely doesn't end that way either. 

While Paper Towns was a really good read that's unlike anything I've ever read, Margo bothered me too much to give this one five stars. The story was really entertaining, though, and all of the other characters were fantastic. This one really delved into identities and perceptions of people you think you know, but really have no idea about. I sped through this in two days because it's the kind of book you find yourself not wanting to put down. So in the end, I'd say you should definitely try this one out.

Waiting On Wednesday (110)

This is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where every Wednesday bloggers highlight a book that they are eagerly anticipating the release of!

The Summer I Found You

By Jolene Perry

Release Date: March 2014

Summary: Jolene Perry's THE SUMMER I FOUND YOU, about a teenage girl trying to cope with her new diagnosis of type one diabetes and a teenage male veteran who is learning how to embrace his new life after losing an arm, who come together by using each other as an escape, only to discover through love and struggle that your life is what you make of it.

-------------------------------------

I normally don't go for seriously emotional, deep YA reads, but this one just sounds too good to pass up on. I've never read a book about a girl with diabetes and a boy who lost an arm falling in love. I know they're going to have really tough emotions and trials to go through. But I think it's going to be a great read. And look at that cover! It's so pretty! Can't wait until this one comes out in 2014!

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Sequels Ever

This is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where each week bloggers share a list of books for the prompt given. So hopefully I'll have a new list to share with you all each week!

This Week's Topic: Top Ten Best Sequels Ever

1. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

3. Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles 

4. Onyx by Jennifer L Armentrout 

5. Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

6. Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles

7. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

8. Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols

9. Faking It by Cora Carmack

10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling

Weekly Roundup [9/17-9/23]

Wow, this week went by so slow. It's about time it's Monday! I'm an English Education major, and this past week was the first time I actually got to go into the classroom. That means I was observing an English class from 7am-11am (aka waking up at 5am every day), and then taking my regular classes afterwards, so days seemed twice as long. I am completely in love with teaching, though, and can't wait to have a classroom of my own! I just have to finish these two years and I finally can :) Oh! And it's Banned Books Week! So go out, grab a banned book, and celebrate your freedom to read :)

Book Reviews

Finding It by Cora Carmack

Memes

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Fall TBR List

Waiting On Wednesday (109)

Follow My Book Blog Friday (103)

Stacking the Shelves (67)

Stacking the Shelves (67)

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where bloggers share what they got throughout the week!

From Half Price Books

On Thursday this week, one of my friends told me about a Half Price Books clearance sale happening this weekend about 45 minutes away from where I go to school. EVERYTHING WAS $2 OR LESS. I pretty much hyperventilated just thinking about it. The first 200 people each day got a free HPB bag, so my friend and I left early and got to the sale exactly at 9 am, the time they opened. Free totes in hand, we spent the next 2 hours looking around and every book but two that I got were only $1. You could say I was super happy this morning :) Here are the books I ended up getting...

 

 

I've got some pretty awesome reading ahead of me :) I made sure to limit myself to only $1 books, or else I knew I would buy way too much. I'm very happy with my selection! The lady at the checkout told me that tomorrow, everything would be 50% off for the last day. Such a dilemma! I had already driven all that way, but going back means FIFTY PERCENT OFF! But I'm going to have to try my hardest and resist the temptation to buy even more books. Based on this haul, I think I'm set for a while! 

And that's what I got this week! What did you all add to your shelves? 

Follow My Book Blog Friday (103)

This is a meme hosted every Friday by Parajunkee, where book bloggers answer a question each week and check out how others answered it. It's a cool way for bloggers and viewers to connect and learn more about each other!

Question: What were some of your favorite picture books as a kid? 

Answer: 

Oh boy, what memories! I probably read a million picture books when I was little, but there are definitely some that stick out. The first ones are Strega Nona, which me and my siblings loved. We still remember the stories and talk about how awesome they were. Haha, who could forget when Big Anthony floods the entire town with spaghetti and has to eat it all? The other book I clearly remember loving is called Jessica, and I think I just loved it because it has my name on the cover :) 

Now all I want to do is curl up in bed and read some picture books! Those were the good old days...

Book Review: Finding It by Cora Carmack

Finding It

By Cora Carmack

Release Date: October 1, 2013

Source: Edelweiss

Summary: Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find where you truly belong...

Most girls would kill to spend months traveling around Europe after college graduation with no responsibility, no parents, and no-limit credit cards. Kelsey Summers is no exception. She's having the time of her life . . . or that's what she keeps telling herself.

It's a lonely business trying to find out who you are, especially when you're afraid you won't like what you discover. No amount of drinking or dancing can chase away Kelsey's loneliness, but maybe Jackson Hunt can. After a few chance meetings, he convinces her to take a journey of adventure instead of alcohol. With each new city and experience, Kelsey's mind becomes a little clearer and her heart a little less hers. Jackson helps her unravel her own dreams and desires. But the more she learns about herself, the more Kelsey realizes how little she knows about Jackson.

Review: It's a Cora Carmack book. Do I need any more of a reason to have picked this one up? I absolutely loved the first two books of this series, so I couldn't wait to figure out what romantic adventure Kelsey's life had in store for us!

After graduating from college, Kelsey can think of nothing better to do than jet off to Europe to have the adventure of a lifetime. No parents, no past. She's having the time of her life, or so she's convinced herself, until she meets Jackson Hunt. This incredibly attractive, yet incredibly stubborn man makes Kelsey rethink everything she's doing, and face the reality of her loneliness. As she embarks on more European adventures with Hunt around every corner, Kelsey is forced to face the truths she's been running from since the beginning of her grand adventure. But Kelsey's not the only ones with problems to face. What dark secrets is Hunt really hiding? And can Hunt avoid telling them to Kelsey forever?

Honestly, I was so ready to give this book four stars the entire time I was reading it. About 30 pages to the end, though, Cora throws a complete curveball that threw me for a loop. Wasn't expecting THAT to happen and any book that can catch me off guard and make a book 10 times more interesting than it just was definitely deserve a higher rating. As soon as I reached that point of the book, I couldn't put it down until I was finished and saw exactly how Kelsey's story sorted itself out. 

Normally I don't like girls as crazy and full of themselves as Kelsey first appears, but she definitely grew on me. Yeah, she acts all confident but she has some really heavy secrets and is simply a girl trying to forget how crappy life can get. And what better way than to go crazy all over Europe? I absolutely loved the travel aspect of this book and couldn't get enough of each new city Kelsey and Hunt got to explore together. 

Oh, Jackson. Hunt. Jackson..whatever you want us to call you. You're simply amazing. And you made this book so worth it. You're so dark, mysterious, stubborn, and all over the place. Oh, and super sweet and caring. And did I mention insanely attractive? Seriously, how do the girls in Cora Carmack's books find such amazing men? Oh yeah, because she makes them that way. If only we all had a Cora to create the absolute perfect guy for us! Life would be so much easier..

But back to the book! The characters (*cough* Hunt *cough*) were so perfect and while the ending was a bit rushed to me, this book was great. If the ending had more resolution with more detail/story to it and didn't end so quickly/abruptly, then this book would have been absolutely prefect. Still, even with the slightly rushed ending, Cora manages to create the perfect new adult romance with some twist and turns thrown in to keep the reader on their toes. If you pick this one up, which you all definitely should, you won't be able to get enough of Kelsey and Hunt's adventures around Europe.