With the novel Paper Towns by John Green being adapted into a movie soon, with a premiered trailer and a recent film clip that premiered at the MTV Movie Awards, it is only fitting to provide a book review for those who wish to read—or even not read—the book first.

Paper Towns revolves around Quentin “Q” Jacobsen and his obsession with childhood sweetheart and neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman (almost always referred to with her full, six syllable name because that’s the kind of impact a girl like Margo has). After a night full of adventure and a 12 part plan that brings together the two that had since childhood grown far apart, Margo disappears, leaving Q to chase after her with the aid of his close friends Ben Starling and Marcus “Radar” Lincoln.

The chase involves a lot of intricate planning, sports drinks, breaking and entering (though not at the same time) and the poem Song of Myself by Walt Whitman.

The novel has been well received, much like other books by Green, and has many high rating reviews, including ones by Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal praising the character development and message behind the story. The book is also a number one New York Times Best Seller.

The moral of the story, or at least a considerable one, is the difference between knowing a person and knowing about a person, and looking through a window rather than a mirror. Everyone has a perceived image of the people around them and they assume based on stereotypes and tropes, but there is more to a person than that. Throughout the process of searching for Margo, Q slowly learns more and more about her and starts to realize who she really is rather than his “manic pixie dream girl” image.

Photo by: johngreenbooks.com
Based on the trailer, the upcoming film should be relatively accurate. Obviously there are a couple changes, including saran wrap rather than rotting fish, a nine-part plan rather than 12 and a change in road trip lineup. When questioned about the change in roadtrip lineup, Green himself stated that, in answer to an ask on social media site tumblr, “There are a lot of little differences like that between the movie version of Paper Towns and the book, because the movie is a movie and the book is a book.” Green cited the big ones that he assumed people would be most put off about as the lack of Sea World (the things that happened there will occur at the Sun Trust Tower, because no one on the crew supports the way Sea World treats its wildlife and did not want to provide it funding or promotion) and there being less time spent analyzing Song of Myself. But even some of the subtler details are still very consistent, and the movie still has plenty of excitable reasons to see it. The trailer makes it appear that the movie will still be pretty accurate alongside the book and is definitely a must-see film, full of action and adventure for a squad day out, and just the right amount of side romance, especially for a date night. John Green fans everywhere think the film will be promising and fulfilling. The movie premieres on July 24 in anniversary of the premiere of Green’s previous book-to-film adaptation The Fault In Our Stars. When you go, take in mind that “You will go to the paper towns and you will never come back”.