Paper Towns

Paper Towns is a great read about two teenagers in high school and the mystery of love and all that romance entails. The bigger picture of the novel can be read as the problems with different social circles that are involved in high school. Throughout the story, the social hierarchy of high school is often referenced. The stereotypical popular crowd and band geek crowd are present in the book, as well as stereotypical characters from each of those crowds. Margo is from the popular crowd and not even a quarter of the way through the book do we see her demanding upon Quenten, an innocent boy from the band geek crowd. While John Greene does a good job of challenging the stereotype of the popular girl by having her hang out with Quenten and talk about not wanting to be part of the popular crowd, he still plays into the images people have of the stereotypical high school students. A good theme to be taught out of this book is the topic of agency. Many times throughout the book, especially during the revenge-escapade, things happen to Quenten without his control (Margo showing up in his bedroom). But not soon after that, Quenten is called upon to make decisions of his own, like participating in parts of the revenge and even picking a victim for himself. Many high school students can relate to this theme-and this book as a whole-because there is always someone from opposing crowds that you just don't get along with-but that doesn't mean you seek revenge on them...or do you?

This text depicts adolescence as reckless and careless. Although the kids are in school and seem to already have a path for next year in college, they do little to better themselves throughout the book in the context of school. Not to mention the fact that they stayed out till almost morning pulling pranks on other classmates. The chances of students actually doing this in high school are pretty slim, one, because most parents would notice their kid leaving in their car and, two, because students are usually getting ready for the next day at school instead of driving recklessly around the city. That being said, this text brings up a good point about revenge and responsibility for actions, and if some actions do indeed require revenge. It would be a good topic to discuss with students and to teach them the (actual) repercussions of actions.

I think this text definitely appeals to adolescence because it's a fun and interesting story to follow along with. Whether you belong to the popular crowd or the nerdy crowd, I'm sure students can relate to the story line in one way or another. In high school, the popular kids really do think they can order their friends and the people lower than them on the social tier around. It's a good read for kids who can relate to Quenten because he has had his eye on Margo forever and he finally got his chance to be friends with her and to hangout with her-a feeling a lot of kids can probably relate to. The idea of identity as it pertains to high school is a hard concept to get your head around when you're in the moment: a lot of high schoolers just don't know who they are. I think Paper Towns is a great story to read to realize that a lot of high schoolers feel like that; not everyone knows who they are like you think they do. And along with identity comes the people who you identify with: your friends. People make friends with others for many different reasons, and sometimes the people you call your friends may not be your friends at all. Betrayal, loss of trust, and lying are what led Margo to tell her “friends” that her relationship with them “lays with the fish.” Many, many, many high school students can relate to the idea of loss of friendship as well.

  This text would probably receive a C from me. I love the idea of the book and I loved reading it, but it didn't particularly stick out to me. I think a lot less can be learned from this book than other books, while a lot can still be gained from it.