When I read a book, I am looking for a couple of things- some romance, at least one character that provides a humorous side to the story, and an action-packed plot that keeps me turning the pages. Although Paper Towns unquestionably satisfied the first two requirements, its plot was less than intriguing, and I often found myself zoning out at the dullness of the storyline and the repetition of the dialogue. 

This bildungsroman takes place in Orlando, Florida where the 18-year-old protagonist Quentin Jacobsen lives a content, but overall ordinary and mundane life. Every day he goes to school to walk the same halls and eat the same food with the same friends. The only extraordinarily thrilling thing in his life is less of a “thing,” and more of a person: Margo Roth Spiegelman, who also happens to be the antagonist of this story. Despite Quentin’s lifelong obsession with Margo, he has not talked to her in years, so when she shows up at his window one night with a 13-step mission, he is more than slightly surprised. But he is even more surprised to discover the next morning that Margo has run away, and as it seems, no one has any intentions to find her other than Quentin himself. As Quentin and his friends set out on the road trip of their lives to follow a few scarce clues, the complex, obscure, and muddled mystery of Margo Roth Spiegelman takes over his life.

If that summary just interested you, do not worry- I thought the same thing. There is nothing I love more than romance mixed with an inciting mystery. But there is a difference between a high schooler with a crush that would do anything for the girl he likes and a high schooler with an obsession that refuses to talk or think about anything other than traveling across the country for a girl he barely knows. Paper Town’s protagonist undoubtedly falls into the second category. I found Quentin’s actions and feelings towards Margo to be less romantic and more creepy and unrealistic. The amount of time he spent talking about the same thing (you guessed it- Margo!) felt repetitive, and it seems improbable to me that the people around Quentin would continue to support him rather than be concerned.

This novel’s denouement was also very anticlimactic, and looking back on it, I find it hard to believe that the book was 300 pages long because there were so few main plot points. It felt like the author tried to create suspense and build up to some big mind-reeling reveal in the final chapter, but in my opinion, everything past the first hundred pages was highly predictable and uneventful. 

Despite the overall uninspiring and long-winded plot, Green did a good job of creating an intricate setting and introducing the physical aspects of Orlando. I enjoyed the personality of Ben, the main character’s best friend because his sarcasm and mocking jokes brought comic relief to the story. However, as I got further into the book, Ben’s humor began to get repetitive and he had the same interactions with Quentin over and over again. There is no doubt that Green is a very talented writer, but the only thing that stood out to me as positive in this novel was the details of the exposition and setting. 

Overall, Paper Towns was disappointing and didn’t have a compelling or driven plot. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone looking for a realistic teen romance or an electrifying mystery.