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Chapter 271: Paper Towns

Hey lovelies. A short update: I'll be back in Melaka on Thursday afternoon!!!!! YAYYYYYYYY. *applause*


WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR PAPER TOWNS
Credits to Google. Or whoever who took this.

Yesterday I stayed up till 2am to finish Paper Towns by John Green. It is a GREAT book. I find this book very different from the genres I normally read. It's a mystery kind of book along with some romance, and definitely a stir of humor. I guess it started getting interesting when Margo went missing. I read on and on because I wanted to know where Margo went, and why the hell did she run away.


I really like the whole plot of the story. And how the book reflects so much about our society. We often fantasize and imagine someone we like/had a crush on to be someone irrevocably perfect in any way; the things they do, the words they say, the person they are. But most of the time, if not all, this is all just an imagination; an ideal person in our head. *sidetrack: This was also portrayed in one of my favourite Taiwanese dramas 我的自由年代* Once we get to know this person, the perfect image completely disappears. Despite that, it doesn't mean we can't love them after getting to know them. Instead, now we don't love them for who they appear to us, we love them for who they are.


 In my opinion, it's not wrong to idealize someone. Just like how Ben had idealized Lacey as a flawless girl, but realized that she's just a normal girl who loves eating and nags at him all the time. But that doesn't stop him from loving her the way she is. And how Quentin had wrongly imagined that Margo was just this awesome person who had nothing to worry about. Little did he know that she's depressed, and desperate to find her way out of her "perfect" self, to search for her true self.

Another thing I like is the usage of Paper Towns. I often wonder if we're all Sims characters and God is playing with us.We're all paper people in paper towns. Sometimes we forget that it's okay to make mistakes. Sometimes we forget that not everyone is perfect. Sometimes we forget to reveal our true self. Sometimes we're just paper people. (Now I know the meaning of Paper Towns. Gained knowledge yay!)

I think Margo is a fun character, what with all her clever pranks and strange thoughts. She's very intriguing and I doubt anyone like her exists in real life. If the actress manages to bring Margo's character to life in the movie, I bet it'll be an amazing movie to watch. She's someone who has a lot to think about. And when she thinks, she thinks out of the box. This is why I love book characters, because authors always manage to etch the character in your mind, and making you want to meet them in real life (if they really do exist).

Initially I thought that the book was predictable. I'd thought that Margo had committed suicide, because John Green just HAS to kill one of the main characters off (E.g. Gus from TFIOS and Alaska from LFA) And I'd thought Quentin would follow Margo on her road trip, as per normal to all the other romantic novels, but he didn't. This is like a smack of reality to our faces because we always expect happy endings from novels.

Another thing about our imagination is that, what we see is not always what we get. I guess a lot of girls expect a lot from their boyfriends because of what they read and what they see on TV. Those romantic novels with happy endings and romantic scenes on dramas are often not what you expect to see in real life. So seriously, stop expecting. He is who he is. He is not someone in the novel or in the movies. Just STOP and learn how to appreciate. He didn't complain so why should you?

xxx

So far I've read four of John Green's masterpieces. Let's rate them according to my perspective, shall we?


 I personally love Looking for Alaska the most. I don't know why. I honestly love Alaska's character and I was devastated when they announced her dead T_____T. Her character is somewhat a bit similar to Margo (both were suffering inside but portrayed a perfect imagine outside), but I liked Alaska more, for whatever reason. Next will be Paper Towns. I wonder if it's because of the slight similarities with LFA?

Also, the quotes inside are AMAZING. *_* 


And thirdly, The Fault In Our Stars. I know, I know. This book SHOULD be the first in my list, but sadly no. TFIOS is a real interesting book although it's not my favourite. I got bored at some parts but maybe that's just me. I don't cry over teenage romance novels/movies mainly because 1. I find them to be unrealistic 2. they are often exaggerated A LOT. The movie was good and yeah, I heard that a lot of people cried a river and all. It did touch me, but I didn't cry. One thing I must mention here is that IT HAD GOTTEN TOO MAINSTREAM for God's sake. A lot of people (and mostly those who have not even read the book) had jumped on the bandwagon and I find them a tad bit too fake. But meh, whatever.


Sorry, the last one would be An Abundance of Katherines. This is another fun book, with mostly humor. It's interesting to know that the Colin had dated 19 Katherines in his life. The whole idea of this book is fresh, with the creation of equations and all. But I got annoyed by the equations for a little bit. LOL. I loved the stories about how Colin met his Katherines because I didn't think that a guy like Colin would have dated so many girls in all his life. Sorry Colin hahahaha. But then his definition of "dating" may be a tad bit different from MY definition of dating so...

All in all, John Green's books are spectacularly good. I can't say that I'm a fan just because I've read his books, but I really admire his thinking and creativity to produce this. Though his guy characters are somewhat similar (nerdy, unpopular, weird), but I guess it's what the female characters bring out in them that matters. It's good to know that a female is capable of bringing the best out of a male, even the nerdy ones. :)


And omg I can't wait for LFA to be released?!?!?! If they recruited Avril Lavigne as Alaska it would be perfect. LOL. I'd imagined her to be Alaska in the book when I read...heh. Don't know why she seems to fit the role perfectly. Paper Towns too actually! Though I read somewhere that the ending might change....but it's okay I guess.

I am sad to say I don't own any John Green books. ;_____;
I read TFIOS online, and the rest are from my cousin. If they do have a book sales and offer those books as a set, I'd buy it.


Ok. Sorry for all the long-winded crap I wrote LOL. Sorry if any of my words offend you or anything. It's just my personal opinion.


x
Celine



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