Goodreads 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 Q gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew.
Author: John Gren
Pages: 300
Genre: Contemporary realism
Audience: Young Adult
Rating: Four and a half stars: I'd have a crush on this book, but my marriage to Looking For Alaska prevents me from more.
That's right! Another John Green book. I've got to catch them all, like Pokemon! In a room with only his books, you could pretty much close your eyes and point. They are all amazing. I love Green's realistic yet quirky development of characters, his penchant for road trips, and the way he effortlessly weaves great literature into the plot-line. While I did like the main character in this story, I was struck by how similar he was to to the MC in Looking for Alaska and also An Abundance of Katherines. I also felt, again, that there are no teenagers out there who think this deeply about their lives and speak so eloquently. I'm not sure there are many adults who do, either.
Regardless, the hunt for Margo was compelling and while I did not sympathize much with her character, by the end I thought I could understand her. I think teens can relate to her theory that "forever is made up of nows", although that may be hard to say when you're 80 and have no money for your medications and can't work. Oops, my adult side crept in. I agreed more with Q's conclusion that people have to be who they are, and you can't try to turn them all into you. On a final note, this book is kind of a roller-coaster ride of serious and humorous. It is worth a read, though, so long as you've already read all his others.
I finally read Looking for Alaska recently, and I agree with you about the quirky characters who are enjoyable, and yet who don't quite ring true. That was my biggest qualm with the book, really--it just felt too self-aware. I do plan to give Green another shot, though!
ReplyDeleteStephanie @ Read in a Single Sitting
http://www.readinasinglesitting.com
I haven't read a John Green book, I really need to remedy that. Great review.
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