Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns (2008) is John Green's third solo book, and I think his best of the ones I've read so far. It was sweet, funny, exciting, compelling, interesting... it had it all. Mystery, 'romance,' suspense, fear, longing, heartache and heartbreak, dead bodies, final exams, and a road trip. What more could you want?

I really, really loved all these characters -- they were fun, funny, well-rounded, complete characters. It was a pleasure to live in their world for a little while. The road trip part was the best -- I was crying laughing at one point, and I really wished it had lasted longer.

The thing I loved the most about this book was that it was about a boy and a girl, and love, relationships, etc. but it wasn't REALLY about that -- it was about growing up and figuring out who you are and what you want, and accepting other people for who they truly are, and just figuring out people. So lovely!

The movie version was a pretty good adaptation -- of course not as complex and well-rounded as the book, and they left out some of my favorite parts of the book, but a nice movie in its own right. Good movie, great book!

"[E]ach of us starts out as a watertight vessel. And these things happen -- these people leave us, or don't love us, or don't get us, or we don't get them, and we lose and fail and hurt one another. And the vessel starts to crack open in places. And I mean, yeah, once the vessel starts to crack open, the end becomes inevitable... But there is all this time between when the cracks start to open up and when we finally fall apart. And it's only in that time that we can see one another, because we see out of ourselves through the cracks and into others through theirs... [O]nce the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out."--Quentin (p.302)

See my review of John Green's first two books here.

Keep reading! Beth

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

First Frost (2015) by Sarah Addison Allen was a lovely, uplifting sequel to Garden Spells (see my review of that book here). A heartwarming tale of belonging and families and relationships, knowing who you are and embracing that. Filled with very likable characters, who were flawed but (mostly) good, this book was an easy, comfortable read.

I really identified with Sydney's daughter Bay, now a high-school student set apart from her classmates by her different-ness. Though she is not shunned, she still feels 'other' and slightly isolated, knowing what she wants but not knowing how to get it -- while also dealing with the normal issues of growing up.

And even though I was frustrated by the way Sydney handled her receptionist Violet's issues, it was clear that Sydney knew it was frustrating for herself even, which made it much more understandable. (And, not to spoil anything, but I guess it worked out alright in the end...).

Overall, I would highly recommend both Garden Spells and First Frost when you want something that will captivate you without making you think too hard.

“It had taken her a long time to realize that a prison sometimes isn't a prison at all. Sometimes, it's simply a door you assume is locked because you've never tried to open it.” 

Keep reading! Beth

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

The Rosie Project (2013) by Graeme Simsion was a sweet, surprising story about a man with many idiosyncrasies who struggles with accepting his own limitations in a world that (frustratingly) does not operate in the logical, orderly way he requires.

When I first started this book, I was really worried that the author would mock the main character and use his different-ness as comedic relief. But Don was an incredibly sympathetic character and I enjoyed his story immensely, especially coming from his unusual but understandable perspective. The Rosie of the title was a very interesting and decently complex character, who had her own plot developed outside of being the main love interest in the story -- always appreciated.

I loved that, since the reader was treated to Don's thought process but not Rosie's, he came off as the more likeable character, despite his own social issues contrasted to Rosie's "normal-ness". My only very small complaint is that the ending seemed a little rushed, but then again the point of the story was really about the journey and not the ending, which left the main characters in a satisfying way. To that end, I have waffled about whether or not to read the sequel, The Rosie Effect, since finishing The Rosie Project. I really liked this as a self-contained story and am very reluctant to get into another story that might muddle the waters, so to speak. For now, I was happy to have read this as a very good, heat-warming, stand-alone novel.

"It was also obvious that Rosie had very poor taste in coffee -- or she had done as I had and ignored the label 'coffee' and was enjoying it as an entirely new beverage. The technique was working brilliantly." (201)

Keep reading! Beth

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Garden Spells (2007) by Sarah Addison Allen is a book about family with just a touch of fantasy, and a Southern romance with a lot of whimsy.

I loved the quirky setting and the exaggerated characters of each of the families in this small, unique town. And I liked how fantasy elements were just woven into the story, as if that's how things are in the real world -- magic is always just right there under the surface waiting for the right circumstances to come out. Even a simple, everyday action like cooking food or cutting hair can create its own magic.

But the magic was only a small part of the book; the story itself is about relationships: romantic and familial, exciting, strained, and violent. At the heart of the story is the bond between two sisters who have had an unusual and not altogether loving relationship in the past. But the differences that kept them apart as children and young adults are also the things that have the potential to connect them as adults now that they are reunited. I liked that this was the relationship at the core of the book, and the rest of the story lines with romantic partners and others was important but somewhat secondary.

The secondary characters were all interesting and compelling, and the main characters were very easy to like and sympathize with. That combined with a great story and lovely, unique setting made this a really wonderful book.

“When you're happy for yourself, it fills you. When you're happy for someone else, it pours over. It was almost too bright to watch.” 

Keep reading! Beth

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl (2013) is a great book for any introvert - or anyone who wants to understand introverts. Cath is a college freshman dealing with her much more outgoing twin sister, bi-polar dad, absent mom, standoffish roommate, roommate’s flirty boyfriend, and writing partner with questionable motives. The way Rowell writes all these characters is wonderful; she has a way with personalities and dialogue that made this book very hard to put down.

The thread through the whole book is the fantasy fanfiction Cath is writing, which weaves throughout the ‘real’ life of the story and is what connects or separates Cath from most of the people in her life, including her sister and her writing professor. There are tantalizing glimpses of both the story Cath is writing and the books her characters are based on, which adds an interesting dimension to the story.

Rowell is really great at capturing the feeling of being young and dealing with the strange transition in college between childhood and adulthood, and I really found myself empathizing with Cath very closely. A large part of this was the way in which Cath struggles as an introvert to adapt to the new environment of college, being surrounded by strangers and new expectations of how to 'be cool' and fit in.

The ending was fairly open-ended, but in a way that made sense. Most of the main storylines were pretty well wrapped up, and nothing was left hanging so much as while the story of Cath's freshman year was ending, life was continuing for each character and that’s okay. This was a really great book that I’ve recommended to everyone since I finished. My favorite non-fantasy young adult book so far (sorry John Green; I love you but I just found myself connecting with a female lead character more).

“In new situations, all the trickiest rules are the ones nobody bothers to explain to you. (And the ones you can't Google.)” (page 15)

Keep reading! Beth

John Green, Pt. 1: The early works

In addition to Neil Gaiman, the other author of whom I have long been a fan without having read much (or any) of his books is John Green. I am a devoted fan of the many educational YouTube channels John and his brother Hank produce, including VlogBrothers, Crash Course, SciShow, and Mental Floss, and the podcast they do together, Dear Hank and John (all are wonderful and interesting). Both Green brothers are intelligent, funny, and kind, and I admire them both. About time, then, that I explored the many books that brought John Green to attention in the first place, starting with some of his earlier works.

Looking for Alaska (2005)

Unfortunately I do have to start by saying that at first I was not especially taken with this book, filled as it was with either awkward, whiny teenagers or rebellious, irresponsible teenagers. I just didn’t connect with the characters at first, which I think is more of a function of the genre than the author. Contemporary Young Adult novels are not normally my genre of choice; what YA books I read are all fantasy-based. So I wonder how much of my initial reluctance was simply the lack of magic and mythology I'm used to in YA books.

Regardless, once I got to know the characters more, and especially their back stories, I liked them much more. The way the story dealt with death in the later part was very moving and – I think – pretty accurate. Of course everyone deals with death differently, so I’m not sure it would have been possible to have been inaccurate per se, but regardless it felt very real and personal to me and helped me connect with the way the characters were feeling. And there were some very nice life lessons in the end.

"We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken... We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations... [T]hat part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail." (page 220-1)

An Abundance of Katherines (2006)

I did enjoy this book more than Alaska from the start. Though there was still a bit more teen angst than I’m accustomed to in the stories I choose to read, I liked all the main characters in this story much more quickly. Though I’m not sure what it says about my deeper foray into YA literature that maybe the character I liked the best was the adult (maybe that’s a sign that I’m getting to old to read YA – to which I say, no such thing! I still read children’s books too).

One major plot thread – taking down oral histories of members in a specific community – was something I found very intriguing, and I really appreciated that the characters were working toward something interesting and concrete. This connection with the community, especially with outsiders (as the two main characters were), I thought elevated the book beyond just 'YA' to a story that is relatable to all ages (though I don't really think most YA books should be read just by teenagers; I know many adults who read them).

"I don't think you can ever fill the empty space with the thing you lost... I don't think your missing pieces ever fit inside you again once they go missing." (page 201)

I like that John Green doesn’t speak down to his readers, that he assumes a certain amount of intelligence on our part (not an unreasonable amount; he is neither snobby nor preachy in his writing, which is also certainly appreciated). Overall, I'm glad I read both these books and look forward to reading some of his later works sometime soon.

Keep reading! Beth