In English - John Green - Paper Towns

After reading more and more articles about John Green in this blog I like, I decided to finally read another of his novels, Paper Towns, soon on screen.

Title: Paper Towns

Author: John Green

Genre: YA novel

Year: 2008

Country: USA

Summary

   Quentin Jacobsen, a teenager, used to be a very close friend of his neighbour Margo Roth Spiegelman. He is still in love with her and admires her amazing and special personnality. But they barely talk to each other anymore. One night though, Margo comes into Quentin's room through the window and takes him with her on a punitive expedition to take revenge on some of her friends who betrayed her. Quentin feels proud and happy to be the one she chosed. But the next day, Margo disappears, only leaving some clues for him to discover her retreat. With the help of his best friends Ben and Radar, and Margo's former best friend Lacey, Quentin will go on a search for Margo.

My opinion

   First of all, Paper Towns is a page-turner. I couldn't help going on reading it. Quentin's attempts to solve the puzzle Margo left him made the book fascinating; I felt like I was reading a crime novel and really liked that. I also liked the passages in the abandonned shop, because I am currently fascinated by Urbex (urban exploration); I think I am sensitive to the mysterious charm of abandonned places, and I found this charm was felt in the novel.

   But I have to confess one thing: I couldn't become attached to the characters. It was the same as in The Fault in our stars. I guess I felt this way because I find John Green's eccentric teenagers quite artificial. I could have loved this book, but I thought it had something unfinished, in a way.

   Last but not least, the novel made me laugh a lot. Quite a guilty laugh, though, the humour being rather vulgar. The writing has, to my mind, nothing extraordinary.

   I have to mention the very end of the novel, that I loved and found remarquable. 

   So my opinion on this book is mitigated... I liked it better than  The Fault in our stars though.

To conclude

4/5, artificial but quite fascinating

   I will probably go and watch the movie as soon as it will be released in France and may write my thoughts about it on my blog or on the Facebook page.

In English - John Green - The Fault in our stars

   Finally I decided to read this bestseller...

Title: The Fault in our stars

Author: John Green

Genre: YA novel - love novel

Year: 2012

Country: USA

Summary

   Hazel Grace Lancaster, 16 years old, suffers from a thyroid cancer that became a lung cancer, unabling her to breathe properly without an oxygen tank. Thank to a miraculous medicine, Phallanxifor, her life expectancy turned longer. She is forced by her mother to attend a pathetic and depressing Support Group. One day, she meets there a gorgeous and original boy, Augustus Walters. They get on well and quickly become friends. Hazel tells him about her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, that has the particularity to end right in the middle of a sentence. Her dream is to meet the author to know what happens to the characters. Augustus will do everything to show her his love and make her dream come true.

My opinion

   First things first, the plot. Of course, the subject of the book is not the most joyful ever, and the book in itself can't help being pathetic, rather sad, and, according to me, very cheesy. The love story is a little too easy between them. Hazel and Augustus are of course quite special people, Hazel being obsessed with An Imperial Affliction and Augustus loving all sorts of metaphores. So, of course, they are not banal and that is a good point. But let's be honest: I didn't manage to truly love the characters, especially Hazel, who is the narrator. Maybe I didn't because I found Hazel quite a depressing character, and Augustus a little pale. I mean that I wasn't that interested in what they were going through.

   Then, as far as the reflection about sickness and death is concerned, I found this novel was of varying quality. It could have been very interesting, and sometimes it is, especially at the end where one of the characters is confronted to the weakness and degeneracy of the sick other one, but most of the time, Hazel keeps saying "Dying sucks, dying sucks", which is obviously accurate but not one of the most profound observation ever.

   I can't talk about this book without mensioning the humor. Well, it's not really my kind of humor and a bit repetitive, but I have to admit it made me smile most of the time. The writing is like the reflection, of varying quality. As far as the narration is concerned, I found out why I didn't like that much those YA-books-that-are-told-by-a-teen-girl-who-falls-in-love that are such bestsellers nowadays (I am thinking of Twilight, The Hunger Games, or Divergent): I simply prefer the 3rd person narration than the first person narration. I think it makes the book more interseting by giving the narration some objectivity and allows a better sentimental or social analasis. I am thinking, for example of Zola's novels which are my favorite ever. But of course it is a very personal point of view.

   It is hard for me to give my opinion about this novel, because though I spotted many weaknesses and didn't fall in love with it, I still couldn't put it down and liked it. This is a paradox...

To conclude

   3/5, of varying quality

   I started watching the movie, I have not finished it yet but I can say I find the acting quite bad, except for Shailene Woodley who plays Hazel and is amazing. And I was surprised because the plot of the movie is the same as the one of the book, I even recognized some quotes from the book. So I guess it is a very good point.