Blog #70 – What have you been reading?
Usually once a year, I check in to see what you guys and gals are reading for fun – outside of class / school. My hope is that you are finding something to read, whether it be YA fiction, non fiction, manga, biographies, or other stuff. Here’s a couple of things that I’ve read recently:
1. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – This is a post-apocalyptic story that doesn’t really focus on the future, it focuses on the characters before the epidemic flu event that wipes out 99% of the population. The book starts on a night in Toronto before the flu hit when a famous actor playing King Lear dies of a heart attack on stage in the fourth act. The story follows one of the young actresses, Kirsten, who survives the flu. Twenty years after the flu, she is part of a traveling symphony / actors’ guild that tours what’s left of Michigan along the coasts of Lakes Michigan and Huron. But the story also follows the famous actor and how he started out as a fledgling actor doing commercials then moving up to small roles in films. It’s a really good story that is more of a grown up dystopian novel that doesn’t have a teenaged girl as its main protagonist (Hunger Games, Divergent). There are several well-rounded characters who you end up caring about after the novel is done.
2. The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore. This is a strange story about the creator of WW, an experimental psychologist who also happened to be a huge feminist in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. William Marston met and married his high school sweetheart and both studied psychology in college. His wife, Sadie, was a liberated woman of the time period who wanted everything, a career, family, and a husband, but didn’t want to sacrifice work in order to have children. So, William and Sadie bring another woman into their marriage, Olive, who will raise their children but also be married to William too. Between Sadie and Olive, William is the father of four kids and lives with two wives. Out of this interesting mix, Marston goes on to create Wonder Woman who is a reflection of his two wives and also a reflection of suffrage literature. The early WW, along with Batman and Superman, were the most popular comics in the 1930s and 40s until the backlash came out against comics in the 1950s. Wonder Woman has been used as a feminist symbol since the late 1960s, especially when she appeared on the cover of the first issue of Ms. Magazine in 1972. 
Until this book was put together by Lepore, the whole story of WW’s origins and her creator has never been completely told, especially because the Marston family had been uncomfortable with the arrangement of Sadie and Olive as wives of Dr. Marston.
Your job for this blog is discuss one book that you have read within the past year that you really enjoyed. If you’d like, you can pick a book that you want to read and tell us why you want to read it. Whatever option you choose, tell us how you first heard about the book, and why you liked it (or want to read it). I’d prefer that you not use something that you’ve read for school, because I’m trying to promote outside school reading.
The last book I read out of school was in September, and it was a brilliant science fiction novel by a man named Ray Bradbury, titled ‘Fahrenheit 451’. The setting of the book is an alternate 21st century America where books are viewed as mischievous and juvenile, and are outlawed. In this universe, the act of reading any books at all is a crime that warrants your home and books to be burned down immediately by the fire department, quite ironically. The only difference is in this world the firefighters are cruel men tasked with reporting to such crimes and burning down the houses at the stake.
Now sure, you may be thinking this novel sounds stupid and god-awful, but that’s not really true… in fact the book itself has received an incredible amount of praise including adaptations into plays.
The plot revolves around a gentleman named Guy Montag, who is the employee of one of these sinister fire departments and enjoys it very much, He has a job, a home, a wife named Mildred, and everything in his life seems perfectly normal to him. One day he meets a young woman named Clarisse, who teaches him of literature and all of the true wonders and secret powers it behold. She informs him that once the world was not like this and books were enjoyed very much by the general public. Unfortunately, this was changed as the public lost interest in books and abandoned them for addictive television that brainwashed them. The government took this opportunity to promote the television and illegalize books and all learning, including schools and universities.
Life is black and white, dull, boring and all citizens seem to be completely unaware of a major war happening with their nation faraway. The population just keeps watching tv and ignorance is celebrated. Following the generous teachings and guidance of Clarisse, Guy realizes the monstrosities committed and the pale dark world that everyone else views as perfect and unbroken. He no longer views life as perfect for him, changing his thoughts of his wife and noticing that they barely love each other at all. Guy works together with several other extremely interesting characters in this outstanding novel. I must stop here to not spoil the rest.
In conclusion, the book is amazing, I like to get something out of a book and relate it to my life and this book does an INSANELY GOOD JOB at so. Mr. Wickersham asked for a profound discussion on the book and wanted us to discuss reading to highlight the extreme importance of it, so I ignored my actual most recent book (WILD by Cheryl Strayed, also brilliant) and chose to talk about this one because of how DEEPLY relevant it is. I don’t like to sound like a hippie or cheesy, but the book makes you ask questions about life and rethink whether you are truly you or if you just another number in a grand series of numbers.
I highly recommend it to you guys, and if anyone asks I have a slightly worn out version that they could borrow.
The most recent book I read was Three Little Words, by: Ashley Rhodes-Courter. This book was one of my favorites because it had humor but it was also very heartfelt and I felt extremely emotionally attached to the characters. The main character is Ashley, she gets moved to her first foster home when she is only three years old because of her irresponsible, trailer dwelling, teen mom. From then on little does she know she is going to move between 14 different homes including her grandparents until she is finally adopted by a loving family. Ashley goes through abuse and confusion as her mother visits her and tells her she is coming back for her but then ends up not and making bad decisions again which keeps Ashley away from her. Not to mention the 44 caseworkers she also encountered throughout her childhood that helped her through this tough time. My favorite part about this was the fact that all of it was so real and the author was so raw speaking about her experiences. And the very best part is the author fights hard so that kids wont have to go through the horror she did. She has spoken to the Senate and gives kids who can’t speak about it a voice for change; which is reforming the foster care system. I highly recommend this book it is amazing.
I’ve read a lot of romance novels this summer but my all time favorite of them all is the Fault in Our Stars by John Green. A lot of people read it this past summer and I was really curious about why everyone enjoyed it so much and what was so sad about it so I checked it out myself before the movie came out. I had just finished up finals and I had a week to finish the book and it only took me half the time because the book was so great. The book starts off with a girl named Hazel Grace she has thyroid cancer and her mother believes that she has to go to support group because she reads the same book An Imperial Affliction repetitively, doesn’t eat enough, and is anti-social. She despises support group and is forced to go to the church basement aka the heart of Jesus where she sits and talks about her trials and tribulations with cancer like everyone else. One good thing about support group is one of her peers Isaac sits across the room and exchange looks the whole time when the support group leader talks about how Jesus made his testicles cancer free While she’s in support group she catches the eye of a very attractive boy across the room named Augustus Waters. After the meeting they meet up she goes to his house to meet his parents and exchange the books they’ve been reading. They start to get really serious but Hazel is really afraid because she knows she’s going to die one day and she doesn’t want to hurt him when she does so she metaphorically calls herself a grenade and she wants to “minimize the casualties.” Yet Augustus Waters doesn’t care and still wants to be with her because he loves her too much to let her go. One day they are talking and Augustus gets in contact with the author’s assistant of An Imperial Affliction and she says they are able to fly all the way out to Amsterdam. Hazel doesn’t think she can because she wasted her wish she got from the Make a Wish Foundation on Disney World and Augustus is willing to spare his wish and go to Amsterdam to meet Peter Van Houten, the author, to discuss a sequel to their favorite book. Hazel is very happy but her doctors don’t agree with the plan until Hazel’s mother persuades the doctors to go and stay for 3 days instead of 5. They go out to Amsterdam have a fancy dinner. The next day Augustus and Hazel meet Van Houten who is “a drunken bastard,” according to Hazel and not quite the intellectual they thought he was. Van Houten’s assistant is disgusted and takes them to the Anne Frank House where they have the most romantic experience but unfortunately the next day Augustus informs her that he’s going to die because the cancer took on his body. Hazel is distraught but spends her last few weeks with Augustus Waters. Hazel and Isaac both write a really touching eulogy on his behalf they read it to him but Hazel doesn’t say hers at the funeral. Van Houten sees her at the funeral explains his drunken ways because of his daughter’s lost fight with Leukemia. He gives her Augustus’s eulogy but Hazel takes it and refuses to read it but eventually does. The book ends with her holding the letter close to her heart outside staring up at the stars. I thought the book was the best book I’ve read by far and it made me cry countless times. I read another book by John Green called Paper Towns and I really want to read one of his first books Looking for Alaska. He’s one of my favorite authors.
I finished the book about Billy Joel called Billy Joel. I thought it was really interesting because it was a book that was from his point of view and I thought that was really interesting. It was talking about his life before he became famous and how his career first started. It was interesting to see how such a successful artist was so normal and how the people he meet affected his life. He met so many famous bands and singers that started off just like he did and that was really cool. He was very observant about the city of New York and the different places he stayed and went. He talked about the different gigs he had while in New York and different famous people he met. It was interesting as someone who loves music and an aspiring singer to see how normal someone of his caliber career started. He worked really hard to get to where he is in his career. He stayed with different people and he went to New York by himself and didn’t go with any family or friends. He used his ability to be so observant of the word around him that he was able to right world renowned musician. I would recommend this book for people who want to become singers or just love music.
One book that I have read and really liked is the book 1984 by George Orwell. This book takes place in a dystopian future (in relation to when this book was written) of 1984. In the book, the government, led by Big Brother, a face that can be seen everywhere, tracks all of the citizens’ every move to make sure they do not rebel. The government monitors the citizens by the use of telescreens, hidden microphones, hidden cameras, and the Thought Police, and agency that can arrest and punish you for merely THINKING a crime. The book follows the main protagonist Winston Smith in his struggle to evade the government and keep his love in tact.
I really like this book for many reasons. One reason I like this book is because of the philosophical ideas presented; ideas like if everybody believes a certain thing, then it becomes true. Another reason why I like this book is because of how unpredictable it was. Throughout the book, Winston Smith and his wife have a secret home where they feel safe and out of site from the Thought Police. The book leads you to believe that they will be safe here and can plot a revolution. The book caught me completely off guard when out of nowhere the voice of the Thought Police comes out of a hidden telescreen and more Thought Police officers storm into the room and arrest Winston and his wife. I was caught off guard again when Winston gets out of jail. I thought he would overcome the type of hypnotized state that torcher put him in. I was devastated when in the last line of the book, Winston sheds tears and professes his love for Big Brother. This book made me think a lot about life and the invasiveness of governments. This book also made me think what happiness really is, and the fragility of reality. I would highly recommend this book to ANYONE, and would certainly read it again.
A book that I have recently enjoyed is Paper Towns by John Green. It is about two kids, Quentin and Margo, who though were friends at a young age, grew apart. Margo went to the more popular crowd, while Quentin kind of became the picked on kid. Quentin also grew to have a crush on Margo. Margo was known for having a tendency of running away for days on end and going on these types of “adventures that she told everyone about when she got back, thus being sort of infamous for this. Although, one night, when they were seniors in high school, Margo asks for Quentin’s companionship in visiting houses of people who had either done her wrong or good. She left fishes for the people who did her wrong and flowers for one person that was loyal to her. Anyways, after also sneaking into Sea World, as well as Margo explaining how she thought they lived in a paper town from the top of a “Suntrust” building, they finally part ways. The next day, Margo goes missing, and Quentin just thinks that she is on one of her many adventures again. But when she is gone longer than normal, Quentin starts worrying…..and actually realizes that this time, she isn’t coming back, and has left clues for him to find her. I like this book because it is something where you have to put the pieces together to solve the overarching puzzle, and I always find books like that interesting.
This past year, I don’t feel like there was a book that I read that really stood out and was something I couldn’t put down. Hence, I would like to share with you a book that I would foresee myself enjoying a lot. This book is called “The Hunger Games”. This is a very popular book and series, so I have heard about this book from just about everyone who actively reads. They all say how much they love it and how entertaining it is. After hearing all the hype, I decided to watch the movie. The movie was pretty good in my opinion. I really thought the whole plot and idea of the story was quite unique and intriguing. The thought of kids around my age all drafted to fight to the death in an arena, it’s all really exciting. It was very exciting to see it all unravel in the movie. I really like the genre of science fiction because anything can be imagined yet it’s still very relatable to the world I live in today. I really hope this will be the book that I can’t put down, an experience I have not lived in a couple years now.
Over this past year I haven’t read as many books as I would have liked. The book I enjoyed the most in that time is Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell. It was one of the few books that I had trouble putting down, and was able to finish it within a week because of my interest in the subject. Books and stories about the military have always been a subject I like learning about because it furthers my respect for the people in uniform protecting the United States. The book starts off with Marcus Luttrell, a Navy SEAL, driving across the country to deliver the news to families that several of his fellow SEALs died in combat with him. The book then goes in to the extensive and rigorous training Luttrell and his Navy SEAL brothers went through for almost half the book, and how he built an unforgettable relationship with each and every one of them. They’re sent as a group to the barren mountains of Afghanistan on a mission to take out a person of interest. On the mission, they are found by a group of Afghani soldies, and the majority of the rest of the book is the story of the combat and how brutal it was on them. Each of them managed to take 3-4 bullets and multiple broken bones from falling down the dry mountains before having to go down. Luttrell narrates the battle and manages to be the only one alive in the end. The story as a whole is overwhelming. What that group of Navy SEALs went through is so intense and proves in further detail why and how the SEALs do what they need to do to be successful.
I have not been able to read many books outside of school In The past year due to school it’s self but, I was able to read a book called Sanitary of Outcasks, and it turned out to be one of the best books I’ve ever read. This was a nonfiction memoir, which I never enjoy, but a friend recommended it to me so I decided to give it a chance. This book was the story of a man who commited bank fraud, and was sent to prison for four years. It’s more uplifting, I promise. This man doesn’t just go to a prison with other inmates, they also share the facility with the last known leprosy patience in the United States. When he first gets there, he refuses to touch or even look at the people affected, but as the story moves on he learns to befriend those who are different than he is, and by the end he is upset when he has to leave and say his goodbyes. This book really opened my eyes to the idea that people really can change because this was a real story and not fiction. I can’t exactly explain why it was so moving, but it definintally had me empthizing with a felon. Weither or not you like non fiction, I definitely recommend this book.
One book I enjoyed in the last year was Allegiant by Veronica Roth. How I found this book was a long process. It was 7th grade English when we had to read a sci-fi book. I picked Divergent (1st book in series) and loved it. I then began to read to read the second book in the series. I kept having to stop reading to read other books for school. But eventually I finished the second book but sadly the last book wasn’t out. Two years later I have to read an American Novel over the summer for English. I couldn’t find a book until I remembered about the Divergent trilogy which I haven’t finished. I decided to get the last book, Allegiant, and read it over the summer. I really enjoyed the book. The setting was in post-war (but not totally destroyed) Chicago along with the Chicago airport. The people inside the city are walled in and do not leave. When the main character, Tris, and her friends leave the city they find out that they are genetically modified. Every person inside the city is split up into groups based on what they do and how they are modified. The main characters decide to leave and then find out the people are trying to wipe the memories of everyone in the city. Their plan is to stop it….
The last book that I read was Knowing Mandela by John Carlin. This book really dives deep into the life and mind of the great South African president, Nelson Mandela. Although it’s not necessarily a long book, we really get a full view of his life from his time in prison to his presidency to the day he died. One of the main aspects the author tried to hit in this book was Mandela’s incredible kindness and humility. He did not look to punish when he destroyed` apartheid, but forgave the whites in hopes to create a new, united South Africa. He even kept most of the office members from the apartheid era. One point that really stood out as well was his effect on the whites of South Africa. One woman in his office cried because of his incredible grace and kindness (this was a trend with most of the people that he met, like his security guard in prison). One of the things I didn’t know that surprised me was the fact that his wife cheated on him while he was in prison, and they ended up getting a divorce. You would think that such an inspirational leader would have an outstanding home life, but with this, we see the grief he suffers, and that he is only human. Overall, this book was a great read and you should read it if you want to gain a little knowledge.
Warning this books contain explicit scenes of violence and mature themes. Reader discretion is advised.
So I’m going to talk about one of my all time favorite books. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga. This book is filled with suspense and mystery, it will keep you on the edge of your seat.
The first book in the series is I Hunt Killers. The story centers around Jasper “Jazz” Dent, a 17 year old boy with an interesting childhood. Jazz was raised by his father William “Billy” Dent who is the most infamous serial killer of the 21 Century. At the time the story begins Butcher Billy, as the media loves to call him, has been captured and locked in prison for the murders of (officially) 128 people. Jazz was raised and trained to become just like his father. Now with even with Billy gone his lessons remain giving Jazz a frighteningly deep insight into the criminal mind. When a girl’s body is found in a field in Jazz’s small town of Lobo’s Nod Jazz is convinced its the work of a serial killer however the police are not so easily swayed. Now its up to Jazz to catch the killer so he can prove to everyone including himself that he isn’t going to become his father. The thing that makes this book so compelling isn’t the actual mystery but Jasper himself. The real story is about Jasper trying to decide whether or not he is destined to become a monster. And despite all the truly horrible things Jazz could do I can only see him as a damaged boy looking for a way of of his broken childhood. He is surprisingly easy to relate to. The book turned out to be very intelligent. While reading it I found myself wondering where the line between good and evil is and what it takes to make a person, any person, cross it. But as Billy Dent said, “…the thing about that line is, you won’t know you’ve crossed it till you can already see it in your rearview mirror”.
Blog #70
This past fall, I read Hyperion by Dan Simmons. It’s the 28th century, and mankind has used extremely advanced technologies to spread throughout the galaxy. On some planets, 9 specifically, there are massive Labyrinths, mazes that span the entire upper mantle. On Hyperion, there is a legend of The Shrike, a superior being that can manipulate time and space. This intimidating foe may be humanity’s only chance of salvation, as they discover their machines have been genociding any groups/species who could pose a threat to humanity. A group of pilgrims that fill the spectrum of careers and interstellar lifestyles are sent into Hyperion’s Labyrinth to seek the help of The Shrike. Hyperion is a quite complicated and somewhat confusing, but overall a good read.
I have read many books over the past year, but the one I most remember is My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody. I found out about this book from my aunt because she gave it to me for my birthday last year. I also read the back cover before I read the book, and it sounded very interesting and cool. My aunt got this book for me as a present because it is a book about how a girl made decisions, and she thought it would be funny because I can’t make decisions easily either like Brooklyn Paige in My Life Undecided. In this book Brooklyn has a hard time making decisions, especially since her parents are always traveling and working, so she is left alone the most of the time. Brooklyn first starts off needing to figure out which book to read, and can decide. So she makes a blog called My Life Undecided and has the online public decide what book she should read. The public vote on a book so she reads it and likes the book, and decides I ask her followers on her blog more questions regarding more serious questions. Brooklyn Pierce starts to ask what she should wear to school, how she should do her hair, what guy she should flirt with and who to ask to her first school dance. All of this goes well for her until one of the answers to the blog she does, and it backfires. I also liked this book because it was very relatable.
I have recently just finished reading the book “Looking for Alaska” BY John green. This book is about a boy named Miles who gets sent to a boarding school and his life changes. He meets a girl named Alaska and falls in love with her and then tragedy strikes. I decided to pick this book up because a few months ago I read “The Fault in our Stars” by John Green and I wanted to read another one of his pieces. The movie trailer inspired me to read this book right before I went to see the movie. I enjoyed both the movie and the book but of course the book was better. The fault in our stars is about a girl named hazel who has cancer and her mother forces her to attend a support group for teens that are also ill. There she meets Gus and its love at first sight. At the moment the book I just started is “Girl Boss” by Sophia Amoruso. This book is about a girl who started building her fashion business in her early 20s and turned it into a multimillion dollar company. She started selling vintage clothing on eBay with no money and no job and then her own website and finally her own store.
I would have to say the most enjoyable book that I’ve read so far is a series of book called the Chronicles of Vladimir Todd. I first heard of the book from a librarian that I asked to recommend a interesting and fast paced novel. I especially enjoyed the book because it was relevant to my life because the main protagonist is a high school student (but that’s where the similarities stop). Vlad is a teenage vampire orphan that lost his mother and father at an early age to an evil society of vampire overlords. This book was much more different from any other books I’ve read so far and I think it helped that I had no idea what kind of book it was going to be when I started reading. This is because it removed any biases or expectations for this book. The thing I liked most about the novel is that the books are separated into all 4 grades of high school preventing any kind of confusion in the timeline of the story. What I mean is that during the course of Vlad’s teenage life events mentioned in the past can be tagged with whatever grade he was currently in when the event happened. Overall the book was written well and flowed extremely smooth and broke the mold of the Vampire genre.
A book that I want to talk about is my favorite book I have ever read it is called the enders game by orson scott. It is an amazing science fiction novel that I just couldn’t put down. If you like war and aliens and warships and space and even hart wrenching books this is the one for you. It keeps you reading page after page. It is about a boy named ender who is in the war program they start at a very young age and train them from day one to become tactical war leaders. I always wanted to know more. I feel that this book may not be for everyone but if you saw the movie and liked it then you will fall in love with this book. I feel that everyone should at least give it a try. Its not a hook just for guys or just for girls it is an amazingly well written novel that anyone and everyone can get through. Its not a terribly hard read and its pretty easy to understand but it can get confusing at parts. If you want to read a thrilling novel that you can’t put down enders game is for you.
Currently, I am reading a book called “Transparent: love family and living the T with transgender teenagers” by Cris Beam. I was at the library when my Mom added this book to the already large pile of books I was planning to check out. Even though I myself identify as a girl, I’ve always been fascinated by the social construct of gender. In the past year or so, gender has become a common topic in my life. My best friend, who will remain nameless for his own privacy and protection, revealed to me that he was transgender, that he was assigned female at birth but identified as male. This of course changed nothing about our friendship, except for the pronouns I use when talking about him. But since I am cis ( cis being short term for Cis-Gendered, identifying as the gender you were assigned at birth) I lack the knowledge that comes from living life as someone who doesn’t identify as the gender they were assigned at birth. That’s where “Transparent” came in. This book is about transgender teens in California. The author is a teacher in a school for LGBT youth that would be targeted at other places. This is where Beam met her students, who later became friends. Beam writes about her experiences in the school but mainly about the experiences of the teenagers. Their relationship with hormones, their family, their sexuality and each other. Almost all the stories I’ve read so far are about trans girls, but its still been helping me understand the struggles that plague my best friend and because of this book, I, like Beam, plan on spending a lot of time helping Transgender, or any not cis , youth to be safe, well cared for and accepted.
The last book that I read was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. It’s about a husband who’s wife goes missing, and than he becomes the main suspect for her death. She frames him so it looks like he killed her so she can run away and start a new life. He has a very sketchy past including an affair and mild domestic abuse, so everyone is quick to think that Nick murdered his wife Amy. Any runs away to be with her ex boyfriend, who she ends up killing because she realizes that she wants to go home to Nick. The book ends very confusing when Amy returns home and instead of getting a divorce, Nick and Amy get pregnant and try to rekindle their marriage. I found out about the book because I saw trailers for the movie that was coming out, so I decided to read the book before I saw the movie. The book is very thrilling and I highly recommend it to everyone
The most recent book I read was Three Little Words, by: Ashley Rhodes-Courter. This book was one of my favorites because it had a lot of Comedy I also felt extremely close with all the characters in the story. The main character is Ashley, she is put into her first foster home ever when she is only three years old because of her irresponsible, trailer dwelling, teen mom. From then she doesn’t know that she will soon be moved to 14 different homes during her whole life including grandparents until she is finally adopted by a loving family. Ashley gets confused and abused by her mother when she decides to visits her and says that she wants to take her back as her for her but then ends up not taking asphalt back because she started to make bad decides not to take her back. Not to mention the 44 caseworkers she also encountered throughout her childhood that helped her through this tough time. My favorite part about this was the fact that all of it was so real and the author was so raw speaking about her experiences. And the very best part is the author fights hard so that kids wont have to go through the horror she did. She has spoken to the Senate and gives kids who can’t speak about it a voice for change; which is reforming the foster care system. I highly recommend this book it is amazing.
The book that I am reading is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I was inspired to read it because of the movie that has recently come out that is based on it. Also, my dad had read the book and strongly recommended it for me. So far, I have really enjoyed the book. It seems to have almost everything that I like to see in a book all blended together in a cool way. I really like that it is a book about real life events, yet the events are so crazy and incredible, it’s almost hard to believe that they actually happened. I do enjoy that it has real life events because I am very interested in history and enjoy reading books about history. I also love all of the action that takes place in the book, as the main character is a world war two bombardier in a B-24 bomber, which makes for some very cool action sequences. And the way it is all written I feel as if I am right there watching the events in the book firsthand. And finally, I love the messages of courage and perseverance that are taught through this book. All in all, I have really enjoyed reading this book so far.
The most recent book I have read that I really enjoyed was Paper Towns by John Green. I read this book because I had previously read other novels by the author including An Abundance of Catherine’s and The Fault in Our Stars and I really enjoyed them. I was not disappointed by Paper Towns. In the story, the main character, who is kind of the nerdy kid in school, has been in love with his next door neighbor for basically his whole life. She just so happens to be the most popular girl in school, which sounds cliche, I know. Then one night she knocks on his window and all night they go and pull pranks on all of her “friends”. Because of this, the main character thinks he may have a chance to at least be friends with her. This hope is crushed when the next day, she goes missing. What I loved about this novel was there was never a dull moment and it made me want to keep reading the entire time. I highly suggest people read this, especially if they enjoyed other writing by John Green