Turtles All the Way Down by: John Green

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary
Published: October 10, 2017 by: Dutton Books
Pages: 304
Rating: 3/5 stars

Aza and her friend Daisy are eager to investigate the mysterious death of billionaire Russell Picket, all for a cash reward worth thousands. But when Aza starts growing close to Picket's teenaged son Davis, she begins to wonder if her budding into his dead father's life is really worth it. Mix that with her severe diagnosed OCD and a controlling mother, Aza struggles to be the perfect version of herself, and a perfect detective.

This was unlike any other John Green book I have ever read. You all know John Green. His books are cheesy, his teens do not talk like teens, and 12-year olds love them. But this book was by far his most mature read. The characters were relatable and raw, however this book was not without its faults. Mainly the problem was for me, it was too damn triggering.

I'll start with the positives. Like I said before, this book was extremely relatable and incredibly diverse. I admire Green for taking an issue such as OCD and having his character deal with it, but it not being the central plot. It made it all the more real.

The plot was ok. It was a little boring in parts and to be honest, I didn't find it as easy to get through as his other novels. This is probably just because it was a lot heavier.

But now to the main issue I had with this book. The OCD images were so visceral that I found this book too triggering and disturbing for me. I do not have diagnosed OCD but I most certainly have some OCD ticks, and this book took me down a dark spiral and made me really uncomfortable. It got to the point where I skipped some parts because I just didn't want to read about that stuff.

If you're willing to give this book a go, give it a go. I think out of all of Green's books, it's the least predictable, but just be cautious especially if you have OCD.

Have you read Turtles All the Way Down? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Paper Towns by: John Green Book to Movie Review

Instead of doing a paperback's pondering's today, I decided to talk about something that I couldn't wait to review: the paper towns movie. If you would like to see my review on the book, you can find it here.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Paper Towns by: John Green is by far my favourite contemporary novel. When it was announced that there was going to be a movie, I started following every update immediately. I really hoped that the movie would do the book justice. While there were some flaws, I was overall very satisfied with it.

The first positive I have on this movie is that the characters were spot on. When it was first announced that Cara Delevingne would be playing Margo, I was a bit dubious. I wasn't quite sure how she would get on, as I had never seen her act before. I have to say that there is no other actress that I think would have topped her performance. She perfectly portrayed Margo in her confident and mysterious demeanor, I loved it.

I also loved Nat Woolf as Quentin. I found him to be so fitting, and Q's quirky antics and determination was shown with perfection. Even Ben, Radar and Lacey were exactly how I imagined them.

I think that the movie kept up with the plot of the book well. There were the significant parts of Margo's mission kept intact, and I didn't find them rushed. There was some great comic relief, and I loved how they outlined the hours of Q's journey just like in the book.

There were elements of the book, however, that were left out and I wish I could have seen more. THERE WAS NO SEAWORLD SCENE. The SeaWorld scene is an iconic and hilarious part of the book, and I was so disappointed that it was shafted. There was a reference to breaking into SeaWorld at the beginning of the book, but I didn't feel like it was enough to replace it.

I also didn't really like how things were left in the movie. The ending only really focused on Q and Margo's relationship, and the other characters such as Lacey, were shafted. I liked the ending in the book because it focused more on a friendship aspect between Q, Lacey and Margo. Here, we get Lacey not even seeing Margo, and Q just swooping in and confessing his love to Margo. Things were a lot more "romantic" than I would have liked.

I did like this movie, but I felt like some parts to the book were missing. I felt like the characters were spot on, and there were some heartwarming parts, but I somehow thought that the ending was lost :(

Have you seen Paper Towns? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by: John Green and David Levithan

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Published: April 6, 2010 by: Dutton Books
Pages: 310
Rating 3/5 Stars
*highlight white text to reveal spoilers*

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is the hilarious story of high school student Will Grayson, and his journey to find out who he really wants to be. Will lives in the shadow of his only friend: the amazingly confident Tiny Cooper. When Tiny casts Will as one of the main characters in the school musical, Will begins to think that it's the end of the world. Until by a chance of fate, he meets another boy downtown who just so happens to be named: Will Grayson. Together, the pair try to help each other through their paths of self-discovery, and end up creating the best school musical ever.

I absolutely love both Green's and Levithan's writing. They both brought great things to the table, however I do think that the book could have been executed better.

What I really liked about this book, is that is was incredibly unique. I haven't read anything like this before. The concept was so original, and the plot was very interesting. There was nothing predictable about it. I also loved how diverse the characters were. In most romance books, there is a focus on a straight couple. However this book's focus, was on a gay couple. If there's one thing that annoys me about books with couples, it's that they are mostly not diverse. I loved this change, and I can honestly say that Will and Tiny are now one of my favourite OTP's. 

I really liked the character development in the story. Self-discovery plays an important role in the book, and it was amazing to see the characters change. All of the characters were so incredible, and not one person annoyed me in this book.

There were some negatives to this book :( . For starters, it was extremely hard to follow. There were two people with the same name, and no direction as to which Will was speaking. The book was told from the alternating Will's, but it was so hard to find out which Will's POV it was.

I also feel like there were some parts to the book that were not needed. One idea would come along that would mean nothing in the next chapter. Some parts payed no attention to the overall plot and in my opinion, didn't have a reason to be in there.

Overall, this book was so humorous, and a great pick-me-up. I do wish there was more direction though :( . That is why it got a 3/5 rating.

Have you read Will Grayson? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

Paper Towns by: John Green

Genre: Young Adult Drama, Romance, Adventure, Mystery

Paper Towns is one of my all-time favourite books. The book follows Quentin, a high school senior who has a crush on a mysterious bad girl named Margo. One night, Margo whisks Quentin off on an adventure to get revenge on all of the people who have annoyed them both. The next morning, Quentin remembers all of the fun he had, however he notices that Margo is missing from school. She is still missing until graduation, so he and his friends go on a road trip to find her.

I can say that Paper Towns is one of my favourite books. I liked how this book did not just contain some romance, but also mystery and adventure. Once again, John Green has created a genius book. 

This book has many different genres, so it can draw the attention of many different readers. The book is so versatile, and that is why I like it.

Overall, this book had many different elements to it. I liked the many different genres, so I didn't get bored. This book was filled with suspense, and I couldn't put it down. I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars, for it's versatility.

Bye for Now!

Paperback Princess

Looking for Alaska By: John Green

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Drama

Looking for Alaska is a book by one of my favourite authors: John Green. After reading his book, The Fault in Our Stars, I decided to read some of his other novels. Looking for Alaska was not what I expected from this author, but it was still a very good book.

The story features Miles, a teenager who is obsessed with famous people's "last words". He is sent to a boarding school, where he meets his new friends: a witty boy named Chip, and a wild-child Alaska. Miles is immediately drawn to Alaska, however she is not interested. The book follows Miles and his friends, pranking the school, especially the warden. Miles grows closer to Alaska throughout the book, and learns more about her past. Alaska tells him many confessions about her life, which eventually leads to a tragedy at the end of the book.

I wouldn't say that this book has a happy ending, but I also wouldn't say that it has a sad ending. This book had many ups and downs. The book was kind of confusing in some parts. I feel as if some parts in the book were irrelevant to the plot. Also, there were some quite "dirty" parts in this book. This book is quite mature.

John Green was very descriptive throughout this book. Sometimes this was a good thing, and sometimes it was a bad thing. There were parts where I applauded his choice of wording, the quotes were magnificent! However in some parts, especially the mature parts, the book was a little "too much information".

Overall, this book was very mature. It was a good book, however some parts could be a bit disturbing. I don't think that this book is appropriate for everyone. Then again, every book has it's age group.

I did enjoy this book. The quotes were incredible, and the ending was cute. The friendship between Miles and Alaska was unbreakable. They really did care for each other. I would rate this book 3 out of 5 stars, for the descriptive plot.

Bye for Now!

Paperback Princess

Introduction!

I see you're checking out my blog. Thank you! On here, I will post my opinions on books of the YA fiction category. I might even post some classic novels now and again. Reading has always been a passion for me. To me, there is nothing more calming then sitting down with a good book. My love of reading sprung from my mother: an avid reader! We read together until I was comfortable reading myself. Since then, I go through books like Hogwarts goes through Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers.

The hardest question someone could ask me, is: " What is your favourite book"? All books impacted me differently. There are parts of books that I loved, and parts that I hated. One of my favourite books would have to be Paper Towns by: John Green. The story of Q and Margo taught me that if you love someone, set them free. John Green, truly is a genius.

That's all for now! I hope to have a review posted by tomorrow. Until then, I hope you enjoy reading my posts!

Bye For Now!

Paperback Princess