Book 13 for 2010

13. Paper Towns by John Green -

What a wonderful book this was! Anyone who has ever been a teenager, or known one; anyone who has ever had a crush on the girl- or boy-next-door; anyone who has ever lived through high school and graduation and come out the other side; in short, pretty much anyone, will find some point of recognition in this book. And, even more than recognition, will find food for thought: thoughts about who we really are, thoughts about who our friends really are, and thoughts about what it takes to spin and weave and stitch together the threads that form the fabrics of our lives.

No spoilers here because I couldn’t bear to ruin the book for anyone. I will say that there were one or two points at which I nearly stopped reading because I had grown to like the characters so much and wasn’t sure I could trust the author to treat them well in the end. I persevered, though, and I’m pleased to report that John Green is entirely trustworthy. I can also quite honestly say that my seventeen-year-old son liked the book just as much as I did – high praise, indeed!