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What Did You Think of Paper Towns!

2008-10-16 · a guest, Julia Nunes, Rosianna Halse Rojas · watch on YouTube · Books & writing · advice recommendation

A montage of short clips in which nerdfighters and fellow YouTubers praise John Green's new novel Paper Towns: it makes them laugh and cry, handles big ideas without condescension, and writes to its smartest readers.

What is said

00:00:00 — Opening gags with paper towels and Margo-themed items; a contributor cried at the end, though the ending is not unhappy

  • ★★ A contributor who does not usually cry over fiction says they cried at the end of Paper Towns, though the ending is not unhappy. — 00:00:00 · Paper Towns

00:00:45 — Praise: follows all three plots, laughter and tears on alternating pages, restored interest in literature, buy it, ideas from inside John's head; a dice roll for who bakes a release cake

  • ★★ A contributor says literature is theorised to follow a small set of plots and that Paper Towns follows all three (the plots are not named in the transcript). — 00:00:45 · Paper Towns
  • ★★ A contributor says John makes readers laugh on one page and cry on the next until they are drawn in, and that everyone must read it. — 00:00:45 · John Green, Paper Towns
  • ★★ A contributor says Paper Towns and John Green's other books have restored their interest in literature. (hedged) — 00:01:11 · Paper Towns, John Green
  • ★★ A contributor urges viewers to buy the book, playfully stressing that they have little money to spend. (playful) — 00:01:11 · Paper Towns
  • ★ A contributor says the book is full of interesting ideas that let readers inside John's head. — 00:01:11 · Paper Towns, John Green

00:01:56 — Praise: big ideas without condescension, Walt Whitman and penis jokes, balance; a fantasy reader finds it like a friend's book but really good; a light romp turns into a serious look at how we see other people

  • ★★ A contributor's favourite thing is that Paper Towns handles big, important ideas without sounding lofty or condescending, mixing Walt Whitman and penis jokes. — 00:01:56 · Paper Towns, Walt Whitman
  • ★ A contributor says John balances a lot of material without overwhelming the reader. — 00:01:56 · Paper Towns, John Green
  • ★★ A contributor who reads almost only science fiction and fantasy expected a novelty, like reading a friend's book, and found a really good book. (playful) — 00:02:32 · Paper Towns, John Green
  • ★★★ A contributor says the book starts as a light-hearted, funny teenage romp and subtly turns into a serious look at how we see other people. — 00:02:32 · Paper Towns, perspective-taking

00:03:10 — Best book without a sword or explosion; DFTBPTBJG; John writes to his smartest audience; one-liners and a staring cat; 'Paper Towns game' chant

  • ★★ A contributor who expected a vlogbrother's novelty book calls it one of the best books they have read without a sword or an explosion. (playful) — 00:03:10 · Paper Towns, Vlogbrothers
  • ★★★ A contributor says John Green always writes to his smartest audience and never assumes teenage readers are dumb. — 00:03:10 · John Green, Paper Towns
  • ★ A contributor says the book is full of one-liners; she laughed aloud reading it alone with her cat. (playful) — 00:03:10 · Paper Towns

Humor (significant)

  • A contributor celebrates the book by waving paper towels. — 00:00:00 > «Paper towels! Paper towels! Woohoo!»
  • A contributor cradles her copy of the book. — 00:00:00 > «Maybe if I rub it on my face, I'll live forever.»
  • A contributor urges viewers to buy the book, speaking as someone with little money. — 00:01:11 > «I mean, I cut my own hair with safety scissors last night.»
  • A contributor reading alone laughs so hard at the one-liners that her cat stares at her. — 00:03:47 > «Why are you making so much noise, lady?»

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