Quentin has loved Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar for most of his life. But when she climbs in through his window one night, he's forced to realize that he's never really known her. 
 I'd heard complaints that Paper Towns was a bit of a let down after reading The Fault In Our Stars, and others that it is far too similar to Looking for Alaska. Maybe it's just because I'm nursing a crush on John Green, but I found both to be unfair. 
 To the first complaint, Paper Towns certainly lacks a little of the gravitas of The Fault In Our Stars, but at the same time I found it far more relatable - not only because my thus-far rather short life has been marked by its relentless good health, but also because it's been marked by my struggle to relate to other people. And that's really what Paper Towns is about, realizing that the masks people wear in different situations are not only masks, but also that they are mirrored. 
 To the second complaint, I think it necessitates a rather superficial reading. Yes, Quentin and Miles are both somewhat nerd, somewhat awkward teenage boys who fall in love with a completely fictional perception of a young woman who is, ultimately, out of their reach. But Miles and Quentin are also quite different in the ways that they process information, and in the paths that they take in their growth. Also, Margo and Alaska are quite different. They're both "quirky," but in different ways, and for different reasons. Yes, Green is writing within a genre. But I've found his books to be unique enough within genre constraints not to be formulaic. 
 That being said, I do think that the ending of Paper Towns left something to be desired. I don't want to spoil anything, but it seemed like all the strings were tied together a little too neatly, and perhaps a little too conveniently. Even so, that amounted for no more than a few pages in what was otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable ride.