Sun 22 Nov 2009
STEVEN STEINBOCK:
JOHN GREEN – Paper Towns. Dutton Juvenile, hardcover, October 2008. Reprint paperback: Speak, September 2009.
The winner of the 2008 Edgar for Best Young Adult Mystery is less a mystery novel than it is a beautifully drawn coming-of-age story.
Quentin Jacobsen is a nerd. As long has he can remember, he has had a crush on his next-door neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman. Then one night toward the end of senior year, Margo appears at his bedroom window enlisting his help on a night of pranks, adventures, and mostly innocent revenge.
But the following morning Margo has gone missing, and Quentin is determined to track her down and uncover the mystery of her disappearance.
With ongoing themes and motifs that range from strings to paper to Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, Quentin discovers the deep bond that connects people, one to another, and the fragility of their perceptions of each other.
There are hints of crime and mystery throughout the book, beginning in the prologue when as nine-year-olds, Quentin and Margo discover the body of a man, the victim of apparent suicide, propped up against a tree in a neighborhood park. The real mysteries are: Why did Margo disappear and where did she go?
While set in Orlando, Florida and on an interstate road trip, the real world of Paper Towns is that of high school students. Green’s portrayal of Quentin and his friends is honest and free of cliches. He gives readers a frank look at Quentin’s affection for, and objectification of Margo.
With its portrayal of teen life, its poetic probing into the soul, and its rich humor make Paper Towns a place worth visiting.
November 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 pm
The quality of the young adult novel may be higher now than at any time in history. Whether it is a straight novel like this one, or a series like Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider, Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl, or Eleanor Updale’s Montmorency they often rival — and even surpass — many works on the adult market both in literary and entertainment qualities.
I suppose we have Harry Potter and J.K.Rowling to thank for that, and at least in sales, Stephanie Myers Twilight books, but it’s a fertile and successful market both for mystery and fantasy.
Of course there were always writers doing top notch work like Joan Aiken, Lloyd Alexander, John Bellairs, and Robert Cormier, but they seem to being doing it with a deal more of success today.
Sadly there doesn’t seem to be any market to reprint some of the great works of Alexander, Cormier, Bellairs, or Aiken. Maybe we need the literary equivalent of Nick-at-Nite and TV Land to preserve some of the oldies but goodies in adult and juvenile literature.
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:03 pm
In the YA field, I’ve certainly noticed the high sales of the fantasy stuff, but not so much the mysteries and detective stories that have been written recently for teenagers. On the other hand, I confess I haven’t been paying much attention, so I was happy to be able to post this review of Steve Steinbock’s. The book sounds like a good one to me.
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Anthony Horowitz has done well with his mystery and spy novels in the YA market and Eleanor Updale’s Montmorency novels about a 19th century criminal turned secret agent have done well. Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl features a teen super criminal who often finds himself reluctantly teamed with Holly Short Captain of the LEPrecon fairy police. Justin Richards Invisible Detective series has done well too, though nothing like Rowling or Meyers sales.
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:23 pm
Bellairs wrote a lot good YA novels in the 70’s and 80’s, fantasies usually graced with fine Edward Gorey covers and interior illustrations.
I didn’t know that Bellairs had not been reprinted lately. You would think he had been, what with the success of like-minded writers like Rowling.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:18 am
Dozy
As far as I know, with the possible exception of Alexander’s classic Pryiddian series (The Black Cauldron etc. ), none of the writers I mentioned are currently in print — at least not in the US. It’s possible Aiken (aka Joan Aiken Hodge) and Bellairs are in print in the UK.
November 23rd, 2009 at 6:55 pm
I’m afraid David confused his Aikens. Jane Aiken Hodge is the sister of Joan Aiken. Joan Aiken remains one of my favorite writers; many of her children’s stories (notably the Mortimer and the Armitage Family series) have a Shirley Jackson-like feel to them. (I have never read any of Jane Aiken Hodge’s books, although they were very popular.)
Other well-known literary members of the family are brother John Aiken and father Conrad Aiken. Some great genes at work there.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Jerry, I didn’t know they weren’t the same and certainly not that Conrad Aiken was her father. Thanks for the tip.
But I agree about Aiken, and Joan Aiken Hodge isn’t bad either. Still, I think the point about YA writers is a valid one.