Thanks!Tanaya wrote:@dhaller I like that you pointed the theme of idealization. It's easy to paint a picture of what we want to believe about ourselves and others, but reality can be far off from our own fantasies. Despite the drastic example under which this happened, it's better to figure this out earlier in life than later, so that's one takeaway for Quentin.
So many books today, especially the most popular ones, are made by author insert or for reader insert. In other words, the main character isn't so much a character as a blank space for the reader to imagine themselves, like one of those cardboard cutouts in a fair that you put your face in and get your picture taken.
Triss from Divergent is a good example, as are Harry Potter and Bella Swan.
John Green excels in that he doesn't do this: while Paper Towns's main character is a typical teenager, he isn't an insert, and he learns over the course of the novel that love isn't making someone into an ideal, which is not a typical lesson to learn.
Such a great book.