Did You Make It To Paper Towns?: Movie Vs. Book

By Jessica Mahmoud on July 27, 2015

If you’re a John Green fan, you probably know about the film based on his novel “Paper Towns.” I always think it’s interesting to compare the novel to the film so when I saw it I took note of the differences.

While this is not all of them, I think these are the main ones. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

1. The adventures

In “Paper Towns,” in the very beginning, Margo and Quentin go on an adventure. While the movie had this as well, they missed and changed a few of them. They didn’t break into Sea World or give Karin flowers, and they wrapped Lacey’s car in plastic wrap instead of breaking into it.

Also, while they did wax off Chuck’s eyebrow, there was no talk about it being Quentin’s idea to somehow get revenge on his enemy.

2. The timing

A big difference between the film and novel is the timing of when all this happened. In the novel, they were missing graduation for the road trip, while in the film it was around prom. This meant that Quentin’s friends weren’t in their graduation gowns on the trip, but rather, just hoping to get back in time, which they do. Quentin wasn’t going to go to prom, but in the end of the film, he decides to go.

3. Angela

In the novel, Angela is Radar’s girlfriend, but in the film she’s Ben’s girlfriend. In the film, Angela comes on the road trip with Lacey, Ben, Quentin, and Radar. Also, after the cow accident, they take a break and Ben and Radar have sex in the grass.

4. Margo’s disappearance

In the book, there is a lot more time between Margo’s disappearance and the road trip. In this time, there is a detective involved in finding Margo. In the film, however, there is never a detective and Margo’s parents are just kind of unsupportive in finding their daughter. Most of the film is the road trip, and not a lot goes on back home. Also, in this time, in the book, the group of friends spend a lot of time using Omnictionary to find Margo.

5. Mini Mart Exploration

While the abandoned mini mart does exist in both the novel and film, there is much more time spent exploring it in the novel. In the film, Radar, Ben, and Quentin explore together and sing while going through the troll hole. However, they never find the men that like to explore places, there. Also, Quentin doesn’t spend the night there in the film. Unlike the film, it is not clear that Margo had been living there, because in the film, she wasn’t.

5. Road trip

Some small differences in the road trip is that there is no second stop to a store and for gas. Also, it was never mentioned that they were using a BP card with money to pay for everything. Also, they never play I Spy in the car. In the film, there really isn’t much talk of what goes on in the car during the road trip.

6. Finding Margo

In the end, when they get to Agloe, and Quentin wants to stay to find Margo, he does and the rest leave. This is very different from the book because in the book they all see Margo, and then leave Quentin and Margo to be alone. In the film, Quentin was trying to get home then he sees Margo walking, not in a barn like in the novel. Then they go to a restaurant together and talk. Unlike in the book, Margo is not upset at Quentin, and Quentin tells her that he loves her and always has. This ending is a lot more of a romance than the novel, but they still do part ways.

7. The very end

After finding Margo, it doesn’t end there like in the novel. Instead, Quentin gets back and goes to prom with all his friends and the voiceover is him talking about miracles. They also show the group of friends in their graduation gowns. Finally, he mentions how Margo has been rumored to be doing different things like surfing in Malibu, but that that’s her story to tell.

Overall, after being such a good novel, I did not think, in my opinion, that the film did justice. I thought there were way too many differences, but that it was still a good story.

What did you think of Paper Towns? Did I miss any differences?

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