Stuff for the Teen Age

So You've Read "Paper Towns," Now What?

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So you've just read Paper Towns or maybe you've just seen the movie or maybe you're waiting to read it and need something else to read in the meantime, well, in any case, I'm here to help! Paper Towns is the story of Quentin, who has loved his quirky, vivacious, beautiful neighbor Margo from afar for years, then one night she crawls through his bedroom window needing his help. It's the story of what happens when the person you've always wanted (or needed) comes into your life like a whirlwind and changes everything. It's also the story of what happens when you learn that this "dream" person is more (or less) than who you thought they were or knew them to be. Along the way it's filled with great friends, indelible truths, unforgettable adventure and one great road trip. 

So here are other books filled with all those things that you like about Paper Towns: friends, road trips, elusive and mysterious dream girls (and dream boys) who force you out of your comfort zones, and universal truths about life, love and living in the moment.

Since You Been Gone by Morgan Matson - It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just… disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list. It contains stuff like: apple picking night, dance like no one is watching, kiss a stranger and go skinny dipping. Emily thinks that if she finishes the list Sloane will come back.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven - When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. Finch thinks about suicide every day; Violet was happy until her sister died in a car crash. Finch, smart and handsome, is a musician who suffers from undiagnosed manic depression. Violet is equally smart but popular at school. As they traverse Indiana for a geography project, looking for "wonders," they flirt, argue and tell each other their darkest secrets.

Finding Paris by Joy Preble - Sisters Leo and Paris Hollings have only ever had each other to rely on. Until Paris ditches Leo at the Heartbreak Hotel Diner. Outside, Leo finds a cryptic note from Paris—a clue. Is it some kind of game? Where is Paris, and why has she disappeared? Leo follows a string of clues through Vegas and beyond. But the search for the truth is not a straight line.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun—but no Katherines.

The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder - Hannah and Zoe haven’t had much in their lives, but they’ve always had each other. So when Zoe tells Hannah she needs to get out of their down-and-out New Jersey town they pile into Hannah’s beat-up old Le Mans and head west. Zoe tells Hannah she wants her to live bigger, dream grander and aim higher.

Right of Way by Lauren Barnholdt - Peyton and Jace, meet on vacation and have instant chemistry. It’s awesome, it’s easy, it’s romantic. This is the real deal. Unless it isn’t.

Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten - Nina was beautiful, wild and adored by her younger sister, Ellie. But, one day, Nina disappeared. Two years later, everyone has given up hope that Nina will return, but Ellie knows her sister is out there.

You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith - When Emma finds a birth certificate for a twin brother she never knew she had, along with a death certificate dated just two days later, she realizes why she never felt quite whole. She decides that she needs to find this lost part of her, so she sets off on a trip, along with her neighbor Peter, to visit her brother's grave.

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard - Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels , they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves.

Manicpixiedreamgirl by Tom Leveen - Tyler can't seem to focus on the here and now, his girlfriend, his friends the memories of his dream girl, Becky, keep intruding. Before the night is over, Ty might just find the nerve to stop all the obsessing and finally take some action.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith - Hadley, traveling to London for father's second wedding, misses her flight by 4 minutes, which means she meets Oliver who's cute, charming, and British. Suddenly, her long dreaded trip isn't as bad as she thought it'd be.

Looking for Alaska by John Green - Miles Halter leaves behind public school and heads off to the anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Miles into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson - Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways… until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's.

How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski - Rosie never intended to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, her parents send her on a road trip to get her out of town and to keep her out of trouble.

Let's Get Lost by Adi Al Said - Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth—sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini - Stressed to succeed at all costs, NYC teen Craig attempts suicide. It gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio.

Joyride by Anna Banks - A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads—with the law and with each other.

No Place to Fall by Joy Robin Brown - Amber Vaughn is a good girl. She sings solos at church, babysits her nephew after school, and spends every Friday night hanging out at her best friend Devon’s house. Devon’s older (and unavailable) brother, Will, helps Amber prepare for her one chance to try out for a hypercompetitive arts school. But the more time Will and Amber spend together, the more complicated their relationship becomes… and Amber starts to wonder if she’s such a good girl, after all.

Two Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt - There are two sides to every breakup. Jordan and Courtney were an unlikely high school couple but they worked. Now they're going to the same college and driving together to school. But then Jordan dumps Courtney and it's too late to call off the trip. But things aren't exactly what they seem. Luckily, they have plenty of time on the road to work it out.

Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot - Charlotte is the quiet girl at St. Anne's Academy and she never expects she’ll be friends with the the new girl, the beautiful Julia Buchanan. But almost immediately, she is drawn into the larger than-life-new girl’s world—a world of midnight rendezvous, dazzling parties, palatial vacation homes, and fizzy champagne cocktails. And then Charlotte meets, and begins falling for, Julia’s handsome older brother Sebastian.

Kiss the Morning Star by Elissa Janine Hoole - A year after her mother’s tragic death, Anna has no plans—beyond her need to put a lot of miles between herself and the past. With her friend Kat, a battered copy of Kerouac’s Dharma Bums, and a car with a dodgy oil filter, the girls set out on an epic road trip across the U.S.A. Maybe somewhere along the way they’ll prove or disprove the existence of God. Maybe they’ll even meet someone…

Kissing in America by Margo Rabb - NYC girl Eva, who is still grieving the death of her father in a plane crash, bonds with Will who understands grief and loves poetry. When he suddenly moves cross-country, Eva concocts a road trip with her BFF Annie to visit him. As she travels America, hopeless romantic Eva discovers the truth about love.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman - When straight-laced Allyson meets free-spirited actor Willem in England on the last day of her European tour, she impulsively takes him up on his offer to show her Paris. A whirlwind 24 hours of romance and adventure follows but it all ends when Allyson wakes up and Willem is gone without a trace.

Just One Year by Gayle Forman - When Willem wakes up in a hospital bed he doesn't remember where he is, he just remembers that he needs to find a girl named "Lulu" who he had just spent the day with in Paris. Something about that day makes him think that they're meant to be together. He'll spend a year traveling the world looking for her and questioning the hands of fate.

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour - Colby and his best friend Bev have always had plans to tour with her band after graduation and then go to Europe but that all changes when Bev tells him that she's made her own plans—to go to college without him. They'll have one last summer together, one last road trip playing small towns and dive bars as they struggle to figure out what's next.

Amy and Roger's Epic Detours - Roger is helping Amy drive her family's car from California to Connecticut. Amy is still reeling from the death of her father in a car accident and can't drive, and Roger is dealing with his own heartache. It'll be a journey with plenty of baggage, great playlists and plenty of pit stops.

Crazy by Amy Reed - Connor knows that Izzy will never fall in love with him the way he's fallen for her. But somehow he's been let into her crazy, exhilarating world and become her closest confidante. But the closer they get, the more Connor realizes that Izzy's frenetic energy is pushing her into a dark place and he may not be able to help her.

I Was Here by Gayle Forman - When Cody's vivacious, music loving friend Meg commits suicide, Cody embarks on journey to retrace her friend's steps and learns that she may not have known her friend as well as she thought she did.