Paper Towns Book Talk/ Ciudades de Papel

As you may now know, I'm in love with John Green's writing, it is so young and fresh, but at the same time it talks about real, serious issues of life. (I've previously made a book talk on The Fault in Our Stars.) I'm very excited for this story to become a major film, with model Cara Delevingne as Margo Roth Spiegelman and Nat Wolff as Quentin Jacobsen. The movie will be out in a year or so, in the meantime, lets talk about this shuddering book.

Como ustedes saben, estoy enamorada de la manera en que escribe John Green, es juvenil y fresca, pero al mismo tiempo trata temas serios, reales, de la vida. He hecho previamente un Book Talk sobre  Bajo la Misma Estrella, y estoy muy emocionada de que Paper Towns (o Ciudades de Papel) sea convertida también en un film, con la modelo Cara Delevingne en el rol femenino principal y Nat Wolff como el protagonista masculino. La película estará en cines en aproximadamente un año, mientras tanto, conversemos sobre está interesante historia.

If you read the book, you'll get it ;)

Margo Roth Spiegelman  is a beautiful, interesting teenager that has grown up always wanting more; She cannot stand the idea of a predictable, comfortable life. She wants to live a thousand adventures that make her feel alive. To me, she is like a reincarnation of Holly Golightly's spirit, which those who have read or seen Breakfast at Tiffany's know, is all about a runaway wild child, with the fear of living in a metaphorical cage, who believes she can make it on her own in NYC. But inside, is deeply sad and lonely, everything she does, is an attempt to fill the emptiness.

The opposite to Margo's behavior is Quentin Jacobsen, a well behaved teenager with the enormous fear of ever getting out of his comfort zone. But their lives are meant to meet, and just like opposites attract, they did.

Margo Roth Spiegelman es un adolescente bella e interesante, que ha crecido con unas permanentes ganas de obtener más; No puede soportar la idea de una vida asegurada, cómoda y predecible, prefiere vivir mil aventuras que la hagan sentir viva. Para mí, ella es como una reencarnación del espíritu de Holly Golightly, que, si han leido o visto Breakfast at Tiffany's saben que se trata de una señorita fugitiva, de alma salvaje, con buen gusto y un enorme miedo a vivir una vida metaforicamente enjaulada, que confía en que puede hacer una vida por su cuenta lejos de su vida actual, pero que por dentro se encuentra profundamente triste y sola, finalmente todo lo que hace, lo hace por llenar esos vacíos internos. 

Opuesto al comportamiento de Margo, encontramos a Quentin Jacobsen, un adolescente de buen comportamiento con el enorme temor de nunca salir de su zona de confort. Pero sus vidas están destinadas a ser cruzadas, y así, como los opuestos se atraen, ellos lo hicieron.

The strings:

Strings were my favorite metaphor in the book. They make reference to the things that keep us sane and steady, like our relationships with family, friends, love and dreams. But all of the strings inside margo broke; Her family didn't gave her the attention she needed as a daughter, and her mom (specially) was very selfish, rude and uncaring to her, treating her like she was a problem, so the family, string broke. Her boyfriend cheated to her with one of her 'best friends' and her other frenemy was always making rude comments to her, referring hurtfully on her weight and other physical features, so the friends string was broken too. She was just terrified for a predetermined life, where everything is figured out, like in a cage, with no freedom or sense to live, so the dreams string broke. She felt lost, and she thought that going away, making an adventurous life of her own would give some sense back to her existence, so, just like an helium globe, with no strings to attach her to the life she was leading, she flew away.

Las cuerdas: 

Las cuerdas fueron mi metáfora favorita en el libro. Hacen referencia a las cosas que nos mantienen cuerdos y estables, incluso en tiempos difíciles, como nuestra familia, amigos, el amor y los sueños. Pero todas las cuerdas dentro Margo se rompieron; Su familia no le dio le dio la atención que necesitaba como hija, y su madre (especialmente) era muy egoísta, grosera e indiferente a sus problemas, tratándola como si fuera un problema, por lo que la cuerda de la familia se rompió. Su novio la engaño con una de sus "mejores amigas" y su otra amiga-enemiga siempre hacía comentarios hirientes refiriéndose a su peso y otras características físicas, por lo que la cadena de amigos se rompió también. Ella estaba aterrorizada por una vida predeterminado, en el que todo está resuelto, como en una jaula, sin libertad ni sentido para vivir, por lo que la cadena de sueños rompió. Se sentía perdido, y ella pensó que irse, haciendo una vida aventurera de su propia daría un sentido nuevo a su existencia, por lo que, al igual que un globo de helio, sin condiciones para fijar ella para la vida que estaba llevando, ella voló de distancia.

I think that in our lives, it is very important to keep a string that protects us from going completely nuts. Margo was just a teenager, and she broke into abandoned dirty, unsanitary places to live. That is okay for a fiction novel, but in real life, if we let ourselves into a uncontrolled life, we can even lose our lives! This is the real world and letting all our strings break can be dangerous. I've had hard and lonely moments, but I have a great family, dreams and proyects I deeply desire to fight for. So when times get really hard, people betray or reality just sucks, I remind myself that I have these strings, these reasons to keep fighting and tell myself that I have to remain steady to see the happy ending. But sometimes the happy ending is in leaving, that was Margo's case.

Creo que en nuestras vidas, es muy importante mantener una cadena que nos proteja de convertirnos completamente en locos. Margo era apenas un adolescente, y decidió vivir en lugares abandonados, sucios e insalubres. Eso está bien para una novela de ficción, pero en la vida real, si descontrolamos tanto nuestra vida, podemos perderlo todo. Este es el mundo real y, aunque ciertos niveles de locura son buenos, dejar romper todas nuestras cuerdas puede ser peligroso. Todos hemos tenido momentos duros y solitarios, pero siempre hay un motivo para luchar; una gran familia, sueños y proyectos. Así que cuando las cosas se ponen realmente difíciles, las personas decepcionan o realidad sencillamente apesta, nos podemos recordar a nosotros mismos que tenemos estas cuerdas, estas razones para seguir luchando, que insisten en que debemos permanecer persistentes y constantes para ver el final feliz. Aunque a veces el final feliz está definitivamente en irse, y esto fue lo que le sucedió a nuestra protagonista.

Another important lesson in this book is that even if you love someone, you can't leave the way you want to live your life for them: If Quentin and Margo had decided to be together, either Quentin's desire for a safe life, or margo's wish for an unpredictable adventure would be shattered.
Otra lección importante de este libro es que incluso si se ama a alguien, no se pueden abandonar los planes de vida que se quieren para sí, ni los sueños, por seguir a alguien más: Si Quentin y Margo hubieran decidido seguir el uno al otro para estar juntos, Quentin no podría vivir su deseada vida segura o Margo no podría vivir su sueño de una vida nueva lejos de lo predecible.

Do you have any opinion on this book?
¿Tienes alguna opinión sobre el libro? 

Xo, Carolina.

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The Fault in Our Stars - Book Talk.

So, Finally this amazing book and I met, We did when I was *surprise* at the States and well, the moment I started reading, I couldn't stop. I read most of it in the plane back home, which was indescribably pleasing; I think that being thirty thousand miles above the ground, in the night, with stars looking like the most shimmery glitter in the sky, and just one light on; the one above my seat, is the best environment to read. Even the turbulences kind of synched with the story as I read it. This place was not the air, nor the earth, it was this amazing third place where I felt timeless and safe. (Note: I have a turbulence fear, but while reading, it felt so peaceful that I felt no fear at all.)

Anyways, this is not another post about me traveling, I swear! From now on this will be as the title says- a book talk, with my favorite quotes and moments in the book. If you haven't read the book or watched the movie, I don't think you should continue reading this right now, I don't want to mess up the story to anyone.

Start

I've been close to a few cancer cases in my closest family, some of them lost, and luckily the rest of them victorious. I've known the pain of losing someone in the hands of the mentioned disease, the fear of ever going through it again, and it has crossed my mind being in their place. Honestly I think most of people have been through this feelings. I'm very sensitive to cancer stories, a lot of people are.

But The Fault in Our Stars this isn't just a cancer story, it is a LIFE story, and it takes a place on philosophical wonders every human faces, This story decides that life should be appreciated and lived in the best way we can. Because there's "Nothing to be gained by worrying between then and now"


Hazel Grace begins being an unenthusiastic girl distant from the world, living her cancer reality in a very rational and accepting position. She was never obsessed with leaving a mark in the world, mostly she was worried of leaving a wound in the people she loved. She cares of other people's feelings, but at the same time isn't afraid of telling the truth in the kindest way harsh things can be. Then she meets Augustus Waters, who is a complete character. He introduces himself to support group as a survivor of Osteosarcoma, the result of removing most of  his right leg. He loves metaphors, symbols, signs, and is very talented with words, which makes him very interesting. He is a social, extrovert guy, who wants to make an statement in the world.

"Maybe Okay can be our Always"

The flirting between this two begins at first sight, He fears oblivion, She doesn't care about it, they have too much to learn from each other. Hazel tries to keep things casual, trying to deny her attraction from the very start, but he likes her and, thanks to his remarkable personality, gets her.


They get to go to Amsterdam to meet Peter Van Houten. Despite the disappointment this author is, they have an amazing adventure drinking stars, enjoying the city and their love with no boundaries. But when places switch, and Augustus day's countdown begins, It's heart breaking. And in the downfall you realize that life is meant to be lived, doing the things you want to do, sharing with the people you love fearlessly, she loved him and she didn't wanted it to be different even if the days were counted, and she will love him even when he left.

The letters in the book are delightful, I keep re-reading the letter between the guys and Van Houten,  where you can see the pretentious but smart writing from Peter, and then the Eulogy from Hazel to Gus, and from Gus to Hazel, Those are like love letters to me. If you haven't, go read them please.

As every case, the book is more complete than the movie. I wish they had an interest matter in Caroline Mathers (God, I wanted to say it), because her story is important in Hazel's realization of both strengthening boundaries between she and Gus, but then wreck them as he assures: "It would be a pleasure to have my heart broken by you". The movie doesn't involve Kaitlyn in any way, I think her "I'd ride that one-legged pony all the way around the corral." Comment was worth an appearance, right? I know, the movie would have been like 10 hours long, but still.
The books is bolder, is way more raw than the movie and you get to know better the mind of Hazel Grace, specially in the "Augustus downfall" which I think wasn't as charming as the movie pictures it.

I love it how there are small stories in between the storyline, and I like to think that the book itself is a book Hazel wrote after Augustus left, Maybe because he complimented her writing skills, and didn't wanted their love story to die after all (?).

'You gave me a forever within the numbered days'

As for me, I've discovered an amazing writer, I'll keep my eyes on John Green's work for more fictions that change my perception of reality. Next stop: Looking for Alaska.

Xo, Carolina.

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