'Paper Towns' sticks close to the book and defies teen-movie stereotypes (B-)

There's romance in Paper Towns, but it's not a romantic movie. There's mystery, but it's not a detective story. There's humor, but it's not a comedy.

It's a story that has those things but is not about any of those things. It's a coming-of-age story that manages to avoid both easy labels and - perhaps as a result - a lot of clichés. Sure, it's a movie aimed at teenagers in which an unpopular guy wants to get a popular girl, but there's a lot more to this story's map between points A and B.

Based on the popular John Green novel of the same name, Paper Towns is not a follow-up to last year's Fault in Our Stars (also based on a Green book). There are no kids with cancer or deep musings about little infinities, but you still get Green's signature realism. An imperfect setting with imperfect characters who have desires and flaws that young people (and people who were young once) can relate to.

Quentin "Q" Jacobsen (played by Nat Wolff, who was also in The Fault in Our Stars) has been in love with Margo Roth Spiegelman (Cara Delevingne) since she moved in across the street when they were both children. While they were close at first, the pair grew apart as Margo became everything Quentin is not. She's not just popular. She's exciting, mysterious and a rebel with a sense of adventure. Quentin, meanwhile, is in the school band, has never skipped class and cares very much about where he's going to college.

Until one night when Margo knocks on his window, like they were kids again, and persuades him to sneak out with her so she can enact an elaborate revenge plot against her ex-boyfriend and others who she feels have scorned her. The pair spend a memorable night breaking rules and getting closer, and the adrenaline gets Quentin to start peeking out of his shell.

And then Margo is gone. She's skipped town by morning, leaving no note and telling nobody where she's going or whether she's ever coming back. While everyone in his life tells him to move on, Quentin waits patiently. Then he finds a clue that Margo seems to have left for him to find, meaning that maybe, just maybe, she wants him to come looking for her.

His best friends Ben and Radar (Austin Abrams and Justice Smith, young actors who both wonderfully embrace their characters' own eccentricities) get roped into the search, as do Margo's friend Lacey (Halston Sage) and Radar's girlfriend Angela (Jaz Sinclair). It may ultimately be Quentin's journey, but the ensemble cast grows together and helps keep the trip interesting.

Like last year's Fault in Our Stars, the adaptation of Paper Towns remains mostly true to its source material. There is one noteworthy change, which alters the reason behind a particular deadline toward the end of the film. In the book, this deadline conveyed a real sense of urgency to the story's final act. The film version, while still giving the protagonists a ticking clock to deal with, removes a bit of power from the climax.

Still, the story ends in a way that manages to defy expectations and eschew the "teen movie" norm, though as a result it's sure to disappoint those who want Paper Towns to be a fairy tale. But it's true what they say: What matters is the journey, not the destination.

PAPER TOWNS (B-)

Directed by Jake Schreier. PG-13 (some language, drinking, sexuality and partial nudity - all involving teens.). 108 mins. In wide release.