Book Review of Looking for Alaska

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Green, John. LOOKING FOR ALASKA. New York, NY: Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. ISBN 0525475060.

PLOT SUMMARY

Miles Halter goes to a boarding school to finish high school and prepare for college. Once there he meets his roommate, Chip Martin, who explains that his nickname is The Colonel, and that Miles new nickname will henceforth be Pudge (due to his slim frame.) Afterward Pudge is introduced to the third part of what will become their triumvirate, Alaska Young. Their friendship and adventures at the school make up the first half of the novel. The second half of the novel involves the struggle of making meaning of death and dealing with not knowing or even understanding the answers to life’s big questions.   

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

I spent much of the first half of this book chuckling and smiling. I spent much of the second half trying not to cry, and not succeeding. Sometimes we talk about how an author can make us care about a character, or characters, in a novel. This story truly does that. The first half of the book is so much fun to read. As you work your way through the novel, the author, John Green, builds anticipation by starting each new “chapter” with a designation telling how many days until “before.” We find out what the “before” refers to in the second half of the novel. By then we have grown to love the three main characters, Alaska, Pudge, and The Colonel. We also have developed an abiding respect for many of their classmates, and the adult characters- parents and teachers who model much of what we hope for in all parents and teachers. An assignment given by one of the professors at the school asks the students to frame a philosophical question and try to answer it. As the teacher says later, these questions become less philosophical and more personal when life and death touch our lives. Young adult readers will appreciate these questions as the protagonist and his friends try to find answers to them. This is a book disguised as a teenage love story set in a school. In actuality, it is deeply thought-provoking book that encourages the reader to try to find a deeper understanding of our relationships with others. These are the discussions that all teenagers love to engage in, and this is what makes this novel a great read for all young adults. The ending is absolutely soul-touching with the hope it gives the protagonist, and all of us.          

AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS

2006 Michael L. Printz Award Winner

KIRKUS review: “The Alaska of the title is a maddening, fascinating, vivid girl seen through the eyes of Pudge (Miles only to his parents), who meets Alaska at boarding school in Alabama… What sings and soars in this gorgeously told tale is Green’s mastery of language and the sweet, rough edges of Pudge’s voice.”

CONNECTIONS

* The discussion topics are deep and are wide-ranging. Teenagers will recognize themselves in the storyline. This book is perfect for classrooms and school libraries.   

* Other books related to this one:

Green, John. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. ISBN 0525478817  

Green, John. PAPER TOWNS. ISBN 9780525478188

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