Review: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Title: Looking for Alaska
Author: John Green
Publisher: Speak
Publishing Date: December 28th 2006
Pages: 221
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audio Book

Goodreads Summary:

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A stunning debut, it marks John Green's arrival as an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

Review:

John Green is one of my favorite authors. I was excited to read another book of his and of course it was AMAZING!!! This story was funny- a tear jerker- mysterious- thought provoking. Everything I expect John Green books to be. I loved it. This book was a little more mature than some of his others, not as clean, but was still really awesome.

The story is about Miles, a boy his who lives in Florida right before his junior year and who has zero social life. He takes it upon himself to go to the boarding school in Alabama that his father attended for the last two years of his high school life. He wants to make a new start and discover something for himself. What he discovers is a crazy girl that steals his heart, loyal friends, pranks, partying, and tragedy. With the help from his new friends he learns to come out of his shell and how to fight back. He finds out what happens when you speak up and when you go for what you want. He also discovers how to endure and live past pain.

The characters drew me in right away, as they always do. John Green has an amazing way with writing characters. I can relate to them, I feel f or them, I hold on to them way after the book is over. Everyone is a little screwed up in this book, like most teenagers and everyone comes from a different background. Miles comes from a pretty well off family, the only child, a little spoiled, and has clueless but trusting parents. He is shy, smart, and determined. Alaska has had tragedy in her life that has left her full of guilt, hopeless, and scared. She is wild, blunt, and very outrageous. The Colonel has a very strong relationship with his mother who raises him on her own, barely making it, going to school on a scholarship. He is very sarcastic a very loyal friend, and plays follow the leader with Alaska. There are some secondary characters that I love too, there wasn’t anyone I didn’t like. The relationships shared in the book took me on a very emotional journey. I enjoyed every moment I was apart of these teens’ world.

I don’t know what it is that grabs me so tight about these emotional books but they do. Cry a little , laugh a lot, get comfy and enjoy the ride. This one is really worth it.

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