Review: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska by John Green
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: March 2005
Age Range: 12 and up
160pp

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.

What a wonderful story! I really didn’t know what to expect reading this book. I’ve read so many great reviews on this book, so I had to go find out for myself what everyone was raving about. All I can say is I’ve finally been able to experience what everyone else felt about this book. Looking for Alaska will keep you glued to the pages. This is another one of those books that I find hard to review adequately - "It’s that good."

Green knows how to get inside a teenager’s head and portray the emotions, influences (smoking, drinking and sexual activity) and thought processes of what teens go through. This novel is more suitable in my opinion for mature teens. The characters in Looking for Alaska are witty, extremely entertaining and very relatable. It was so believable which is one of the reasons I fell in love with this book. I enjoyed every minute of reading about Miles Halter and his journey in seeking the “Great Perhaps.” Another reason I love this book is this question, which is a major part of this novel:

How will you ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?

This book really makes you think about life and the choices we make. I know I never think about the end – as in “Death.” I mean, eventually we will all die, it’s just so morbid, so instead I think about living life to the fullest. Anyone who truly knows me, know that I’m a very vivacious person. I want to experience it all, which is probably why I’ve tried to do everything that I’ve always wanted such as traveling, excelling in different gifts or talents. This book will engage readers of all ages!

Looking for Alaska is the first book that I’ve read by John Green, and I will definitely be reading more of his novels.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars