LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 3/3/05
Publisher: Dutton
Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
Rating: 5 Stars
Miles Halter is the type of high-schooler who always faded into the background at his public school in Florida. He had few
friends, by choice as much as by fate, and wanted only to study his passion--memorizing the last words of people who had
died. After reading the dying words of poet Francois Rabelais, "I go to seek a Great Perhaps", Miles is convinced that there's
more to life than what he's so far experienced.
So Miles sets off to spend his junior and senior years at Culver Creek, a private boarding school in Alabama. There he gains
his first nickname "Pudge" (a misnomer, by far, since Miles is quite skinny); meets his first love, Alaska Young; has his first
sexual encounter with a Romanian girl named Lara; and gains two great male friends, Chip "The Colonel" Martin and Takumi
Hikohito. He also experiences the joys and sickness of getting drunk, the strangeness of smoking cigarettes, and the
unadulterated pleasure of playing pranks.
Pudge's new group of friends have their own quirks--The Colonel memorizes countries, capitals, and populations; Alaska
collects books for her Life's Library that she hasn't yet read; Takumi relishes being The Fox. They all work together to irritate
their teachers, avoid confrontation with The Eagle, the school's dean, and pull off pranks against the rich Weekday Warriors
that are the popular clique at Culver Creek.
But LOOKING FOR ALASKA is mostly the story of growing up, of falling in love, of dealing with loss, and getting through
life as best that you can. With wonderful dialogue, fascinating prose, and characters that are so real you'll think you know
them personally, this is a book well worth reading. Not just is it the story of a group of teenagers looking to find their way out
of the labyrinth of loss, or just the story of finding our Great Perhaps, LOOKING FOR ALASKA is about living the best life
that can be led.
I loved this story, and highly recommend it. Once you do, you'll realize it's no surprise that it won the Teen's Top 10 Award
and the Michael J. Printz Award--in fact, it probably deserves more.
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 3/3/05
Publisher: Dutton
Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
Rating: 5 Stars
Miles Halter is the type of high-schooler who always faded into the background at his public school in Florida. He had few
friends, by choice as much as by fate, and wanted only to study his passion--memorizing the last words of people who had
died. After reading the dying words of poet Francois Rabelais, "I go to seek a Great Perhaps", Miles is convinced that there's
more to life than what he's so far experienced.
So Miles sets off to spend his junior and senior years at Culver Creek, a private boarding school in Alabama. There he gains
his first nickname "Pudge" (a misnomer, by far, since Miles is quite skinny); meets his first love, Alaska Young; has his first
sexual encounter with a Romanian girl named Lara; and gains two great male friends, Chip "The Colonel" Martin and Takumi
Hikohito. He also experiences the joys and sickness of getting drunk, the strangeness of smoking cigarettes, and the
unadulterated pleasure of playing pranks.
Pudge's new group of friends have their own quirks--The Colonel memorizes countries, capitals, and populations; Alaska
collects books for her Life's Library that she hasn't yet read; Takumi relishes being The Fox. They all work together to irritate
their teachers, avoid confrontation with The Eagle, the school's dean, and pull off pranks against the rich Weekday Warriors
that are the popular clique at Culver Creek.
But LOOKING FOR ALASKA is mostly the story of growing up, of falling in love, of dealing with loss, and getting through
life as best that you can. With wonderful dialogue, fascinating prose, and characters that are so real you'll think you know
them personally, this is a book well worth reading. Not just is it the story of a group of teenagers looking to find their way out
of the labyrinth of loss, or just the story of finding our Great Perhaps, LOOKING FOR ALASKA is about living the best life
that can be led.
I loved this story, and highly recommend it. Once you do, you'll realize it's no surprise that it won the Teen's Top 10 Award
and the Michael J. Printz Award--in fact, it probably deserves more.
Looking for Alaska
by John Green
by John Green
