-by John Green
Sarah Chadee, Press Pass Correspondent
Looking for Alaska was the first of many books by John Green that I will read. After reading so many young adult books, by now, picking up the gift and general style of a writer comes naturally to me. John Green is no doubt an amazing author and his style creates not only a story that will make you smile and laugh through the adventures of his characters, but also provokes great thought. In Looking For Alaska, John Green tells the story of Miles, a smart, skinny teen who is obsessed with Last Words and decides to go to the same boarding school his father attended in the hopes of finding 'The Great Perhaps'. Once at boarding school, Miles quickly befriends his roommate, nicknamed The Colonel. The Colonel introduces him to the rest of his inner circle: Takumi, a rap-loving Japanese boy, and Alaska, a smart, impulsive girl. The group of friends study, plan pranks, blow off steam and get into mischief together, all while Miles is falling in love with Alaska, who already has a boyfriend.
The reader is aware that the students are on the path to something life-changing, as the chapters count down days, 'Forty-Six Days Before,' or 'Three Days Before,' until arriving at 'The Last Day' a little over half-way into the book. The chapters then begin to count up, 'The Day After,' 'Twenty Days After', etc. For an unforgettable 128 days, Miles learns life lessons about love, loyalty, friendship and Literature while experiencing having his first smoke, a few drinks, breaking school rules and pulling some pranks as well as experiencing the thrill of a first girlfriend. When tragedy strikes Culver Creek, Miles is forced to undertake an even closer examination of his own character and relationship with his friends. Miles and his friends are faced with many questions about just what happened. Could they have prevented what happened, and if so, can they forgive themselves? They try to find the answers to these questions while coming to terms with their loss, grief, guilt and the need to keep on living.
Looking for Alaska is a book that you will read and never forget. It is a book that is so simple yet so special in that it makes you think in a different way. It is funny and heartbreakingly sad all at once, while simultaneously and effortlessly dealing with some of the big questions today youth face. Beyond the high school drama, it is an inspiring work about life and death, about how someone's life touches us and changes the way we see things. It's about overcoming suffering and loss, the strong bond of friendship, and the choices we must inevitably make and the irreversible consequences of them. It is about discovering who we are and who we can become as we walk upon this 'labyrinth' we call life and ultimately, why our last words may or may not define who we are as persons who seek, not far from Rabelais' 'The Great Perhaps', but at least in our own little way, grand possibilities.
Looking for Alaska, I promise you, will make you laugh, cry and most importantly, never forget. John Green masterfully handles these big questions without making them heavy-handed. He also delves into philosophy through the students' religions class. Miles often uses this class and his favourite famous last word quotes, to try to find the answers to some of life's big questions. Young adult readers will find it captivating and thought-provoking, without feeling like they are being preached to, or being told that these are the only answers
available.
