LOOKING FOR ALASKA

By John Greene
ISBN: 9780142402511

Bibliography:
Green, John. 2007. Looking for Alaska. New York: Speak.

Plot:
Miles Halter (Pudge) leaves home to attend Culver Creek Preparatory School in search of the “Great Perhaps”. He becomes part of a circle of friends that revolve around Alaska Young, an energetic yet troubled girl with whom he becomes infatuated. When Alaska is killed in a car crash, the group tries to make sense of the circumstances behind her death.

Analysis:
Where do I fit in? What am I supposed to do in life? How do I deal with suffering? What happens to us after we die? This thought-provoking story revolves around teenage Miles and his ongoing struggle to find answers to these questions. Readers will relate to this story and its characters on many levels as we all have sought answers to the above questions. Everyone can relate to Miles’ feelings of awkwardness and his need to find his place amongst a group.

Miles’ quirks in the story are very endearing and create a connection that enables the reader to root for him throughout the story and put one’s self in his place. Readers will connect with Miles as he deals with the longing for his first love to love him in return, the loss of Alaska around whom his whole world revolved, and feelings of regret for letting her go. Green keeps the reader intrigued with the suspenseful story by titling each chapter “with the number of days before “it” happens. Readers will race through the story just to discover what “it” is.

Culver Creek, the setting for these events, is a place where teens have created their own set of norms and values. When these norms and values are broken, banishment, isolation, and possibly retaliation by the group is the consequence. One such norm, not "ratting out" others, is a recurring value throughout the story. The story ends with Miles quoting Thomas Edison's last words as he tries to make sense of losing Alaska: "Thomas Edison's last words were: 'It's very beautiful over there.' I don't know where there is, but I believe it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful."

Review Excerpts:
Horn Book: "At boarding school in Alabama, narrator Miles Halter faces challenging classes, school-wide pranks, and Alaska Young, a sexy, enigmatic girl. After Alaska is killed in a car crash, Miles and his friends question whether it could have been suicide and acknowledge their own survivor guilt. These intelligent characters talk smart, yet don't always behave that way, and are thus complex and realistically portrayed teenagers."

Kirkus Review: " What sings and soars in this gorgeously told tale is Green's mastery of language and the sweet, rough edges of Pudge's voice. Girls will cry and boys will find love, lust, loss and longing in Alaska's vanilla-and-cigarettes scent."


Connections:

*Visit John Green's webpage and blog at http://www.sparksflyup.com/

* Other books by John Green

Abundance of Katherines ISBN: 9780525476887