Looking for Alaska
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.
Green was awarded the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award for Looking for Alaska. It is taught in many high school and college curricula and has been published in more than fifteen languages.
If you’ve read the book and are completely prepared for spoilers, visit the Looking for Alaska Questions page for much, much more information on the book.
Awards
Winner, 2006 Michael L. Printz Award
Finalist, 2005 Los Angeles Times Book Prize
2006 Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults
2006 Teens’ Top 10 Award
2006 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
A Booklist Editor’s Choice Pick
Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection
Borders Original Voices Selection
Reviews (SPOILER ALERT!)
“Green…has a writer’s voice, so self-assured and honest that one is startled to learn that this novel is his first. The anticipated favorable comparisons to Holden Caufield are richly deserved in this highly recommended addition to young adult literature.”
-VOYA
“Like Phineas in John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace,” Green draws Alaska so lovingly, in self-loathing darkness as well as energetic light, that readers mourn her loss along with her friends.”
-School Library Journal, Starred Review
“The spirit of Holden Caulfield lives on.”
-KLIATT
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“Looking for Alaska” is a fictional young adult novel, written by John Green, dealing with the young Miles Halter, who decides to go to a boarding school in Alabama, to escape his boring life at home in Florida.
Soon he makes friends with his roommate Chip, often called the Colonel, and falls for the beautiful and mysterious girl Alaska Young. Miles gets pulled into the world of Culver Creek, including friendship, first love and breaking the rules, but also responsibility, the loss of a friend and grief.
We read this book in English class, so I might say that it was not too difficult to understand but it was a little tough to get through it.
At first I was skeptical, but after a while I started to put myself into the story and was excited to read on! Working with the book I began to dislike the characters more and more, because Alaska is that moody, what started to annoy me, and Miles just thinks that he deserves her love, but “Looking for Alaska” is a great book anyway. You must not like the characters a lot.
All in all the novel walks a path between the wild live of some teenagers and serious incidents. It is very well-written, I like how John Green quotes books’ and persons’ last words in his book, also you can see Miles’ development from an outsider to a member of the bunch and the loss of Alaska is really touching.
After reading the book you do not stop thinking about it. You want to know what happened to Alaska exactly and I wandered if she was right, that death is the way out of the labyrinth. If dying is the answer, why do we not all commit suicide? Well, I am not sure what my point about the labyrinth of suffering is, but, as I said, I thought about it a lot.
In the end, I do not know if I would have picked the book myself, but we read it in school and I am happy I read it now. It has everything a good story needs, it is funny, exciting, sad, thoughtful and it has a love story in it. “Looking for Alaska” is a great choice to reed in class.
By the way I just ordered “The fault in our stars” because I liked John Greens writing style and the story he made up in “Looking for Alaska” that much.
Sorry spoiler – please don’t read my question if you haven’t read it yet. I’ll write it in pig English.
I was heecting expr hakes to brave cuen bet by prain in a Kevnk.
Bloody labyrinth!
So, this book has touched me so much that I just have to leave a comment.
The second I saw the photograph of one page from Looking for Alaska (totally by accident, like, the best accident ever! *the page was the one with drizzle and the hurricane quote) I knew it was going to be magnificent, but holly crap, it is more than that.
It has gotten under my skin and I don’t want it to leave, ever.
Like every great book should, it has changed me in many ways, I would say it made me more complete.
Thanks to you, you John Freaking Genius Green, I started caring so much about the Great Perhaps, realized I was standing at the start of my labyrinth and that it takes so much courage to move forward, get lost in the suffering and even more courage to try to get out of it.
You’ve also made me aware of importance that Last Words carry with them.
Even though we’ll never know what were Alaska’s last words, I like to pretend it was this one sentence that has really reached me.
I find itso fascinating because I think it reflects death perfectly:
it will be continued. Somewhere else. In some other time. Very different from the one we’re living in. So much greater in many ways,
I hope so.
And that same sentence kind of comforted me. I was broken because of Alaska Young. Because of Pudge. The Colonel. Broken because of the brutality of life and mystery of death.
”To be continued?” is a question that gave me so much answers.
And, yeah, there is one more thing. Since you, JohnFreakingGeniusGreen, are the closest to Pudge, there is one thing I want you to tell him.
By confronting to his labyrinth (realizing that he is in one and doesn’t want to go out of it, but keep moving in it, no matter how hard it is, not choosing ‘Straight and Fast’ but Tortuous and Slow)
he has officially stopped being a drizzle.
He is a hurricane
“Looking For Alaska” is literally the best book I’ve ever read. It is suggested if you are more into the drama type of book. It’s an unexpected book. It’s breath-taking and heart-racing. That’s what makes it interesting. I guarantee that you’ll love it.
THIS BOOK IS A COOL BOOK. its more like a drama book for people that like that kind of stuff. & i just want to thank you for making this book.
For a while after the big event, I was pretty annoyed with John. HOW COULD HE KILL ALASKA???? In fact, when I read the terrible news, even though it had already been spoiled (gha… Internet), I just put the book down for about a half an hour and fumed. I was hoping she wouldn’t be dead… but then they did their prank and everything was okay.
I’m dyslexic but that did not stop me from reading “Looking for Alaska” or “The fault in our stars” just started on Will Grayson, Will Grayson Fuck the (dyslexic) police i’m gonne keep reading !
I finished LFA in two days (I could have finished it in one, but you know sleep is kind of important). I just couldn’t put it down. TFIOS took me a little longer to finish, but that was because I never wanted the story to end, so I prolonged the inevitable. I don’t know what came over me, but I needed to not stop reading LFA. I loved it, I loved it. Like TFIOS, I couldn’t have been given a better ending to an incredible journey. Your novels leave me whole, not broken. Thank you for that J. Green, thank you very much.
Best Wishes,
Sara Michelle
Ps. You ought to be a rapper.
well written, just well! thanks john green
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