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Lily | Holmdel High School, Grade 11
Rating: ****
This book follows the journey of Miles Halter, known as Pudge, through boarding school. Miles is a teenage boy who is extremely introverted and obsessed with people’s last words. He enrolls to the school searching for a "greater perhaps" and befriends his mischievous roommate Chip otherwise known as "Colonel". Quickly Miles is dragged out of his comfort zone and intervortex ways by Colonel, encouraging him to set pranks and be more involved socially. Through this he meets Alaska. She is mysterious and beautiful in every way imaginable. Her unpredictable emotions create a sense of unknowingness that only attracts Miles to her more. He becomes a person for her to confide in allowing her to open up about her dark past. The story follows Miles as he experience the complex feelings of teenage love as well as depicts the ways grief is dealt with at a young age.
This book helped me look at life differently. It shows you to value those around you and how dangerous it can be to keep your emotions locked away. John Green wrote this in a way that makes you create a personal connection with the characters. You feel as if you are close friends with them and are able to relate to many of their problems. The story contains a heartbreaking plot twist that left me in tears. I would recommended this book to those who enjoy reading about the high school experience and to those that are okay with reading about tragedies.
Megan | Biotechnology High School, Grade 9
Rating: ***
Miles Halter, an introverted boy who memorizes famous people’s last words for fun, is tired of his safe and boring life attending public school in Florida and seeks to pursue a “Great Perhaps” by heading off to Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama. His roommate, Chip “The Colonel” Martin, loves pulling pranks and gives Miles the nickname “Pudge.” Through The Colonel, Miles meets Alaska, an attractive, spontaneous, and funny girl who, as Pudge will soon come to realize, has some dark and mysterious secrets to hide. For a while, life is great, and Alaska whisks Pudge into her “labyrinth,” embodying the “Great Perhaps” that he has been seeking. However, one day, everything changes, and nothing will ever be the same again. In a beautiful coming-of-age novel, John Green interlaces the themes of life, love, forgiveness, grief, as Pudge navigates his friendships and school life.
Personally, I really enjoyed Green’s writing style in this book, and many of Pudge’s struggles and experiences were relatable to me. The book consists of two sections: “Before,” which depicts the events leading up to the major event, and “After,” which portrays the events afterward. I thought that this format was a really unique stylistic choice that helped add to the atmosphere of suspense and foreboding. Furthermore, although I really appreciated how the main characters like Pudge and Alaska were complex and well-rounded, I do wish that Green focused a little more on developing some of the other characters. Nevertheless, this book really reminded me to be more understanding and compassionate, as you really don’t know what someone else is going through. The ending is truly grim and heartbreaking, but it was beautifully written and depicted many insightful themes and ideas. “The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive.”
Isabella | Howell High School, Grade 10
Rating: ***
Miles, Pudge, searching for his great perhaps, enrolls in a boarding school in Alabama where his father attended, attempting to escape his ordinary life in Florida, where the only thing interesting about him is that he memorizes famous last words. While he is there he is taken in by a group of loyal friends and instantly falls in love with Alaska Young. When a tragic event takes place, the group must sort out and make sense of this mystery. And after Alaska Young, nothing is ever the same.
I liked it, but didn’t love it. The book has good and relatable characters, but at times I felt like a bit of a clique (and at times cliques can be good) with the average book-loving “deep”, guy falling in love with the gorgeous unattainable self-destructive damaged girl (that everything and everyone revolves around), with each person in their group with their own little shtick or talent. The characters are kind of realistic but at the same time not, if that makes any sense. They are relatable in a way of Miles just wanting to be a part of something, and some struggles teenagers face (like teens blaming themselves for things that are out of their control), but not in a way of their thinking and the language they use and even at times the way they act. It’s kind of like Dawson’s Creek where they have teenagers who act like “teenagers” from an adult’s opinion but don’t talk like teenagers with forced philosophical and literary thinking. Now although it was a bit of a clique I did enjoy reading it, I was mainly disappointed because of its popularity and hype but in general, it’s a good book, and I would read it again.
Victoria | Allentown High School, Grade 12
Rating: **
Looking for Alaska by John Green is about a teenager, Miles Halter, who meets Alaska Young, a smart girl who confides in Miles. Miles decides to attend boarding school and leave his hometown in order to seek new opportunities and experiences. Miles makes new friends, one of them being Chip, and all of his friends have a different talent and interest, Miles' interest being famous people’s last words. Miles, known as a rule follower and a good kid, meets new friends that entice him to break the rules and try new things which eventually lead him to get in trouble, as two of the students purposely get him in trouble with the school. Alaska and Miles spend much of their time getting back at the two students who tried to get Miles in trouble, allowing them to become closer friends, and Alaska shares a secret she has never told anyone, which explains her impulsiveness and moodiness.
This was not my favorite John Green book as I felt it was very slow and it took a while for the story as well as the character development to progress. Although this was not my favorite book, I enjoyed watching the progression of Miles and Alaska’s relationship and watching Alaska become comfortable and open up to him.
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