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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I really wanted to love this book. I don’t know why i didn’t. I can’t quite put my finger on it.
I mean there were a lot of little things i didn’t like about this piece. The cliché dialogue. They way they talked about Alaska and how they saw her.
The plot wasn’t bad, I just didn’t like the writing. There have been other John Green books I’ve been able to enjoy. This just wasn’t one of them.
I mean there were a lot of little things i didn’t like about this piece. The cliché dialogue. They way they talked about Alaska and how they saw her.
The plot wasn’t bad, I just didn’t like the writing. There have been other John Green books I’ve been able to enjoy. This just wasn’t one of them.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
forever seeking the great perhaps.
“you smoke to enjoy, i smoke to die”
“you smoke to enjoy, i smoke to die”
"Pudge" is an uncool boy who befriends the cool kids at his new school. And Alaska is a hot, hot girl. The uncool boy falls in love with the hot girl.
Nevermind the story - the big mystery at the ending isn't a mystery at all to the trained eye - but the narration, oh the heart-wrenching narration. RIGHT IN THE FEELS.
It struck a chord in me, and struck it hard. High school is a very special time if you can find those very special people, no matter what happens after you graduate. I had those special people in high school and the memories (at least the memories of how I felt) awakened briefly. I could feel what Pudge felt in my guts, so much so that the emotions became something physical in my stomach, lumps that were weighing me down. If I'm going to compare it to other John Green books, for me, Looking for Alaska offered realness that I couldn't find in The Fault in Our Stars. As for other YA books, I've read most of the famous ones this year (If I Stay, Eleanor & Park, Perks of Being a Wallflower etc.), and none of them were quite as good as this one.
If you think you're way past unimportant teenagers, this book is not for you. But if you enjoy YA even a little, then make sure to try Looking for Alaska out.
Nevermind the story - the big mystery at the ending isn't a mystery at all to the trained eye - but the narration, oh the heart-wrenching narration. RIGHT IN THE FEELS.
It struck a chord in me, and struck it hard. High school is a very special time if you can find those very special people, no matter what happens after you graduate. I had those special people in high school and the memories (at least the memories of how I felt) awakened briefly. I could feel what Pudge felt in my guts, so much so that the emotions became something physical in my stomach, lumps that were weighing me down. If I'm going to compare it to other John Green books, for me, Looking for Alaska offered realness that I couldn't find in The Fault in Our Stars. As for other YA books, I've read most of the famous ones this year (If I Stay, Eleanor & Park, Perks of Being a Wallflower etc.), and none of them were quite as good as this one.
If you think you're way past unimportant teenagers, this book is not for you. But if you enjoy YA even a little, then make sure to try Looking for Alaska out.
This book is about Pudge, and more importantly, his love of an extremely unlikable and depressed substance abuser who somehow is loved by everyone in the book even though she is moody and rude to them. I wanted to like this book, but it falls short of being adequately entertaining or reflective. I do think that it would be a good book for discussion, especially paired with any current events or personal experiences, or with the study of the individuals and their last words mentioned in the book.
Recommended age: 16+ for discussion of suicide, death, sex, drinking, smoking
Recommended age: 16+ for discussion of suicide, death, sex, drinking, smoking
I'm a little confused about who the target audience for this book is. I can't imagine a lot of teenage boys picking it up, but it also doesn't quite feel like it's aimed at girls either.
Alaska, the titular character, is the classic manic pixie dream girl, moody, impulsive, profound, and self-destructive. She has that erratic brilliance that seems less like a quirky personality and more like an undiagnosed mental health condition, that no one in the story seems to recognize because they're all teenagers.
It reads a bit like a PSA in novel form Authors Against Drunk Driving - a cautionary tale wrapped in teenage angst. It’s clearly trying to capture the feelings of loss, guilt, and the lingering “what ifs” after a tragedy. I couldn’t help but think of the song The Freshman by The Verve Pipe:
“For the life of me, I cannot remember / what made us think that we were wise and we’d never compromise...”
That song’s melancholy and confusion matches the emotional tone of this book perfectly.
Alaska is idolized by a group of teenage boys, including our narrator, who sees her through a haze of adoration and objectification. I thought maybe the book’s purpose was to reach young readers grappling with grief, regret, or unanswered questions after losing someone. Alaska's death whether accidental or intentional is never fully known, and the characters are left to make peace with the ambiguity and their own inaction. That’s powerful in theory, but as a seasoned adult, those messages are already deeply embedded for me. It didn’t quite land.
Wil Wheaton narrates the audiobook, and while I didn’t know he did narration, his delivery is solid. That said, his voice made the teenage protagonist sound a bit pretentious. Though, to be fair, I don't think I would’ve related to the narrator even with a different voice this just didn’t feel like a story meant for me.
Alaska, the titular character, is the classic manic pixie dream girl, moody, impulsive, profound, and self-destructive. She has that erratic brilliance that seems less like a quirky personality and more like an undiagnosed mental health condition, that no one in the story seems to recognize because they're all teenagers.
It reads a bit like a PSA in novel form Authors Against Drunk Driving - a cautionary tale wrapped in teenage angst. It’s clearly trying to capture the feelings of loss, guilt, and the lingering “what ifs” after a tragedy. I couldn’t help but think of the song The Freshman by The Verve Pipe:
“For the life of me, I cannot remember / what made us think that we were wise and we’d never compromise...”
That song’s melancholy and confusion matches the emotional tone of this book perfectly.
Alaska is idolized by a group of teenage boys, including our narrator, who sees her through a haze of adoration and objectification. I thought maybe the book’s purpose was to reach young readers grappling with grief, regret, or unanswered questions after losing someone. Alaska's death whether accidental or intentional is never fully known, and the characters are left to make peace with the ambiguity and their own inaction. That’s powerful in theory, but as a seasoned adult, those messages are already deeply embedded for me. It didn’t quite land.
Wil Wheaton narrates the audiobook, and while I didn’t know he did narration, his delivery is solid. That said, his voice made the teenage protagonist sound a bit pretentious. Though, to be fair, I don't think I would’ve related to the narrator even with a different voice this just didn’t feel like a story meant for me.