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kenfrommars's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“I go to seek a Great Perhaps”
The theme of the book. The question that hung over the whole 221-page novel about the main character, Miles Halter, trying to find just that.
I won’t sugarcoat it. My journey in reading this book is very mixed. The first half of the novel was hard for me to get through at times. I took some days of not reading it and was considering I might drop it, but there was a point where something about it just hooked me. Was it the mystery of Alaska? Was it me finding myself frustrated with the characters and just wanting to finish it because I had made it so far into it as it was?
Not sure, but there was something about this story that just grabbed me, also. I liked the character of Alaska Young. I liked the main group and the side characters. It was very John Green in the sense of these characters being witty, insightful, simultaneously enlightened and ignorant, and just this overall message of hope.
This book came out when I was in high school, but I didn’t read it until now. I wished I had read it when I was in high school, but with the perspective of both a teenager and an adult who has made his own mistakes, I appreciate the themes of hope. Because we all seek that great perhaps of life. The Great Perhaps that gives us purpose. Some of us don’t find it and some of us find then lose it.
I’ve had my issues with John Green in a number of his books, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and it should be read by everyone at least once. It should be experienced by everyone at least once. It’s thought-provoking and insightful and heartwarming, despite the themes of grief.
The theme of the book. The question that hung over the whole 221-page novel about the main character, Miles Halter, trying to find just that.
I won’t sugarcoat it. My journey in reading this book is very mixed. The first half of the novel was hard for me to get through at times. I took some days of not reading it and was considering I might drop it, but there was a point where something about it just hooked me. Was it the mystery of Alaska? Was it me finding myself frustrated with the characters and just wanting to finish it because I had made it so far into it as it was?
Not sure, but there was something about this story that just grabbed me, also. I liked the character of Alaska Young. I liked the main group and the side characters. It was very John Green in the sense of these characters being witty, insightful, simultaneously enlightened and ignorant, and just this overall message of hope.
This book came out when I was in high school, but I didn’t read it until now. I wished I had read it when I was in high school, but with the perspective of both a teenager and an adult who has made his own mistakes, I appreciate the themes of hope. Because we all seek that great perhaps of life. The Great Perhaps that gives us purpose. Some of us don’t find it and some of us find then lose it.
I’ve had my issues with John Green in a number of his books, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and it should be read by everyone at least once. It should be experienced by everyone at least once. It’s thought-provoking and insightful and heartwarming, despite the themes of grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Suicide, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Misogyny, and Drug abuse
goodin10tions's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Drug use
Moderate: Car accident, Vomit, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Bullying
stephliljazz's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
John Green has the saddest imagination of any author I have read. I went into this book knowing something gravely sad happens because that's how the author writes. However, the character build up outside the plot was a lot and I found myself thinking at some points if parts actually had any relevanxe to the plot or outcome. I still really enjoyed it. My favorite thing about this whole book is Miles paper at the end. I feel like if you are grieving his words will help you think deeply about life and loss. I think even if you do not want to read this whole book reading that paper would make you love it anyway. I also have to say Wil Wheaton narrates this book perfectly. He successfully gave voices to each individual character and added emotions to their words in a very meaningful way. His voice was soothing and steady. I would definitely recommend this audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Grief, Death, Alcohol, Child death, and Car accident
Moderate: Suicide, Bullying, and Death of parent
Minor: Death of parent, Blood, Sexual content, and Vomit
jesse_jellyfish's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Child death, and Death of parent
kateyoutka's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is probably the book I've read more than any other book except, maybe, some of the Harry Potter books.
There's a reason I keep coming back to it. I was 14 when this book came out, and I think I was maybe 15 when I first read it. It was the first time I'd seen a book talk about what I now know to be one of John Green's primary messages -- that it's difficult for us to ever really know another person, so it's important that we remember that they're just that -- a person -- and it's worthwhile, necessary, to imagine them complexly. Throughout this book, Miles builds Alaska up into something more than that. He puts her on a manic-pixie-dream-girl pedestal. As she gradually disappoints him, he realizes how flawed his thinking was, and how flawed Alaska herself was, and how flawed all people are. It's an important message whether you're 15 or 32 (as I am now) and it continues to be relevant.
I don't quite understand the negativity this book has received over the years. I see a lot of reviews critiquing Alaska's character since she is a manic pixie dream girl -- but that was kind of the point all along, and I strongly feel that she was written purposely that way. Green shares a similar message in Paper Towns, with the character of Margo being an almost caricatured version of a manic pixie dream girl. Green isn't falling prey to writing a manic pixie dream girl character -- he's poking holes in stories that utilize those characters and demanding that we think more critically about both them and the real-life people we interact with every day.
The messaging in this book surrounding religion and seeking purpose in our lives is also one that I've thought more about as I reread this book at twice the age I was when I initially picked it up. I think I initially thought that this book was extremely depressing when I read it at 15 -- a book about death and grieving and loss -- and at 15, I was thinking a lot about my own Great Perhaps. At 32, I'm thinking more about the fact that the only way out of the labyrinth is through and about always choosing the labyrinth.
There's a reason I keep coming back to it. I was 14 when this book came out, and I think I was maybe 15 when I first read it. It was the first time I'd seen a book talk about what I now know to be one of John Green's primary messages -- that it's difficult for us to ever really know another person, so it's important that we remember that they're just that -- a person -- and it's worthwhile, necessary, to imagine them complexly. Throughout this book, Miles builds Alaska up into something more than that. He puts her on a manic-pixie-dream-girl pedestal. As she gradually disappoints him, he realizes how flawed his thinking was, and how flawed Alaska herself was, and how flawed all people are. It's an important message whether you're 15 or 32 (as I am now) and it continues to be relevant.
I don't quite understand the negativity this book has received over the years. I see a lot of reviews critiquing Alaska's character since she is a manic pixie dream girl -- but that was kind of the point all along, and I strongly feel that she was written purposely that way. Green shares a similar message in Paper Towns, with the character of Margo being an almost caricatured version of a manic pixie dream girl. Green isn't falling prey to writing a manic pixie dream girl character -- he's poking holes in stories that utilize those characters and demanding that we think more critically about both them and the real-life people we interact with every day.
The messaging in this book surrounding religion and seeking purpose in our lives is also one that I've thought more about as I reread this book at twice the age I was when I initially picked it up. I think I initially thought that this book was extremely depressing when I read it at 15 -- a book about death and grieving and loss -- and at 15, I was thinking a lot about my own Great Perhaps. At 32, I'm thinking more about the fact that the only way out of the labyrinth is through and about always choosing the labyrinth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Alcohol, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content
denaejordan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
esterslibrary's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Grief, Death, Bullying, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders
svtephreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was worse than I remembered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Car accident, Alcohol, Grief, Death, Addiction, and Suicide
gabby_lee's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This novel is slowly becoming one of my comfort reads. Green is able to beautifully capture the thinking of a teenage mind while making a very pointed statement about life. There were times I'd find myself almost rolling my eyes at the main character's obsession over a girl or other clichés but those aspects really just add to the fact that this story is about teenagers trying to figure out life for themselves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death
mack_urdaddy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Car accident, and Drug use
Moderate: Mental illness, Drug use, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Death
Minor: Sexual content