Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Looking for Alaska

It has been quite some time since I read this book and I'll be honest, I found it to be boring to read when I was an actual teen reading it. I don't think I even finished it. I recently picked it up again after my library hosted a Banned Book Club discussion of the book and I'm blown away at John Green's writing. Maybe it's because I've now had some of these experiences the characters are going through, but I find the novel to be a beautiful testament to grief and the experience of being a young person. I can appreciate it more as a 25 year old. I can see myself in Miles and Alaska in a way I couldn't when I was 16 reading it for the first time. It's a lovely, sad, and important novel for young people and young adults to read.

Content Warnings

rory_john14's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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lapluie8's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“You never know what someone is going through. Be kind. Always.” - is the quote that best describes this book for me.

Every character, every flaw, all the differences between them, their childhood & every struggle they went through makes it real. Someone in our world is one of these characters. You’ll just never know who.

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lilith_hmr's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Finished this book within 10 days. It was a really reflective book. I almost cried at the climax of what happened.

The book beautifully captures, grief, death and guilt. It also explains very well the concept of the afterlife and why we believe in it if we do.

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notyourhana's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

4.5

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bugzandthingz's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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

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chloevienna's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

pretty good! haven’t read a john green book since i was like 12 - fun to dive back in! i think a bit of the commentary in this has aged poorly, but the effort is there. i like the slice-of-life feel this had, and it was a fun and quick read.

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nina_iv's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I like the vibes even though it is diff from what i have ever read

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