Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Looking for Alaska by John Green

3 reviews

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book is the first in a very very long time that I have finished in a day and has left me with a soul deep feeling of peace and a brain full of thoughts. Two things that by definition cannot go together. 

I don’t know how it took me so long to read this as a life long John Green fan but I deeply regret that I had not read this particular collection of words sooner. John did what he has always done well - balanced impeccable descriptions of teenage awkwardness with soul destroying grief. Perfection. 

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for a debut novel….. incredible

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Such an incredible take on the reality of grief and loss through the lens of a young mind. Miles is an honest and refreshing representation of a young man processing his newfound independence, his first love, and his first genuine group of friends. After so many rereads, I will say that I’m still looking for Alaska. I want to know what her honest thoughts were and hear more from her perspective during their year at Culver Creek. I want to know how much Miles misrepresented her in his observations of her, how unreliable of a narrator he is. I want to know if the more generous version of Alaska was the accurate representation, or if she’s truly meant to be a cautionary tale. I’m sure, like all of us, Alaska is probably somewhere in the middle. Or Perhaps, she was simply a girl with a name plucked off of a globe, waiting for someone to take the time to memorize her. We’ll never really know. 

Good faith criticism for John Green: 👎🏻 for fat representation/jokes. Not egregious territory, but I know he could do plus sized women better. 

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