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A review by icarusandthesun
Looking for Alaska by John Green
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I thought I was gonna hate this book, really.
The synopsis sounded so much like just another angsty teen coming-of-age slash romance book with a supposed "tragedy" that's not actually tragic but the author just bugs you with it until you come to believe it is.
I also thought that John Green, whose The Fault in our Stars I really didn't like, couldn't possibly write anything that I—a person not too fond of romance books in general—would truly enjoy.
But boy, was I wrong!
Looking for Alaska is not a romance. At least not a typical one.
More so, it's a book about grief, and friendship, and famous last words. It's about how to deal with loss, about hope—and yes, also about a bunch of angsty teenagers who drink way too much and smoke wayyyy too many cigarettes.
But maybe that's just how it's supposed to be.
I loved the storyline and pacing. It was one of those books that didn't make me impatient as I neared the end, but excited. It had me at the edge of my seat until the very last page. (Okay, nearly. No book can stop my impatience.)
I really enjoyed John Green's unique writing style, though. There were loads of intelligent and interesting quotes and questions that forced you to think about them. Pay attention and this book was full of little threads with beginnings and ends. So many quotes, so many references, they came back. Green chose his metaphors, authors to cite, and allegories undoubtedly wisely. Richly refreshing.
My only point of critique—the characters. I couldn't absolutely, wholly love them, because wow, they were unique, special, and so not relatable.
It was like reading a story from the first-person perspective of a stone—a story starring more stones.
I don't know, I just couldn't relate to any of the characters at all, ESPECIALLY (and that's the worst part) to the main character.
His thoughts were just so... puberty-teenager-like at times (and no, I really don't want to elaborate on that).
Conclusion: Looking for Alaska is a funny, but also emotional and intelligent read and definitely worth checking out.
I want to end this review with one of my favorite Alaska Young quotes:
The synopsis sounded so much like just another angsty teen coming-of-age slash romance book with a supposed "tragedy" that's not actually tragic but the author just bugs you with it until you come to believe it is.
I also thought that John Green, whose The Fault in our Stars I really didn't like, couldn't possibly write anything that I—a person not too fond of romance books in general—would truly enjoy.
But boy, was I wrong!
Looking for Alaska is not a romance. At least not a typical one.
More so, it's a book about grief, and friendship, and famous last words. It's about how to deal with loss, about hope—and yes, also about a bunch of angsty teenagers who drink way too much and smoke wayyyy too many cigarettes.
But maybe that's just how it's supposed to be.
I loved the storyline and pacing. It was one of those books that didn't make me impatient as I neared the end, but excited. It had me at the edge of my seat until the very last page. (Okay, nearly. No book can stop my impatience.)
I really enjoyed John Green's unique writing style, though. There were loads of intelligent and interesting quotes and questions that forced you to think about them. Pay attention and this book was full of little threads with beginnings and ends. So many quotes, so many references, they came back. Green chose his metaphors, authors to cite, and allegories undoubtedly wisely. Richly refreshing.
My only point of critique—the characters. I couldn't absolutely, wholly love them, because wow, they were unique, special, and so not relatable.
It was like reading a story from the first-person perspective of a stone—a story starring more stones.
I don't know, I just couldn't relate to any of the characters at all, ESPECIALLY (and that's the worst part) to the main character.
His thoughts were just so... puberty-teenager-like at times (and no, I really don't want to elaborate on that).
Conclusion: Looking for Alaska is a funny, but also emotional and intelligent read and definitely worth checking out.
I want to end this review with one of my favorite Alaska Young quotes:
"Except luck is for suckers." (Alaska Young), p. 53 in my edition.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Cursing, Grief, and Suicide
Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent