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A review by pinksreads
Looking for Alaska by John Green
5.0
Re-reading. 4.5 stars.
I won't say that my rating for this book is fair in a technical sense. This is a book about teenagers who do teenager-y things, and I can see where people have problems with that. If anything, the reactions to this book are a good example of how society criticizes teenagers for almost every decision they take, right from them trying to be themselves.
The re-read was interesting. I detested these characters way more than I did when I read this book for the first time. Miles Halter (Pudge) and Alaska Young are undeniably unlikeable in the way they perceive certain things.
This book, in my opinion, is the perfect encapsulation of teenage angst and dealing with certain issues someone faces in their teens. It is a little pretentious, I will agree, but there's so much to look for, in this book that talks about identity, sense of self, toxic relationships, entitlement, emotional monopoly etc. Very vague, but it does come together fairly solidly.
Objectively speaking, this book would be a solid 3.5 stars for me. Nothing extraordinary, but it is a good debut, and it can stand for itself. However, due to the emotional links it has with a very specific memory in my life, and the way it makes me feel about life, it deserves the 5 I can give it.
I won't say that my rating for this book is fair in a technical sense. This is a book about teenagers who do teenager-y things, and I can see where people have problems with that. If anything, the reactions to this book are a good example of how society criticizes teenagers for almost every decision they take, right from them trying to be themselves.
The re-read was interesting. I detested these characters way more than I did when I read this book for the first time. Miles Halter (Pudge) and Alaska Young are undeniably unlikeable in the way they perceive certain things.
Spoiler
Primarily, Alaska's sense of entitlement when it comes to other people's feelings and Miles' situation with Lara. But the book did its character-development job well when it showed Miles and Chip 'healing' after Alaska's death.This book, in my opinion, is the perfect encapsulation of teenage angst and dealing with certain issues someone faces in their teens. It is a little pretentious, I will agree, but there's so much to look for, in this book that talks about identity, sense of self, toxic relationships, entitlement, emotional monopoly etc. Very vague, but it does come together fairly solidly.
Objectively speaking, this book would be a solid 3.5 stars for me. Nothing extraordinary, but it is a good debut, and it can stand for itself. However, due to the emotional links it has with a very specific memory in my life, and the way it makes me feel about life, it deserves the 5 I can give it.