Looking for Alaska

I didn't read the description of this book before I read it - I chose it because it was John Green and I knew he wouldn't disappoint me. I didn't know I'd feel punched in the gut afterward. But that's a compliment. When I finish a book but can't finish thinking about it - that's goodness. That's why I stay up too late reading and ignore laundry. I will remember Alaska Young for quite some time. "For she had embodied the Great Perhaps— she had proved to me that it was worth it to leave behind my minor life for grander maybes."

Miles Halter leaves Florida to go to a boarding school in Alabama in search of "a Great Perhaps". Once there, he's in for that and more. He's ironically nicknamed "Pudge" by his roommate "The Colonel". He falls in with a group of kids that includes Takumi (a Japanese rapper), Lara, and Alaska. Together they take on the "Weekday Warriors" (aka the rich local kids who go home on weekends) and "The Eagle" (the headmaster). Alaska in particular catches Pudge's heart, but she's an enigma. No one can figure out Alaska. She's hot one minute, cold the next. She's flirty, but has a boyfriend who she loves. Pudge can't help but worship her and be annoyed all at the same time.
Then it's AFTER. Nothing will be the same as before. The search for the show more truth may or may not bring them answers, but it will never bring them what they had before.

I mean, what can I really say about this book? I guess I can say that it's freaking GENIUS!! In so many damn ways. I'm actually starting to think that John Green is like Benjamin Franklin reincarnated because how can someone in today's world be so insightful? Hasn't everything already been thought and said and written about? Apparently not. John Green has ways of making stories that you've probably heard before seem new and fresh... and just completely smart.

Looking for Alaska is not what I thought it was going to be about. I don't want to get all spoilery, but I didn't know it was going to have an event in it like it did. I thought it was just about a boarding school... so I was definitely a little stunned. I got over it.

Miles is a great narrator and I really like reading books told in the male POV. It's like being on the inside of some secret world. Ok maybe not. But it's cool. The Colonel was a cool guy too and I loved the immediateness of their friendship. But Alaska... she was this book. She was so damn hard to figure out... from beginning to end. I didn't ever "get" this girl, but I don't think I was meant to. She is an enigma. She's a troubled girl with an impulsive personality... and no one truly understood her, but they all loved her anyhow. Miles and Alaska were always several layers away from anything. Physically and mentally. They were never on the same page, and I don't really know if Alaska kept it that way purposely or not.

I love boarding school books, they remind me of the dorms. I miss the dorms... wait sharing a bathroom with an entire floor of girls and finding noodles in the sink when I'm trying to wash my hands?? No nevermind... but I miss the idea of the dorms and the closeness I had with everyone there. And of course, the pranks. And this book was full of awesome pranks. You just can't live with that many young people and NOT have pranks.

My favorite part was definitely all the cool smart stuff that I could never come up with: The Great Perhaps, famous last words, the labyrinth of suffering, the crooked neighbors, and all that stuff. Just truly cool stuff.

Quotes:
"Everything that comes together falls apart"

"She taught me everything I know about crawfish and kissing and pink wine and poetry. She made me different."

Overall: Oh please read this book!! If you've ever read anything by John Green and haven't read this one, you need to! It's about more than you would ever think it could be about.

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http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com show less

A 2005 coming-of-age YA novel set in a boarding school in Alabama, featuring teens who form friendships, do stupid things like playing pranks and taking up smoking, develop their philosophies of life, experience the beauty and messiness of love, and face tragedy and loss and all the complicated things that happen afterward.

I have to say, if I'd realized this was set at a boarding school, I probably would have avoided it. Novels about teens can be a bit of a hard sell for me in the first place, and the idea of a high school you can't even escape by going home at the end of the day is too much of a nightmare scenario for my own inner teenager for me to be remotely comfortable reading. But damned if John Green didn't win me over with his show more good writing, his thoughtfulness, his charm, his highly individualized characters, and his ability to be quietly touching. show less

I was ready to hate this book.

Why? Because I don't like John Green's style and because I am no fan of love stories. However, a friend insisted on the fact that I had to read it, so I borrowed it at the library (no way I'd pay for an author I don't like).

At the fifth page I was already rolling eyes. It didn't start well. But, hey, I told my friend I'd read it so I continued. Then, something magical happened...The story started becoming interesting. Suddenly, I wasn't rolling eyes anymore, I was really into the plot. It was different than I was expecting. It's still a love story, but a different one. It's kind of special. I don't want to spoil anyone, but let's say that it's not what we are usually expecting from a YA romance novel.

The show more other thing that I really liked was the obvious evolution of the main character. John Green is known for giving very intellectual discussions between his young characters which is not something we typically see in reality. Miles started like this but then, as the story went on, he started being a real teen, talking like a teen, acting like a teen and not like a young intellectual man with a broom stuck up the ass (not like the characters of The Fault In Our Stars). The questions he asked himself were the type of things we wonder when we are teens. He started discovering who he really was and what he really wanted. It was very very pleasant.

If you want to read the book and don't want to be spoiled, stop here. The rest of the review contains spoilers.

The MAIN reason why I liked this book is because of the absence of love story despite being a YA romance novel. Let me explain, Miles loves Alaska, but she has a boyfriend whom she loves very much. She flirts with him and, at the middle of the book, even kiss him. We will never know if she was ready to leave her boyfriend for him and Miles will never know if Alaska felt something for him, and this, my friends, gives a special something to the novel. I didn't feel that I was reading a cheesy love story (Which I consider being Green's signature). I felt I was reading a very well balanced novel.

Will I read another Green's novel? I seriously don't know (Just thinking about The Fault In Our Stars makes me wanna throw up), but I was pleasantly surprised by Looking For Alaska. show less

"Buscando a Alaska" es una novela del autor John Green que explora la vida de un grupo de adolescentes en un internado, centrándose en el protagonista, Miles Halter. Con una profunda curiosidad por las últimas palabras de las personas famosas y un deseo de encontrar su propio camino, Miles se embarca en una búsqueda de significado y conexión.

La historia comienza cuando Miles se muda a un internado en busca de su "Gran Quizás", un término que representa la búsqueda de algo más en la vida. Allí conoce a Alaska Young, una chica enigmática y carismática que lo atrae de inmediato. A través de su relación con Alaska y sus amigos, el libro aborda temas como la amistad, el amor, la pérdida y la búsqueda de identidad.

John Green show more utiliza un estilo narrativo íntimo y reflexivo, lo que permite a los lectores conectarse profundamente con los personajes. La prosa es a menudo poética, llena de citas memorables y diálogos ingeniosos que resuenan con la experiencia adolescente.

La trama se desarrolla en dos partes: antes y después de un trágico evento que cambia la vida de los personajes. Este giro inesperado invita a los lectores a reflexionar sobre la vida, la muerte y las decisiones que tomamos. La novela no solo es una historia de amor, sino también una exploración de la complejidad de la vida y las relaciones humanas.

En resumen, "Buscando a Alaska" es una obra conmovedora que captura la esencia de la juventud y la búsqueda de significado. Es un libro que deja una impresión duradera, invitando a los lectores a cuestionar su propia vida y las conexiones que establecen con los demás. show less

It has taken me some time to reflect on this story after completing it. I can see how some would not like this book - especially if they've never had the rude shock of losing someone they loved unexpectedly. There really is a distinct "before and after" of the pivotal moment that changes life as you know it. So, I imagine if you haven't experienced death so personally, you may experience this story in an entirely different way than if you have. For me, this book captured the experience; the life before, the shock, and the recovery, quite accurately. The characters were also very relatable to me personally and I found this a engaging read. Since I try to avoid spoiling books before reading them with any reviews or synopsis details, I show more dove into not really knowing what was coming and it was a powerful shock. Although I never behaved like these kids in high school, the emotions ran true and the responses seemed to echo my own in many ways. This was an excellent attempt at dealing head-on with the issue of death in a serious yet palatable manner. show less

Standing before 15-year-old Miles was Alaska Young, the hottest girl in all of human history. She was wearing cutoff jeans and a peach tank top with fierce emerald eyes. When Miles leaves his lonely life in Florida for a boarding school in Alabama he was in search for the “Great Perhaps” and good friends, but he never intended to meet someone like Alaska. She came into his life, changed it and left him chasing ghosts.

Quickly after Miles arrives at Culver Creek his roommate Chip, known around school as “the Colonel”, takes him under his wing. Chip introduces Miles to his small crew comprised of Takumi, a quirky Japanese student who likes to beat box, Laura a flirtatious Romanian girl and Alaska, a moody, mysterious brunette show more beauty who is larger than life. Together they discover each other’s hopes and fears while sharing bits of their hard lives over cigarettes and pink wine in the woods.

When tragedy strikes the crew is left searching for answers about a friend they realized they never really knew. They are filled with grief and guilt and left asking, “How do we get out of this labyrinth of suffering?” And did she or didn’t she take the straight and easy way out of this maze? show less