Looking for Alaska: John Green

Excerpt:

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . .

After. Nothing is ever the same.

My Review:

Looking for Alaska portrays teenage life in an honest manner and has been considered one of the best YA novels by many young adult authors and readers. Prior to TFIOS and Paper Towns, it was the first novel to introduce sophisticated writing and quirkiness to fans of the YA genre and to expand their horizons and reach a more realistic and open view of teenage life.

The book starts with Miles Halter as he leaves his Florida high school to attend Culver Creek Preparatory High School in Alabama as a junior, And he's new roommate, Chip "The Colonel" Martin introduces him as Pudge to his friend Takumi Hikohito a hip-hop lover, Alaska Young and Lara who has a Romanian background. Alaska tells Miles about the famous last words of Simon Boliver "Damn it. How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!" since Miles is obsessed with learning the famous last words of the famous historic figures. As they get to know one another and compare their lives, the group engages in an honest and fun conversation about how hard and strange their life was in their hometowns. they are surprised by the fact that how each person was so much different from what they taught from their first appearance.

Having experienced Issues from both her family since a young age, Alaska has a more mature and honest outlook on life compared to her other friends, she is also very mysterious and lacks a bit of confidence in herself and is somewhat more laid back than she would like to be. In a way, it makes sense to relate to young teens who have those feelings and are unable to express them openly instead of keeping the truth to themselves in fear of being judged by their parents and peers. the book also introduces us to a diverse group of characters and how their struggle is a bit different than the other guys and an honest look at their own past lives.Some of my favourite quotes from this book are:

“So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.”

“It always shocked me when I realized that I wasn’t the only person in the world who thought and felt such strange and awful things.”

“And then something invisible snapped insider her, and that which had come together commenced to fall apart.”

Final Verdict: This book has a distinct vibe that is perfect for a particular JG multiverse due to the evolving thoughts of the characters and their open faults and negative traits reflected in an extremely mature perspective of the present day. As some readers pointed out, this book was a roller coaster ride for them as well, and I recommend it to other readers who are interested in a similar experience.