Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska is a novel that has me conflicted. In fact, I haven't been this conflicted since I read Feed by M.T. Anderson. On the one hand, I really like this book, especially after rereading it. On the other, I can still see why I hated this book the first time I read it. Still, regardless of the fact that it is a novel that I have some gripes about, I still think that this is a novel that tells about the beauty and the journey of friends in a boarding school.

Miles ‘Pudge' Halter is a boy who is seeking the Great Perhaps in his life and he meets with The Colonel and Alaska, who, together show him how to get out of the Labyrinth. I think that the best thing about this book is the relationship between all of the main characters in the novel. They all seem to be people who could actually exist (with the exception of Alaska, who we will get to later) These characters each have their own personalities and ideas about the future. I particularly like how they go about dealing with the Pranks against the Weekday Warriors. Then, I also like many of the different classics that Green takes us to. I really think that Green made the setting a very interesting place to see overall. And perhaps that is because he went there in real life. The school Pudge goes to is based on an actual school that John Green attended. One of the problems that I had when I first read the book is that it seemed like he was trying to relive the past and the memories of this old boarding school, but now I don't think that is the case. I think that this novel is still very well written when describing the setting and the characters.

Except for one character: Alaska. She is just one character that I could not see as really existing in the real world. She is just too odd to even be considered real. I can't understand how a person like her could live for 18 years or so and not be heavily medicated or diagnosed with some type of mental condition. This is mostly why I give it the rating I did. Alaska is fun to read, bringing humor and excitement to the story, but she is still too wacky to be considered real, and that does take me out of the story.

I also didn't like the scene early on in the book where the Religion Teacher just sends Pudge out of his class for daydreaming. I realize that this is an example of authoritarian teaching, and that he (the teacher) might need to feel like he has to assert his authority as a teacher over his students due to his age and disability, but still. I think that scene should have been written differently.

When I first read the story, I didn't like the after section, I thought what the characters were doing was stupid and dumb because I knew their search was in vain. Now however, I realize what Green was trying to symbolize with both Pudge and The Colonel, and I think that the After section is done wonderfully. Without going into spoilers, I must say that, even knowing what was going to happen, I felt emotion when I re-read that passage again, and that says something about the writing power of John Green. His writing style is one that I like and I will want to read in more books.

I think you'll like this book if you are into books about boarding schools class pranks and fun times with good friends. I really came to care for these characters and I think you will too. I give it a four out of five.