Looking for Alaska by John Green is about a 16 year old boy named Miles Halter. After being made fun of in middle school he decides it’s easier to not care about having friends and coasts through life. Reading biographies and remember people’s last words are his favorite things to do. After reading a biography he decides he needs to leave his home to search for an exciting life. He decides to go to a boarding school in Alabama. There he finally makes true friends and changes. He realizes this when something big happens. A big part of this book is the character, Alaska. She is a quirky book loving girl who is the moody ring leader of pranks. She becomes someone who is the love interest of Miles.
The book is not written in chapters, but is written in days counting down to the major event of the novel. Once the major event happens it starts counting up days from the major event. I think this makes the book unique. I love John Green’s character development and he has very interesting characters in this book; although, for this reason, it was almost sometimes unbelievable because everyone was really out there. I also thought the plot was a little predictable which made the book a littler generic in that respect. The characters were what really drove this book. This book was a very fast and easy read. I ended up reading it in one day in probably around 4 hours. It was not that it was really good read, it’s just that I only had that time to read it in. I think if I had time to procrastinate, I would have.
Overall I would recommend this book, but for an older audience. In a way, it had a hidden curriculum of condoning alcohol and sex. Every character in this book was drinking and found no fault in that even when that drinking caused something bad. There was also some sex and sexual talk in this book that may not be appropriate for people younger than 10th or 11th grade. And although I love John Green as a person, I did not find this book to be great. It was just okay. I think I got more disappointed because I thought it was going to be something so amazing, but it did not live up to the hype to me.
The book is not written in chapters, but is written in days counting down to the major event of the novel. Once the major event happens it starts counting up days from the major event. I think this makes the book unique. I love John Green’s character development and he has very interesting characters in this book; although, for this reason, it was almost sometimes unbelievable because everyone was really out there. I also thought the plot was a little predictable which made the book a littler generic in that respect. The characters were what really drove this book. This book was a very fast and easy read. I ended up reading it in one day in probably around 4 hours. It was not that it was really good read, it’s just that I only had that time to read it in. I think if I had time to procrastinate, I would have.
Overall I would recommend this book, but for an older audience. In a way, it had a hidden curriculum of condoning alcohol and sex. Every character in this book was drinking and found no fault in that even when that drinking caused something bad. There was also some sex and sexual talk in this book that may not be appropriate for people younger than 10th or 11th grade. And although I love John Green as a person, I did not find this book to be great. It was just okay. I think I got more disappointed because I thought it was going to be something so amazing, but it did not live up to the hype to me.