Book Review: Looking For Alaska by John Green

“It is said that a picture can say a thousand words. Well, so can a thousand words. They are the keys by which we can unlock new and amazing worlds, some of which ascend beyond the imagination, and it all begins on the first page.” – BookNerd

Greetings Fellow BookNerds,

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new book review! I have been looking forward to reading this book for a VERY long time, ever since I finished reading Paper Towns what feels like ages ago now. Looking For Alaska was his first, the book that launched a thousand more… okay, maybe not quite THAT many, but it certainly paved the way for what I have no doubt will achieve the same level of memorability as those classic novels from decades ago that we continue to study in school today.

Going into this book, I tried very hard to avoid any online spoilers, and surprisingly enough I was successful, considering I follow John Green and his brother Hank on Youtube [it’s so hard to put that in words that doesn’t make one sound like a stalker] . This means that I had absolutely no idea of what to expect going in, and I can honestly say, it exceeded my expectations coming out.

  Looking For Alaska by John Green

How he lived his life then, and how he will continue to live it in the future have changed drastically for Miles “Pudge” Halter. He started off as a teenage boy who ended up celebrating the day he was born with his parents, on account of his friends list being somewhat empty. He was tall, not exactly the athletic type, and his greatest talent was his ability to remember the last words of those who had died. His life, for lack of a better word, was mundane. Uneventful, even… that is, until he started hi first day at Culver Creek Preparatory High School, the beginning of his journey towards a Great Perhaps.

What I always love about John Green’s books is that he manages to create characters that are easy to relate to, and are so real that you can almost picture them sitting beside you as you read their part of the story. I also love how he manages to shine a light on both the ugliness and the beauty of life, and you can’t help but accept them both because they make up both sides of the same truth; that life is both ugly and beautiful, and that’s what makes it so exciting.

Alaska Young understands this truth only too well, which is why she has chosen to live her life on the precipice between life and the Great Perhaps. At first, it seems like it’s going to be your typical romance story: boy moves to new school, boy meets beautiful girl, boy immediately falls in love with beautiful girl, boy wins heart of beautiful girl and they live their life happily ever after as boy and beautiful girl. Well, that definitely ain’t this story. Instead, it’s more like boy pines after girl he knows he can’t have, and it doesn’t help that her unpredictable nature sometimes gives him false hope that there could be something more.

But this is not a love story. I mean, it is, but at the same time, it’s not. It’s about finding friendship in unlikely people, pushing boundaries to find what lies beyond the mundane, eating fried burritos, and that we most always keep searching for a Great Perhaps. It’s also about uncovering the mystery that is Alaska Young, trying to understand why she does what she does, and what this labyrinth is that she seems to be trapped in. This is a novel that will captivate you from beginning to end, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you start asking yourself about the meaning of life when you’re finished.

I hope very much that this one will be the next one to follow in the footsteps of The Fault In Our Stars and Papertowns by making its way to the big screen. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, but until that time comes, I’ll just have to keep nose in the books so I can continue offering up more recommendations for all of you wonderful followers.

Keep On Reading!

BookNerd