fictionalkate's review against another edition
3.0
Miles Halter seeks to find his “Great Perhaps”. Deciding that he isn’t going to find it in Florida, he makes the decision to leave his family home and go to Culver Creek Boarding School, his dad’s alma mater, in Alabama. It’s there that Miles finds a nickname, a prank master room-mate and a girl named Alaska Young. She’s wonderful and terrible, together and yet falling apart and Miles can’t help but fall in love with her. Before Culver Creek everything was boring and mundane but that was before Alaska.
This is one of those books that I’ve heard a lot about and because of that I was a little intimidated but I quickly found myself engrossed in Miles’ story. I enjoy reading John Green’s style. His characters are quirky and enjoyable. Miles, the narrator, is bland in comparison to his new friends but has some eccentricities of his own. Reading biographies of famous authors but never reading their novels himself – I loved that. I found myself able to relate to him on many levels and liked his commentary about life at Culver Creek.
Alaska Young is a great love interest – especially considering she is not the typical leading lady. She’s bold and impulsive with a boyfriend she’s in love with and wouldn’t cheat on. Her enthusiasm for pranks and getting Miles a girlfriend is contagious. Her relationships with The Colonel, Miles. Takumi and Lara contrasted with each other nicely and by the end of the book I felt like I knew her well and not at all both at the same time.
I love books set in boarding schools and I did like the antics of the Weekday Warriors and other boarders at Culver Creek. Pranks, sports and contraband are all a part of day-to-day life at the school and they were all highlighted in a way that made me feel at home with them and made Miles’ experience at Culver Creek feel authentic. The pacing was great with each section being preceded with days preceding and after. Taking place over Miles’ junior year of high school, it was spaced out and managed to include all those important American high school things – like midterms and Thanksgiving.
Looking for Alaska is a great read however it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Amazing characters – this is definitely a book that I liked for characters first, plot second and I had a great time living in Miles’ world with him whilst he searched for his “Great Perhaps”.
This is one of those books that I’ve heard a lot about and because of that I was a little intimidated but I quickly found myself engrossed in Miles’ story. I enjoy reading John Green’s style. His characters are quirky and enjoyable. Miles, the narrator, is bland in comparison to his new friends but has some eccentricities of his own. Reading biographies of famous authors but never reading their novels himself – I loved that. I found myself able to relate to him on many levels and liked his commentary about life at Culver Creek.
Alaska Young is a great love interest – especially considering she is not the typical leading lady. She’s bold and impulsive with a boyfriend she’s in love with and wouldn’t cheat on. Her enthusiasm for pranks and getting Miles a girlfriend is contagious. Her relationships with The Colonel, Miles. Takumi and Lara contrasted with each other nicely and by the end of the book I felt like I knew her well and not at all both at the same time.
I love books set in boarding schools and I did like the antics of the Weekday Warriors and other boarders at Culver Creek. Pranks, sports and contraband are all a part of day-to-day life at the school and they were all highlighted in a way that made me feel at home with them and made Miles’ experience at Culver Creek feel authentic. The pacing was great with each section being preceded with days preceding and after. Taking place over Miles’ junior year of high school, it was spaced out and managed to include all those important American high school things – like midterms and Thanksgiving.
Looking for Alaska is a great read however it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Amazing characters – this is definitely a book that I liked for characters first, plot second and I had a great time living in Miles’ world with him whilst he searched for his “Great Perhaps”.
samlewis26's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
boredom's review against another edition
if i were a few years younger and hadn't developed my taste in literature yet, i am sure this would be one of my favorite books. at this point I'm just bored but i still think that it's a good book. just for young audience.
mhbookalicious's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
gemstonejett's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I put off reading this book for so long and I wish I hadn't. For some reason, I thought it was about something completely different. It was a really good read and I finished it in just a few days (which is fast for me). I really enjoyed and related to Alaska and the other characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Child death, Suicide, and Mental illness
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Cursing, and Car accident
Minor: Sexual harassment
daisyhamilton's review against another edition
5.0
This is definitely one of my favorite books. The first time I read it, it only took me 7 hours, finished in one evening. It's about a young man's journey through life, finally getting friends and having fun for once in his life. It's a great book, and I love it.
maddiebrt's review against another edition
5.0
As a teenager myself, I found the book extremely interesting, and I ended up loving the quirks of each character. From Pudge's ability to cite famous last words to Alaska's Life Library. The book seemed very real to me. Things in life happen fast, and sometimes you can't prevent them from occurring. The smoking, the drinking, the sex; they're all things that happen in the teenage world. John Green has really made me feel so many emotions throughout this entire book, and he has also done an amazing job at letting the readers imagine what's happening. Those to me make it an exceptionally good book, and I recommend it to anyone of all ages.
kricketa's review against another edition
5.0
I've heard some complaints about this not being funny, but I don't think it's fair to compare this one to Green's other amazing book, An Abundance of Katherines. There's much discussion of death in this book, and this should not be surprising- one of the first things we find out about the narrator is that he studies and memorizes the last words of famous historical figures. Incidentally, some of these are very funny.
Looking for Alaska takes place at a boarding school in Alabama. I thought the backdrop of the Religious Studies class- studing Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity- was a good one for the discussion Green wants to happen. The teacher asks the students difficult questions that, for the most part, can't be answered. But there's comfort in the asking and muddling, especially in the wake of the tragedy that occurrs in the center of the story. I find Pudge's ending essay especially poignant.
Mostly I am happy to have a found a book for teens that deals with death without being trite or slushy or sucky. Green's characters react to death in a way that's unusual but, to me, very real.
Looking for Alaska takes place at a boarding school in Alabama. I thought the backdrop of the Religious Studies class- studing Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity- was a good one for the discussion Green wants to happen. The teacher asks the students difficult questions that, for the most part, can't be answered. But there's comfort in the asking and muddling, especially in the wake of the tragedy that occurrs in the center of the story. I find Pudge's ending essay especially poignant.
Mostly I am happy to have a found a book for teens that deals with death without being trite or slushy or sucky. Green's characters react to death in a way that's unusual but, to me, very real.
bri_fish's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5