Reviews

Looking for Alaska by John Green

devin_raquel's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

sophieliv's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

kh4dijah1rha's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

tishreads's review against another edition

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5.0

Too many feels right now, but so good.

brxnling's review against another edition

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slow-paced

2.5

diya13_'s review against another edition

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4.0

4.75

Looking For Alaska follows Miles Halter, the awkward teenage boy who has no friends. Desperate for an adventure, Miles enters a boarding school where he forms a bond with three other outcasts including the beautiful Alaska Young. These young outcasts seem to be living the perfect shitty life until everything goes to hell when disaster strikes.

This is THE book that got me into reading. Looking for Alaska is a YA novel with a bit of mystery and romance. I BAWLED my eyes out. I love this book. From the deadly swan to the complex, misunderstood characters. I love the universe of Culver Creek and their friend group. The drama kept me hooked throughout the book and compelled me to read this book 3 more times. I also watched the TV show at least five times because I was just so attached to the characters.

baralillaannie's review against another edition

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3.0

Läste i bokklubb.

Lättläst, rolig, tråkig, konstig, chockerande och någorlunda bra.

Var är Alaska? av John Green, hans första bok, det märktes. Första jag la märke till var att den var väldigt lättläst och kortfattad. Som i äkta Green anda fanns där såklart metaforer genom boken.
Hur märkte jag att den var skriven 2005? Sexistisk, objektifierande av kvinnor "Han hade aldrig vetat former innan Alaska, hennes perfekta bröst, breda höfter och smala midja"*knäar i skrevet*, såklart bristen på moderna medier, normer och personligheter.

Några favoritdelar:

Sida ingen aning: "Den här läraren var en höjdare. Jag hatade klassdiskussioner. Jag avskydde att prata, och jag avskydde att lyssna på hur alla bara svamlade och försökte uttrycka sig så vagt som möjligt för att inte verka dumma, och jag tålde inte när allting bara handlade om att försöka ta reda på vad läraren vill höra och sedan säga det. Jag har lektion, alltså vill jag bli undervisad"
Hög igenkänningsfaktor, lärarens jobb är att undervisa och förklara inte höra vad eleverna gissar. När du som lärare gått igenom kan du sedan ställa frågor, inte innan.

Favoritkapitel: 46 dagar före, thanksgiving.

Sida ingen aning: "'Varför röker du så jäkla fort?' - 'De flesta röker för att de tycker om det. Själv röker jag för att dö'"

Boken var trevlig, den var oväntad och inte svår att ta sig igenom. Kommer nog inte läsa igen men tyckte den var helt okej och lite rolig vissa gånger.
Kollar på serien, gillar att den är så lik boken men gillar inte skådespelarna.
3-3.5 stjärnor

gabyelle97's review against another edition

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4.0

I thought this book was seriously moving, it was funny in all the right places and showed me the true friendship between each of these characters! It was well written, although Something just didn’t feel 100% right about the book hence the 4 stars. For some reason I’m unsure but something was just missing!

bibliophile_em's review against another edition

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5.0

This is going to be less a typical review and more of a collection of thoughts about what was a new experience I had with a book that I poured over for years. I was a tween/teen in the height of John Green’s writing explosion. He was the first author who was so easily accessible to  an audience of young adult readers (like the dorky-in-a-cool-way uncle of pre-yahoo Tumblr), and he was giving us stories that made us felt seen. Stories where thoughts and feelings were taken seriously and we were allowed to exist as complicated beings.

So, fast forwarding to 2023, when I desperately needed a comfort read this last week, I turned to Looking For Alaska. I was looking for an escape from a rough patch of anxiety. While I managed that for the most part, I was not expecting to confront the reality of how much I had changed since 2010 when I first read it.

Spoiler When I first read it, Miles’ situation read like a dream to me. The allure of boarding school where you find friends that just *get* you? You might be weird, but it’s a weird tjat’s complemented by you’re equally strange pack? God, I craved that. And don’t get me wrong- I was devestated by Alaska’s death then. It’s different now though.

13 years later, I’m intimately familiar with the guilt and anger and confusion that comes with losing a friend who died way too young. Sometimes feeling selfish about it because your knee jerk reaction is thinking about the loss in terms of how it directly impacts you. Wondering what you could’ve done or worse: wondering what you did that made things go so horribly wrong.


Even though I picked up looking for Alaska as a nostalgic soaked comfort read, I found a story that hurt just a little bit in a sort of beautiful way. 

chole_12's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0