heyo's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
rory_fitz's review against another edition
2.0
2.25
this book was not at all what i expected, but i can’t say that this is a good thing.
looking for alaska was recommended to me based on its boarding school setting and lovable group of misfits (bonus points for inside joke nicknames), two of my favorite aspects of any story. and with those two things, it came through. i really enjoyed the dynamic between pudge and almost all of his friends, especially the colonel. even though they may not have been the most well-developed and fleshed-out relationships ever written, they were wholesome and sweet all the same.
however, please note my use of the word ALMOST above. i liked pudge with takumi, pudge with lara, pudge with anyone and everyone that is not alaska young, aka the biggest manic pixie dream girl ever in modern literature.
from the first time we meet alaska, she is reduced to her curvy body and mildly quirky personality. and as much as i kept hoping and hoping for that to change, she NEVER BECAME ANYTHING MORE. sure, pudge’s infatuation with her grew, but he was only ever attracted to her calves (which he brought up a creepy amount of times) and the drunken babbling he took to be profound.
however, i do have to give john green credit, because it is clear that he tried very hard to give her a personality. it’s as if he threw a big handful of traits and interests and tragic memories at her remarkably curvy body (why??? did we have to keep hearing about that??? what was the obsession???) and a couple of them stuck, and even those eventually fell off, with nothing in her one-dimensional character to stick to. so all we are left with is the stereotypical mpdg, with an occasional and intense interest in woman’s rights (which clearly contributes to the “mania”, in john green’s eyes) and zero impulse control. that’s it. she has so little personality, in fact, that there is nothing to do but kill her off. oh no.
anyway, aside from my personal issues with the toxic alaska / pudge relationship, i also was not a big fan of the writing style. i expected the average YA attempts at poetic prose and profundity. i read, however, a book that was horrifyingly crass and had no method or quality to the writing at all.
nevertheless, there was undeniably a great group of misfits. takumi in the fox hat is the positivity and confidence i strive to every day. looking for alaska was definitely enjoyable, which i might not have conveyed in this rambling review. overall, it was certainly not the best book i have ever read, although i sincerely hope that it is the worst book john green has to offer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
apparently john green was ~pointing out~ the tropes in this book, in which case it is slightly better, but my other complaints still stand
this book was not at all what i expected, but i can’t say that this is a good thing.
looking for alaska was recommended to me based on its boarding school setting and lovable group of misfits (bonus points for inside joke nicknames), two of my favorite aspects of any story. and with those two things, it came through. i really enjoyed the dynamic between pudge and almost all of his friends, especially the colonel. even though they may not have been the most well-developed and fleshed-out relationships ever written, they were wholesome and sweet all the same.
however, please note my use of the word ALMOST above. i liked pudge with takumi, pudge with lara, pudge with anyone and everyone that is not alaska young, aka the biggest manic pixie dream girl ever in modern literature.
from the first time we meet alaska, she is reduced to her curvy body and mildly quirky personality. and as much as i kept hoping and hoping for that to change, she NEVER BECAME ANYTHING MORE. sure, pudge’s infatuation with her grew, but he was only ever attracted to her calves (which he brought up a creepy amount of times) and the drunken babbling he took to be profound.
however, i do have to give john green credit, because it is clear that he tried very hard to give her a personality. it’s as if he threw a big handful of traits and interests and tragic memories at her remarkably curvy body (why??? did we have to keep hearing about that??? what was the obsession???) and a couple of them stuck, and even those eventually fell off, with nothing in her one-dimensional character to stick to. so all we are left with is the stereotypical mpdg, with an occasional and intense interest in woman’s rights (which clearly contributes to the “mania”, in john green’s eyes) and zero impulse control. that’s it. she has so little personality, in fact, that there is nothing to do but kill her off. oh no.
anyway, aside from my personal issues with the toxic alaska / pudge relationship, i also was not a big fan of the writing style. i expected the average YA attempts at poetic prose and profundity. i read, however, a book that was horrifyingly crass and had no method or quality to the writing at all.
nevertheless, there was undeniably a great group of misfits. takumi in the fox hat is the positivity and confidence i strive to every day. looking for alaska was definitely enjoyable, which i might not have conveyed in this rambling review. overall, it was certainly not the best book i have ever read, although i sincerely hope that it is the worst book john green has to offer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
apparently john green was ~pointing out~ the tropes in this book, in which case it is slightly better, but my other complaints still stand
mammahen's review against another edition
5.0
Well this is one of my thoughts: If this was John Green's first novel and was published in 2005, why the hell isn't this translated into Estonian yet? (But then again it would have some kind of idiotic name that nobody understands...)
Edit
They translated it. The name is better in English.
Edit
They translated it. The name is better in English.
laval's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
i will write a scathing review for this eventually. my main issue however still lies with how alaska was written and how it is ironic considering the overall message of the novel.
genie011's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
2.75
Slow and I felt detached from the characters
danicarae01's review against another edition
3.0
I originally tried to read this at around 12 years old and I didn’t like it (I probably didn’t understand it very well being a naive 12 year old) so stopped reading after the first few pages. I’m glad I came back to the book and picked it up again years later as I now understand a lot more of the themes and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Would recommend for 15+
abbeyrmiller's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
5.0
bethanfinn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0