A review by robdabear
Looking for Alaska by John Green
5.0
One of the best pieces of young adult fiction I've read in a while, "Looking for Alaska" is simply amazing. I don't want to sound like your typical fanboy who just spends this review raving about the book, but the way in which it is so well written, combined with it's deep moral truths in finding the meaning of our existence when we are still nothing but teenage souls, is very, very worthy of excessive, possibly annoying praise.
I am, admittedly, a nerdfighter, and so John Green is no stranger to me, however I've always shied away from reading any book with an emotional meaning, simply because I don't like being depressed for days afterward. This mindset has changed since I've read "Perks of Being a Wallflower," and I can say that it has been a change for the better.
Skinny and quiet teen Miles Halter makes the decision to go to boarding school in Alabama, intending to seek the Great Perhaps. There, he meets quite an interesting crew of, I wouldn't say outcasts, but their own little reckless group where they have many a typical high school adventure filled with plenty of booze, cigarettes, teenage problems, etc. Miles falls for the absolutely beautiful and enigmatic Alaska, who steals his heart and causes him to question his own meaning in existence.
There is a twist that's very difficult to talk about without spoiling anything, but I will say that it is quite difficult to read, and afterward, nothing is ever the same. Things pan out as such. Fantastic book.
What impressed me most, watching Green's vlogs for so long, is that as a grown man, he still has quite an accurate grasp of the teenage mind. It was almost surprising to me (but not after reading further, because obviously he was making the story accurate and real, which it was) how real everything was, from the mannerisms of Miles and his friends, their language and conversation, habits, thoughts, everything was so real, so relatable, it impressed me and made me inspired to do I don't know what.
I don't really know what else is worth going over, but I will say there were a few elements that were quite predictable if you are a teenager like me who is fed up with teenager culture of drinking and drugs and such, but nevertheless things came at a twist and kept me engaged all the way through. I absolutely love the book, for both it's complexity and simplicity intertwined to make a fantastic piece of discovery for how we fit into the grand scheme of things.
Vague enough for you?
Everyone should read this...keep in mind, for the younger ones or those with weak stomachs-plenty of strong language, references to drugs, alcohol, sex, suicide, domestic violence, and plenty of tobacco use. Not that it matters to me, but just so you wary parents out there don't get all huffy because little Jimmy is too young to grasp these things.
I am, admittedly, a nerdfighter, and so John Green is no stranger to me, however I've always shied away from reading any book with an emotional meaning, simply because I don't like being depressed for days afterward. This mindset has changed since I've read "Perks of Being a Wallflower," and I can say that it has been a change for the better.
Skinny and quiet teen Miles Halter makes the decision to go to boarding school in Alabama, intending to seek the Great Perhaps. There, he meets quite an interesting crew of, I wouldn't say outcasts, but their own little reckless group where they have many a typical high school adventure filled with plenty of booze, cigarettes, teenage problems, etc. Miles falls for the absolutely beautiful and enigmatic Alaska, who steals his heart and causes him to question his own meaning in existence.
There is a twist that's very difficult to talk about without spoiling anything, but I will say that it is quite difficult to read, and afterward, nothing is ever the same. Things pan out as such. Fantastic book.
What impressed me most, watching Green's vlogs for so long, is that as a grown man, he still has quite an accurate grasp of the teenage mind. It was almost surprising to me (but not after reading further, because obviously he was making the story accurate and real, which it was) how real everything was, from the mannerisms of Miles and his friends, their language and conversation, habits, thoughts, everything was so real, so relatable, it impressed me and made me inspired to do I don't know what.
I don't really know what else is worth going over, but I will say there were a few elements that were quite predictable if you are a teenager like me who is fed up with teenager culture of drinking and drugs and such, but nevertheless things came at a twist and kept me engaged all the way through. I absolutely love the book, for both it's complexity and simplicity intertwined to make a fantastic piece of discovery for how we fit into the grand scheme of things.
Vague enough for you?
Everyone should read this...keep in mind, for the younger ones or those with weak stomachs-plenty of strong language, references to drugs, alcohol, sex, suicide, domestic violence, and plenty of tobacco use. Not that it matters to me, but just so you wary parents out there don't get all huffy because little Jimmy is too young to grasp these things.