This is John Green's (The Fault In Our Stars) first novel. It won the Michael L. Printz Award and there are plans to adapt it into a film.It is difficult to summarize this book's plot mainly because mid-book, there is an event that changes the course of the novel. I'll just fill you in on the first half.
Floridian Miles Halter is looking for a fresh start to his junior year in high school and opts for his Dad's old boarding school in Alabama. There he makes new friends including the mysterious Alaska. She sucks Miles into her complicated life while making him fall in love with her. That is really as far as I can go in summarizing the novel without giving away the plot.
I read this book three years ago and decided to reread it after the recent explosion of popularity of The Fault In Our Stars. I didn't really appreciate the beauty of Looking For Alaska the first time around. This book has so much depth, richness, and sadness. In addition, its message is so relatable to the teen experience; teens are often lost in their own mazes of life from which it can seem like there is no way out.
Green's writing is neither beautiful nor imaginative, but it is raw and still entertaining. That is what gives the book its distinct edge.
Looking For Alaska can be read on multiple levels. You are required to interpret the ending for yourself and the author does not give much closure. If there were no additional thinking required, this book would be a meaningless tale about teenagers. I rate this book five out of five stars because it is a labyrinth (read the book, you'll get the diction) in and of itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment