Looking for Alaska

One warning, if you suffer from depression and/or suicidal thoughts, this book may not be a good story to read. The depth of this book, in terms of looking at depression, suicide and loss, really surprised me. I have been trying to find books to help me understand several people I have personally known well, two of whom committed suicide, and my oldest brother who drank himself to death. I have found it really difficult, but helpful, to find books that might help me get my head around the fact that no matter how well we think we know someone, or want to help them, mental health disorders, depression and suicide have sides to them that make it difficult to actually understand the depth of their problem. So, after reading other books like Thirteen Reasons Why, All the Bright Places, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and others, this book Looking For Alaska had so many poignant points that I found more helpful than the other books. First off, John Green’s characters were well constructed in terms of the tight knit circle of freinds who were there for each other, going through many of the issues of belonging, where do I fit in, etc, of the teenage angst many go through. Much of this book made me think of the more recent pain my daughter went through in high school, which was brutal at times. But, these are timeless issues, and it was easy to think back to my own issues many years ago. Alaska Young, the main character, was very well written. She was beautiful, funny, smart, well liked (to a point), but there were moody, unpredictable sides of her that were hard to understand (which is very true of depression and mental healt issues). Our storyteller Pudge, is smitten with her, as most guys her age would be. And they become best friends. But, there is The Colonel, Pudge’s roommate, funny, smart, with a huge chip on his shoulder for rich and priveledged kids their age. He is likeable and very smart, as well. He has also known Alaska for several years and knows how moody and capricious she can be. Other members of their group take in Takumi and Lara. As the story shows the fitting in issues, Alaska is a character it’s so easy to like. She’s full of life, brightens up the room with her smile and coquettish behavior, but, what’s also likeable, she is always clear with anyone that she has a boyfriend she adores. Two main themes throughout the narrative is that Pudge is driven by a quote he read, that is now directing his life, which states “I go seek a Great Perhaps.” He is looking for more. Alaska is obsessed with something she read in a novel talking about the struggle of life, which states, “How will I ever get out of this labyrinth?” As the story continues, you realize that Alaska flies off the handle, suddenly withdraws from everyone, and no one can understand this side of her. Most of all Pudge. One of Pudge’s and Alaska’s classes together is religion and philosophy. This is a great tool used by the the author to confront many of the issues unfolding. To get to the point, as you see Alaska boldly act brazenly at times, impetuously, and take blame before a panel that caught them all smoking, and other things along these lines, her behavior seems at times self destructive. She drinks a lot and even makes a comment to her friends, when asked why she chain smokes at times, inhaling so hard, she says she does it to kill herself. Green does a great job making her complex in ways that people with mental health issues are really complex. They can be hard to understand and unpredictable. And this is Alaska. There is a point in the book, when they are all drinking heavily, and Alaska suggest they play a drinking game and tell their best day ever, and their worst day ever. They’re all very drunk. And Alaska admits that when she was a little girl, her mother died of an aneurysm right in front of her, and she had didn’t know what to do, but just sat with her waiting for her to wake up. And when her father came home he made it clear that it was her fault her mother died. Why didn’t she call 911? And so on. We find out Alaska is a tortured person and can’t break free of it. Needless to say, later in the story, while all drinking, Alaska gets a phone call in the middle of the night from her boyfriend. No one knows what’s said, but she is horribly distraught and crying uncontrollable, and she has to leave, has to get out, and she tears off and she dies that night. And the big question is was it suicide? And of course, her friends helped her leave because she “had to” so badly. And now they are tortured by the reality that they could have stopped her. The kinds of questioning and guilt Green discribes is so astute and tears at your heart if you have ever suffered real loss of a loved one, especially if it was from suicide or under tragic circumstances. The Religion class resurfaces as it turns out Alaska had written her final essay paper on “How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?” The teacher, who admired Alaska, and in helping students cope, he puts her question on the blackboard, and he turns her question into an essay question for them final exam for everyone to grapple with. This was a clever device in the story as Pudge comes to grips, and we as the readers try to understand the seemingly senseless loss. The Pudge’s essay answer is a wonderful wrap up to the story. He uses things they learned from Buddhism to state things like, all things that come together will fall apart, and all things are interconnected, so that the loss of Alaska, she isn’t truly lost. “Maybe she was just matter, and matter gets recycled.” But, Pudge also realizes that even as sad and tragic as Alaska’s life was, it didn’t have to end that way. Pudge writes, “Awful things are survivable,” and he wishes he could have told Alaska that. And that we are as indestructible as we believe ourselves to be.

I read this first in college for a young adult literature class, got through the rest of college, started working, and in the process of all of that in-between stuff, I forgot about this lovely book. I remember liking the book, but not much else. I don\’t know if I just got busy or if I was too involved in myself or what. Either way, I\’m glad I reread it. A young adult novel about life and death and moving on doesn\’t sound all that original at first, but Green\’s treatment of adolescents is different. He makes his characters complex and intelligent and impulsive as every teenager truly is. He does not treat his characters as they might treat themselves, over-important or that which should be pitied. Nor does he treat them as so many adults might, with disdain for their rashness and lack of experience. The author makes his story accessible and realistic to teens and adults alike because there seems to be truth in the conflicting emotions his characters go through. Mildly pornographic. MILDLY. Just tasteful enough for adolescents learning that sex is confusing and funny and kinda great but really just mostly confusing at first. I\’m glad the answers aren\’t given in this book. It\’s about learning how to move on when there aren\’t definite answers, when there is doubt. This book is about figuring out some things on your own and doing the best you can with what you\’ve got. It helps to forgive and to empathize and to search, but keep going all the while, day by day.

I usually enjoy reading John Green. I am sad to say, I couldn\’t make it through this book. There was too much of under aged drinking,cigarett smoking, f-bombs, and kids being jerks. I found non of the characters to be likeable. The main character had a romantic longing for this girl named Alaska. I didn\’t get why because she was mean,moody,and vengeful. Anyway,Maybe the main character came around to be a better person,but I didn\’t stick around for it.

John Green was already one of my favourite authors before reading this book. I had read just The Fault in Our Stars by him yet I liked him. His writing is so raw and real. When I finished this book, I was not sure how to write its review. Whether to be happy or to be sad. I was conflicted literally because of the ending? I am not sure if it was meant to end like that or it was on purpose? But yet, I love the overall book. But here, I should definitely mention that I would have enjoyed it way more if I would have read it like 3-4 years back. Miles Halter is the main protagonist of the story who lives in Florida. He is not a social person and is in search of his “Great Perhaps”. So Miles decides to attend the Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama to start a fresh life. There he makes his first friend Chip, known as “the Colonel” by all. He nicknamed Miles as “Pudge” and called him with the same name throughout the book. The Colonel introduces him to his friend, Alaska, who was a fierce and mysterious girl. Miles instantly falls in love with her. All of them are then involves in various pranks and mishappenings and then BAM! There is the unexpected mid-way surprise. I am not telling what that middle thing is (for the sake of spoilers) but that event divides the book into two part. One Before and one After that event. The Before part is filled with a lot of high school events, the building of relations, the pranks that student plays and all. Yes, the typical high-school environment has been explained. The After part describes what happens after that tragic event, how the truth unfolds and how the lives of everyone involved changes. The Before part is kind of happier while the After is the one with lots of sorrow and heartbreak. The best thing about Looking for Alaska is that it doesn’t feel like it’s a debut novel of John Green. It has so much more hidden things to say then the words can explain. John green has definitely shown his best raw talent in this and proving that you can literally emerge like a different person after you finish his book. It is a gripping tale. It is not a typical boy-meets-girl-falls-in-love-then-separate kind of story. It is a tale of true friendship, the effect of love, the longing for survival, the void in a relationship. The story is more about Miles then about Alaska (as the title may confuse). The center point for both of them is looking for “labyrinth\”. I actually didn’t know about this word at the beginning but then it was used so many times in the book that it made itself clear. A unique thing that John Green has put as the hobby of Miles is “remembering the last lines of famous persons\”. I was like, why would anyone like to remember that? But surely, after reading many such sentences in the book it surely made me interested in those last lines. \”Thomas Edison’s last words were “It’s very beautiful over there”. I don’t know where there is, but I believe it’s somewhere, and I hope it’s beautiful.” \” The only problem that I had with this story was its ending. I felt like cheated. No seriously I wanted it to end correctly and to know the truth. But I think, the valid point in its favour can be that John wanted to think the readers about it? All the characters that are mentioned feel like in real life. There are no cheesy ones, not even Alaska (though girls are generally shown as cheesy). I liked how the character of Alaska was made mysterious. And the fact is we often come across such characters in our lives too, who are mysterious in their own ways. The writing was typical John Green style – easy and flowing. And the best things is the beautiful quotes that he writes, which always make me love his work more. \”I may die young, but at least I’ll die smart. \” This story clearly reminded me of many things that were long forgotten. One such thing is the use of “Yellow Pages”. DO you remember this service? I used to use it like 6-7 years ago? There were other events too which clearly reminded that I am reading it little bit late ? Looking for Alaska is another fantastic book by John Green. It is funny and heartbreaking at the same time. This gives you new directions and point of thinking. If you love John Green then you should definitely read this. \”If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.\”

I bought this book for my daughter, she is 14. I was really very disappointed when she said she was enjoying the book but there were some descriptive bits discussing a porn movie and then descriptive sexual content. I really wish books aimed at young people would disclose if there is content like this….some of us what to keep our children from being exposed too young to themes that for adults. She has decided to forego reading the rest, even though she was enjoying it, because she doesn\’t want to read those parts. I wish writers for teens would follow writer\’s life Stephenie Meyer, who wrote her books for young people to enjoy – and they did! – but left out descriptive scenes to protect young minds.

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