LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green

LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green

Bibliographic Data:

Green, J. (2005). Looking for alaska. New York: Dutton. ISBN 0525475060. P 221.

Summary:

High school student, Miles (nicknamed Pudge), leaves his parents and public school for the possibilities of Culver Creek.  With his new friends brings smoking, drinking and bold pranks until one night everything changes.

Analysis:

We are all born with the desire to have a purpose.  Whether we find it or not is up to each individual.  Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, Looking for Alaska (Green, 2009), is a tale of finding that purpose, or what Miles quotes from Francois Rabelais as a “Great Perhaps” (p. 5).  In this story you will not want to put down, author John Green utilizes strengths such as the theme, characters, and a worthwhile ending.  Slow-moving chapters and a lack of attention to self-destructing behaviors are identified as the weaknesses, neither of which should stop you from reading this book. 

The greatest strength of Green’s story is his use of themes and how they relate to readers.  Primary themes portrayed in the story are a search for purpose, opportunity, the choice to abide or rebel, and friendship. Readers can identify to wanting a purpose in what they do every day.  There is also great envy in Pudge’s ability to seek out unknown opportunities, purpose, and adventure.  In the story, Pudge and his friends are intellectual and value their education and grades.  This is reflected in their time spent studying and reading.  Working against that is their pull to rebel and participate in activities that are against the rules such as drinking, smoking, skipping class, and being out after curfew.  Today’s teenagers will relate to this pull of right and wrong.

Pudge’s friends include The Colonel, Alaska, Takumi, and later Lara.  It’s these friendships that will be tested in the end.  These five friends make up the main characters.  They are all high school juniors and offer the reader the viewpoint from a teenager.  They also make up different social and racial classes.  For example, The Colonel is from a single-mother household, is poor and attends on scholarship.  Pudge is from a middle-class, two-parent home and follows in his father’s footsteps.  Takumi is Japanese and Lara is Romanian.  Alaska is the troubled one, whose mother is dead and she is haunted by childhood tragedy.   Another aspect about the characters is their freedom.  Being at boarding school, there are no parents and though they answer to The Eagle, each of them are given great responsibility.  Pudge and his friends also deal with strong emotions such as grief, sadness, depression, wonder, and guilt. 

The final strength is the ending.  After suffering the death of Alaska, Pudge and The Colonel must tackle the strong emotions mentioned while also trying to find a way to cope.  For a time, the reader wonders how they can overcome such a situation.  As they investigate the tragic death, suicide lingers as an option and they will never know the truth.  And though depression, anger, guilt, and suicide may have claimed a friend, Pudge finds his strength to move on in forgiveness, avoiding self-destruction, and looking towards the beautiful.

If this book has any weaknesses, they would be the movement and the vague mention of self-destruction.  First of all, the story is set at a steady pace but does slow down to build the character’s relationships.  This issue did not bother me as I still could not put it down, but for young adults, this might be a turn off.  Secondly, the second half of the book deals with sudden death and possible suicide.  Up to this point, Alaska participates in self-destructing activities such as dangerous drinking, driving while having drunk, smoking constantly, and promiscuity.  She also has mood swings, anger issues, and extreme guilt.  We never know if Alaska is depressed but her character is definitely suffering and not getting any help for it.  The book never addresses this and even after her death, no one makes any mention of her need for help.   Though clinical help of some kind can help other young people in this situation, the lack of this being mentioned in the book does not make it any less enjoyable. 

Reference List

Nilsen, A. P. & Donelson, K.L. (2009). Literature for today’s young adults (8^th ed.). Boston: 
       Pearson.