Review: Looking For Alaska

Title: Looking For Alaska
Author: John Green
Release Date: December 28, 2006
Source: library

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . . After. Nothing is ever the same.

Nancy’s Review: 

I have heard so many great things about John Green and his books. Knowing that Looking For Alaska has been one of the most talked about books that he has published, I figured I could start with this one. I went into it really excited, expecting a life-changing reading experience. It was just okay. It wasn’t anything that special, in fact it felt a bit farfetched for something that was contemporary fiction. I know, I know… it’s “fiction”, but the characters just didn’t seem real.

The characters that I had the most trouble with were Miles (aka Pudge) and Alaska. They weren’t believable to me. First of all, Miles wanted to find the “Great Perphaps” or whatever… um, you don’t do that by drinking and smoking. No. What kind of example is that? It was just horrible.

Alaska, his love interest, was possibly the most annoying character in any book I’ve read. She had issues, I get it, but I hated that everyone just went along with her ridiculous antics. I had to keep rolling my eyes at the stupid things she did and said. She wanted to be so “feminist” and unique, that it was just too much. It didn’t work out for her. She was a horrible friend and girlfriend, I don’t understand how she maintained her relationships. If I had a friend like her I would have ditched her a long, long time ago.

Overall, I’m really disappointed in this book. I expected much more. I was sure the characters at least would have been great. Nope. They were horrible. I’m just glad I’m done with this book. I wanted it to end. I don’t think I’ll be reading another John Green book if that’s how he thinks teenagers are. It was completely unrealistic.