City News

The novel Looking For Alaska written by John Green is the story of a high school boy whose whole life changes when he meets Alaska Young at his new boarding school in Culver Creek. He meets new friends, steps out of his comfort zone, and goes on thrilling adventures throughout the story. The main character, Miles (nicknamed “Pudge”), hides his feeling about Alaska and fails to say how he really feels, but the reader can read between the lines and figure out that he really is in love with her. From telling his new friends about his obsession with famous last words and finding the “Great Perhaps” (purpose in life) to participating in school pranks, Miles has completely altered his perspective and inner morals by the end of the story. When a huge tragedy abruptly hits Culver Creek, Miles is especially affected. He emotionally suffers from the feeling of grief, longing, and regret. He struggles to accept what has happened and tries to figure out a way to fix it, even though he cannot.

John Green does an amazing job of better developing his characters in Looking for Alaska compared to his previous novels. The reader is able to see how each character is completely changed by the end of the story because of a heartbreaking tragedy. The author purposefully makes one of the main characters, Alaska, into a big mystery that everyone is trying to solve. She has a mind of her own and does not let others influence her actions. She has almost a bipolar personality: sometimes she is fun and crazy and then other times she is dark and hard to read. Her harsh family history easily allows the reader to understand why she sometimes separates her intentions from her actions and is unable to hold everything in. Miles, is a whole other story. He comes from good parents who tell him not to smoke or drink or do any bad and harmful things at his new school. Only upon meeting his new friends, he does the exact opposite. It is evident that Miles easily succumbs to peer pressure and begins to lose sight of his “good boy” background in the beginning of the story. However, as a result of this, he discovers himself and his true endeavors by the end of Green’s touching novel.

This is a MUST read. I highly recommend this novel because it has worked its way into my life and opened my eyes to a new perspective. It challenges the reader to find their own “Great Perhaps” and persuades us to enter the “labyrinth of life.”  The author makes it well known that we should always push to find our own purpose in life and take time to think about what we truly want. I think that Miles made an effort to forget about his past and start a new beginning for himself and his self-image when he was in a new place and around new people. This allowed him to be the person he wanted to be and take the chance to go wild and accept new and exciting risks. I am inspired by Alaska Young’s character and I genuinely admire her bravery and courage to step outside of the box and seek new meaning and understanding of her life. Through the actions of the characters that John Green has developed in his story, Looking for Alaska, young readers are able to gain knowledge from their experiences and find their place in the world wherever they go and whoever they are with. I can say without a doubt that this book deserves a five out of five star rating.

Check out Looking for Alaska at the Newport Beach Public Library.