LOOKING FOR ALASKA by: John Green

Bibliography
Green, John. 2005. LOOKING FOR ALASKA. New York, NY: Dutton Books. ISBN 0525475060.

Plot Summary
Sixteen-year-old Miles Halter is not very popular in school and has decided to complete his last two years of high school at a boarding school his father graduated from in Alabama. At school, he quickly befriends his roommate and finds out that the students are divided into two groups (the rich Weekday Warriors and the poor). Never having lived away from home, he finds he lacks many social skills and works hard to become a part of the group. He falls in love with “moody” Alaska and begins to find his place in the group by hanging out (learning to drink and smoke) and pulling pranks. Alaska is later killed in a car accident, and the second half of the book shows how Miles and his friends deal with her death and them seeking the answers as to whether it was a suicide or an accident. In the end, they cannot find a definite answer and they each decide what they think happened.

Critical Analysis
This book is an example of contemporary realistic fiction. The story does not list a specific time period, but the author alludes to the time as being present day or modern times. The characters in the story are diverse in gender, social status, intelligence, and ethnicity, and each one brings a different perspective to the story. We see that because of these diverse characteristics, the characters behave in different ways and that the author breaks some stereotypes (Asian=good at computer stuff and poor=dumb). Although we do learn many things about each character, we learn these traits from Miles’s perspective because he is the one telling the story.

The story is told around a specific event, the death of Alaska. The book is broken into chapters that designate how many days before or after Alaska’s death the activities took place. We see many themes throughout the text that include prejudice, loyalty, love, peer pressure, social acceptance, friendship, and how to get out of the labyrinth of life. This book deals with many issues that teenagers face and many readers will be able to identify with at least one of the characters.

Overall, this is a well written work of contemporary realistic fiction that deals with teenage friendship and death.

Review Excerpts and Awards
2006 winner of Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Green draws Alaska so lovingly, in self-loathing darkness as well as energetic light, that readers mourn her loss along with her friends.”

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “Readers will only hope that this is not the last word from this promising new author.”

KIRKUS REVIEWS: “What sings and soars in this gorgeously told tale is Green's mastery of language and the sweet, rough edges of Pudge's voice. Girls will cry and boys will find love, lust, loss and longing in Alaska's vanilla-and-cigarettes scent.”

Connections
*This would be a good book for students coping with the untimely death of someone their own age because they would be able to identify with Miles and his friends.
*Related Books
Asher, Jay. THIRTEEN REASONS WHY. ISBN 1595141715.
Anderson, Laurie Halse. SPEAK. ISBN 0844672920.