Taya Hoy
Looking For Alaska
John Green
221 pages
☆☆☆☆☆                

Looking For Alaska takes place in Birmingham, Alabama at a private school named Culver Creek. The main character's name is Miles Halter who is extremely skinny and "nerdy" and is later dubbed Pudge as an ironic joke. Going to Culver Creek is a journey for Miles, and he does it to find his Great Perhaps; Miles's obsession of sorts is reading famous artists, writers, and geniuses last words, and he stumbles upon the idea of a Great Perhaps by reading Francois Rabelais last words: I go to seek a Great Perhaps. At Culver Creek he meets many wonderful friends including Colonel, a poor boy who comes from a trailer park. He has an innate hatred for rich people, is insanely smart, and acts like a tough guy; Alaska, the most beautiful girl he has ever seen in his life. She's brilliant, funny, dangerous, moody, selfish, and loves reading more than anything; Takumi, a quiet and loyal friend. Although he wasn't always physically there for his friends, he was emotionally there no matter what; he has a huge impact on the entire group of friends near the end of the book. Miles doesn't always feel as special as his friends, as shown in two quotes: "The Colonel ran ahead of me, gleeful at his ejection, and I jogged after him, trailing in his wake. I wanted to be one of those people who have streaks to maintain, who scorch the ground with their intensity. But for now, at least I knew such people, and they needed me, just like comets need tails.", and "But I lacked the courage and she had a boyfriend and I was gawky and she was gorgeous and I was hopelessly boring and she was endlessly fascinating. So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane." And although they all get on each other's nerves sometimes, they entertain each other, love each other, and would sacrifice anything for each other.

This book is important because it goes in depth in topics like young love, grief, self-harm, philosophy, religion, connection, and death. This is a coming of age book and it shows the growth of Miles and the understanding that he gains through losing what he loves. This is an inspirational book that proves how strong human beings are, "Those awful things are survivable, because we are as indestructible as we believe ourselves to be. When adults say, "Teenagers think they are invincible" with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don't know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail." John Green doesn't filter himself in this story which is probably my favorite part of reading this book. He talks about sex, feminism, alcohol, true love, and he writes about grief in a way that makes me think that he's been through the same experiences. It's truly an emotional story. " Her underwear, her jeans, the comforter, my corduroys, and my boxers between us, I thought. Five layers, and yet I felt it, the nervous warmth of touching—a pale reflection of the fireworks of one mouth on another, but a reflection nonetheless. And in the almost-ness of the moment, I cared at least enough. I wasn't sure whether I liked her, and I doubted whether I could trust her, but I cared at least enough to try to find out. Her on my bed, wide green eyes staring down at me. The enduring mystery of her sly, almost smirking, smile. Five layers between us."