Looking for Alaska is written by the well known author, John Green, popular for his books, The Fault in our Stars, reaching number one on the Best-Sellers List, Paper Towns, and An Abundance of Katherines. This well-liked author turned both The Fault in our Stars and Looking for Alaska into movies.
Looking for Alaska takes place in Alabama on the Culver Creek boarding school campus. The main character, Miles Halter, creates a new (or really his first real) friend group at this new school. His friends “Colonel” and Alaska help him adjust with living in a new state and attending a boarding school. During the book, Miles, Colonel, and Alaska go through adventures such as pulling pranks, throwing parties, and just going to their classes. From Mile’s experiences with his closest friends, he also forms a relationship with Alaska. Their relationship is a roller coaster throughout the book.
John Green wrote in great detail about the characters and the plot that it made it feel like I was actually in the book. Looking for Alaska was a bit slow in the beginning, but as I kept reading towards the three-quarter mark of the book, I couldn’t put it down.
I enjoyed reading this book for the fact that the characters in this book were so believable, although I didn’t like the character’s personalities. For example, Alaska had a bit of a snobby and bossy personality, while having a mysterious side to her. In general, it was hard to relate to the characters, as their lifestyles and personalities were so different from anyone else’s.
The ending was extremely surprising and it was something that I wasn’t expecting. Let’s just say that all stories don’t go as expected and have such happy endings. Although the ending was good and suspenseful, the author left the book on a cliff hanger. I had many questions by the end of the book that didn’t get answered that I was expecting to be answered. I wished that Green didn’t leave that type of book to the readers to decide what had happened. If Green ended the book without the readers questioning it, I feel like the book could have been better.
Overall, I give Looking for Alaska 3.5 out of 5 stars.
