Contemporary Realistic Fiction Review-LOOKING FOR ALASKA

1. Bibliography
Green, John. 2005. Looking for Alaska. New York: Penguin Group, Inc. ISBN 9780142402511

2. Plot Summary
Miles Halter is unenthusiastic about his social status and boring life in his hometown of Florida. His junior year of high school he decides he needs to leave his family and move to Alabama to attend the boarding school that his father attended and to search for the "Great Perhaps", a concept he has borrowed from the late Francois Rabelais, like so many other's "last words" he has memorized. Once in Alabama, Miles makes friends with his roommate, nicknamed "the Colonel", and the Colonel's best friend Alaska Young. Miles, or "Pudge" as the Colonel names him because he is so skinny ("It's called irony, Pudge. Heard of it?"), is completely entranced with Alaska from the moment he meets her. Not only is she "the hottest girl in all of human history" but she has a mysterious and powerful energy about her that draws Pudge in. Pudge tries to keep his feelings about her to himself because Alaska has a boyfriend in another school but nevertheless finds himself in a close friendship with her. Unfortunately, part of Alaska's intriguing energy is quite a bit of self-destructive behavior and emotional instability which centers from a tragedy from her childhood. The story journals the experiences and friendships of a close group of friends as they break the rules, smoke, drink too much, and play pranks while trying to make their grades and survive their teenage years. The pivotal moment in the story occurs when Alaska rushes off in her car after an all night drinking binge and gets into a fatal car crash. The rest of the story is spent detailing the grief process of her friends, Pudge and the Colonel specifically. Feeling like they have some responsibility for her death, Pudge and the Colonel make it their mission to piece together the mystery of what happened to Alaska that night, what was going through her mind, and whether the car crash was an accident or suicide. In the process of trying to find the truth, Pudge confronts his beliefs in life and death, hope and faith, and what lies beyond.

3. Critical Analysis
This story absolutely radiates with the realistic experience of being on your own for the first time. While much of the independence and unsupervised fraternizing rings more typical of college years, Green brings it down to a high school level, with just enough structure and supervision that it feels comfortable and safe but not so much that it interferes with the exploration and relationships of the young protagonists. The characters are completely and almost painfully real, with their vulnerabilities, faults and strengths, longings, and heartaches. Pudge, in particular, is poignantly depicted, his lust and longing artfully expressed, and his grief and guilt tangible. The dialogue is so realistically written that it makes you wonder how far removed the author is from that stage of life! Of course, there is lots of needless profanity as is a hallmark of young adult conversation, realistic bantering between friends, and awkward conversations. The way the book is set up is unique and adds to the suspense of the story. Instead of chapters, the book is divided into two sections: before and after. It is then laid out in a countdown starting with "136 days before" and ending with "136 days after" so the reader is aware from the beginning that there will be a climactic event and may even pick up on the fact that Alaska is doomed. The story is full of frank and believable descriptions of first sexual encounters, rebelling against authority, drinking and smoking, and navigating the jungle of friendships. While the authority figures in the story are harmless and offer overall protection and structure, they are still an obstacle to overcome in order to explore and experience life. Young adults will identify with and appreciate the respect Green gives them in the themes of loyalty to one another, their ability to problem solve, and the depth of their emotions. Without preaching, the reader gets the sense that Pudge is a much wiser person by the end of the book and has learned a lot about actions and consequences as well as some personal answers to the meaning of life. My only criticism of this book is that Alaska fits a little too nicely into the stereotype of the male fantasy. Even though she is very intelligent and has depth to her character, at the heart of the allure of Alaska Young is that she is depicted as a very curvy, attractive girl who has a voracious sexual appetite and likes to hang out and drink with the guys.
However, that minor detail does not take away from the fact that this is a very powerful coming of age book that mirrors real experiences and consequences in current times.

4. Review Excerpts
School Library Journal-starred review-"Green's dialogue is crisp, especially between Miles and Chip. His descriptions and Miles's inner monologues can be philosophically dense, but are well within the comprehension of sensitive teen readers...Green draws Alaska so lovingly, in self-loathing darkness as well as energetic light, that readers mourn her loss along with her friends."


Kirkus Reviews-"The Colonel, Takumi, Alaska and a Romanian girl named Lara are an utterly real gaggle of young persons, full of false starts, school pranks, moments of genuine exhilaration in learning and rather too many cigarettes and cheap bottles of wine."


Publisher's Weekly-"the novel's chief appeal lies in Miles's well-articulated lust and his initial excitement about being on his own for the first time. "

Micheal L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

5. Connections
There are so many great discussions this book can lead to. Some of them are:
-The theme of drinking and driving and the possible consequences of it
-The grief process, especially in the context of losing friends
-Emotional disorders such as depression, etc. in the context of the characters
-Personal beliefs in the afterlife and our purpose in this life
Other novels by John Green:
Paper Towns ISBN 0525478183
An Abundance of Katherines ISBN 0142410705