Looking for Alaska by John Green 3.5/5
Miles has a quirky interest in famous people’s last words, especially François Rabelais’s final statement, “I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” Determined not to wait for death to begin a similar quest, Miles convinces his parents to let him leave home. Once settled at Culver Creek Preparatory School, he befriends a couple of equally gifted outcasts: his roommate Chip―commonly known as the Colonel—who has a predilection for memorizing long, alphabetical lists for fun; and the beautiful and unpredictable Alaska, whom Miles comes to adore.
The kids grow closer as they make their way through a school year filled with contraband, tests, pranks, breakups, and revelations about family and life. But as the story hurtles toward its shattering climax, chapter headings like “forty-six days before” and “the last day” portend a tragic event―one that will change Miles forever and lead him to new conclusions about the value of his cherished “Great Perhaps.”
Review:
From the rave reviews my friends gave me on this book, I feel like I going against the grain. Don’t get me wrong, I did like the book, I just didn’t fall in love. This book was a slow starter for me. There was a lot of relationship building within the group of friends, but there was a lack of conflict/action for a good portion of the book. However, this was rectified the further in I read.
The characters were well rounded, and I was surprised to actually like Alaska’s character. I have struggled to relate to similar characters in other books, yet I found Alaska refreshing in context with the other personalities in the book. Miles was a bit of a sheep following the flock- not my cup of tea.
The countdown (x amount of days before) was intriguing. Before what? I liked the not knowing- I knew it was something to do with Alaska, but that hint of mystery kept the pages turning. The after involved decoding the before and the ‘event’ (no spoilers).
A teen read with a valuable message, but slow to get started.
The opinions expressed here are those of K.J.Chapman and no other parties.
All books reviewed on this blog have been read by K.J.Chapman
K.J.Chapman has not been paid for this review.
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Great review. I’m always fascinated by reviews of this book as it’s one that everyone seems to love but I just didn’t get and found the whole thing a struggle. Sounds like you fell somewhere in between.
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Thank you. I’ve only heard rave reviews and I didn’t feel it. I liked it, but I couldn’t push passed the slow pace.
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I very nearly chucked it. If I hadn’t needed it for a challenge I probably would have. I’ve always wondered if loving this book is an American thing
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Perhaps. I sometimes wonder if people read the books of well loved authors and feel like they have to like them, if you get what I mean. I know Looking for Alaska was Green’s debut, but many people only went back to it after reading A Fault in Our Stars.
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