Looking for Alaska

My long-time favorite writer, John Green, is another Swiftie! In 2014, after he posted on social media about her 1989 album, Taylor Swift took to Tumblr to proclaim that John Green was (also) her favorite author. While John is most well-known for The Fault in Our Stars (or more recently, his TikTok), Looking for Alaska, his debut, is always my recommendation. Looking For Alaska is packed with teenage nostalgia that hits you like a gut punch. "Sad, Beautiful, Tragic" for bookworms. I read it early on in high school and it sparked a literary awakening within me.… show more.

I’d follow John Green down any literary road he paves with his wonderful characters and heart-tugging emotions. Oh, Pudge, and his quirky, sexy boarding schoolmate, Alaska—this couple is sweet, tender, raw, lovely. I won’t ruin the plot but let’s just say that once Alaska draws Pudge into “the great perhaps,” his life is changed forever. This one gets special love because it’s been banned by some libraries—I’m stubborn like that. Great mini-series as well.

I have enjoyed every John Green book because each one makes me laugh and cry, but Looking for Alaska was his first novel. Maybe it was his best (it did win the Printz Award!), or maybe it was just my first time witnessing an author so eloquently balance grief, love, and humor, but I read Looking for Alaska in one sitting. The book features “Pudge”, who attends a boarding school (one of my favorite YA settings!), where he quotes famous last words and grapples with how and why his friend died, and if he is to blame for it. In… show more.

John Green’s perennial bestseller is at once hilarious, engaging, and tragic. It’s the kind of unputdownable book that changes and affects you immediately.

I only recently read LFA because the Hulu show by the creators of “The OC” really impressed me. While I do wish I’d read the book prior to watching the adaptation, it was very interesting diving into the book and experiencing the narrative through the lens of the TV show’s cast and creative additions.

That said, I would highly recommend reading before viewing the show. The expert pacing, hilarious dialogue, and wonderful prose make this one very… show more.

When Miles Halter ends up at Culver Creek Boarding School just down the hall from the breathtakingly erratic and total badass, Alaska Young, his life changes from boring and conventional to sexy and somewhat self-destructive almost overnight. What I love most about one of John Green’s earliest young adult novels is how Alaska motivates everyone around her to be larger than life, to believe in “the Great Perhaps,” but her past experiences continually haunt her and prevent her from living out her own advice at any deep level. Green provides a heartbreaking perspective on abuse, depression, and self-destruction in this… show more.

I kept a copy in the equipment room, reading it while on the clock. That seemed like something the lead characters would do. The basic plot is a YA teen drama about kids at an exclusive boarding school in the deep south. Protagonist Miles is a daydreamer with a fixation on death; last words. Alaska was a goddess in the form of an alcoholic teen who blamed herself for her mother's death. 

The story is a tale of teens who fought hard to reach their goal of independence, looking towards the future with virtual reality glasses. No matter how we… show more.