Looking For Alaska

John Green's works are incredibly popular right now. I feel like I see them and references to them everywhere. So much to the insistence to one of my best friends, and a spiked curiosity I read Looking for Alaska. I will attempt to stay away from spoilers, while giving my best opinion of the novel. 

This is my favorite "cover" of the novel.
I do,unabashedly, judge books by their 
covers. The artwork was done by hipsterowls
on deviantart.com.

It has been a few days since I finished the story, and I have walked away with a sense of neutrality. To be fair, I do not normally read this young adult/teenage novel genre. I find it, most of the time, immature or uninteresting. There are things that I liked, and things that were predictable. I do not expect to read this again, but I would read another one of his books. 

The character development of the main protagonist: Pudge/Miles, is amazing. To see this young high school student go from a wallflower to an assertive individual felt natural. In my opinion, these types of transformations can be difficult, or feel forced. However in Pudge's case, he transformed to fit his new surroundings. He went out "to search for a great perhaps". This quote follows him throughout, and he does exactly that. His character is dependent on seeking, learning, experiencing, finding answers, and developing. Even though his world is dependent on the people around him, especially heart-throb, wild girl Alaska, he is the person that is moving forward. He is the one who grows. I understand the appeal and the emotional connection he creates with the audience. 

However, the reason this book was bland to me was the predicability of the entire story. Even from the first chapter, his father tells him "no drugs. no drinking. no cigarettes." Two of these 'no's are broken. It is expected. Especially with Alaska's character, she is so one-dimensional. She is fated [for what I will not say]. Her character is grounded in her past, and she does not develop beyond it. Nor does she have the opportunity to. This is not to say that her character is uninteresting. She is fascinating, brings energy, and life to the story. But she is written to move Pudge's story along. Her own story is predictable, and slows down the rest of the novel. Knowing what is going to happen, or what did happen in regards to her takes away the mystery and the life. 

There is a reason John Green's works are so famous right now. The ideas he brings about life, death, religion, purpose, and hope is appealing. He is interesting, and is very enlightening. I would be lying if I did not at some point stop and think, deeply, about some of his points. However, this post is more about the story, and the not the moral. The story was neutral, the morals are deep, and personal. I feel curious about his other works, and am considering another one. 


unsure about young adult fiction,
Emily