Leviathan
by Scott WesterfeldIt is the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and
Read ReviewLooking for Alaska
Genre:
10
24
Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including clever, funny, screwed-up Alaska Young.
(11 votes)
Reviews
Feb 15,2013
The book ‘Looking for Alaska’ by John Green is a truly amazing novel. High school student Miles Halter moves to boarding school looking for, what he refers to, a ‘Great Perhaps’. Shortly after arriving, Miles meets the witty, beautiful, screwed up Alaska Young.
‘Looking for Alaska’ is probably the greatest book I’ve read in a long time, full of mystery, romance, and Miles’ Great Perhaps.
Nov 25,2012
‘Looking For Alaska’ is a story written by John Green from the point of view of Miles Halter.
At the start of the book Miles is getting ready to make a change in his life; move to boarding school and look for the “Great Perhaps.”
The first student Miles meets is his roommate Chip Martin. One of the first things Miles notices about Chip is that he smells of stale cigarette smoke. Chip gives Miles the nickname of Pudge because it was ironic as Miles was very skinny. Chip also informed Miles that he must not call him Chip, instead call him the Colonel.
During his first day at the school the Colonel took Pudge to meet Alaska. She was a good friend of the Colonel’s and Pudge was very impressed by her.
Pudge straight away noticed that she was not only beautiful, but hot too and instantly fell in love with her.
John Green has written his descriptions of Alaska very well in that, he hasn’t talked much about how she looks leaving you thinking of the effect she has on people. This also allows the readers to imagine the characters appearance, but if this book was ever made into a movie, readers may be disappointed that the characters don’t match what they imagined.
The Colonel and Alaska introduce Pudge to a world of friends, pranks, fun, girls and risk-taking.
Personally I thought the book was very interesting but at times confusing. I liked that the book had a major unexpected twist and many unanswered questions that you continued to ponder on. The way in which John wrote it, left me wanting to know what happens next, what do the characters do with their lives, what really happened in the final sections of the book?
The book is written for young adults and I wouldn’t recommend children reading it due to some of the interesting things the characters take part in.
Over all I think that ‘Looking for Alaska’ was a very good book and would be highly enjoyed by other teenagers and I would rate it five out of five.
Nov 22,2012
Looking for Alaska is a book written by John Green from the point of view from Miles Halter. Miles is a young man that decides to leave his home-town of Florida for a boarding school in Birmingham, Alabama –seeking his ‘great perhaps.’ The first person Miles meets at Culver Creek Preparatory School is Chip Martin –his new roommate, with a very different view of the world to Miles. Miles is quickly told to call Chip the Colonel instead of Chip and is in return nicknamed Pudge –a joke considering is extremely skinny stature. The Colonel then takes Pudge to meet another interesting character by the name of Alaska Young –a captivating young female who quickly captures Pudge’s heart.
What I liked most about ‘Looking for Alaska’ is the way John wrote Alaska and Miles’ relationship –it’s like fire and ice. One moment, Alaska is Miles’ best friend and they get so close to each other and then the next moment she acts if she barely knows him.
Alaska’s character itself is very fascinating and mysterious –and because of this is why the end of the book is such a quizzical thing. Alaska is such a huge part of the book and between her friends –she’s the glue that holds them together, though they hardly really know who Alaska is.
The concept of the labyrinth is another thing I really enjoyed about the book –and how once it’s said it isn’t forgotten. It keeps coming up and coming up –everything in the ‘After’ section of the book is connected to the labyrinth.
One thing I detested about ‘Looking for Alaska’ is that John hardly describes his characters. You come to know their personalities rather well, but you barely know any other their physical traits. I enjoy it when writers describe what their characters look like –as if they’re friends and he’s just saying what he is seeing in a photograph.
Over all, I enjoyed this book and would recommend people to read it.
Nov 21,2012
Looking for Alaska. It's A very intersting, and rather confusing book, that eventually makes sense. The lead character , Pudge(Miles Halter) is the new kid at school. He has left his home town florida, To an odd choice of, Brimingham, Alabama. His new school of "Culver Creek".
Aug 25,2012
John Green's 'Looking for Alaska' is a truly amazing novel. Green is an inspiring Author, portraying the true happiness and hurt of life. The writing style built up to the main event with each chapter entitled an amount days 'before' and 'after' the main event that the reader is unaware of . As usual Green impresses with his immaculate writing, perfect characters and a truly amazing storyline. The novel is narrated by 16 year old Miles Halter, who is obsessed with last words. He leaves his home for boarding school searching for the "Great Perhaps" (in other words, something interesting to happen in his life.) At Culver Creek Boarding school he makes some great friends including, the feminist, clever and funny Alaska Young, his room-mate, 'The Colonel' (Chip) and Takumi. This book is full of hard-hitting life issues, charismatic characters and a HUGE plot twist. I rate this book 10/10 and I am loving John Green's books, I will recommend them to everyone!
