After Miles is hazed pretty hard by the Weekday Warriors students who stay only during the week at the boarding school , his new friends vow to help him return the favor. Miles meets Lara, and goes on a triple date with her, the Colonel and his pseudo-girlfriend Sara, and Alaska and her college-aged boyfriend Jake. The date ends with Miles getting a concussion from a basketball and ralphing on Lara's shoes.
Also, the date doesn't really mean anything, because Miles is well on his way to falling in love? Time passes and Miles continues his involvement in shenanigans and obsessing about Alaska. He stays on campus for Thanksgiving to try to get with her, but all he gets for his trouble is a sense of homesickness and confusion.
Miles, the Colonel, Takumi, Alaska, and Lara pull an epic prank on both the Eagle and the Weekday Warriors that involves blue hair dye and fake progress reports, and during their hideout, all the friends find out that Alaska's mom died of an aneurysm right in front of Alaska when Alaska was eight… which explains a lot about Alaska.
A couple nights later, Miles and the Colonel and Alaska are hanging out in Alaska's room. Both the Colonel and Alaska are drinking to celebrate the epic prank, but Miles isn't. Alaska and Miles make out a little dream come true moment for Miles , but then Alaska gets a phone call from her boyfriend Jake because it's their eight-month anniversary.
Then she freaks out and leaves campus in her car. Miles and the Colonel help her go by setting off fireworks on the Eagle's porch. Hyde, who seems very intriguing to him. Sara calls the Colonel briefly after and tells him that the weekend warriors believe he ratted out a couple, Paul and Marya, who got kicked out last year for drinking and smoking.
The Colonel mixes vodka with his milk to ensure the Eagle can never find it. Miles gets distracted by looking outside the window in Dr.
Alaska gets kicked out also for pointing out how ridiculous the reasoning was. Miles is very upset because he does not want to make a bad impression upon Dr. After this event, Miles, Takumi, the Colonel and Alaska head down to the forest to smoke cigarettes. Miles and the Colonel attend the first basketball game of the season at Culver Creek. Miles expresses about how deeply he hates everything about sports. The weekend warriors try to make truce with Miles and the Colonel by explaining they pulled the prank on Miles as revenge for the Colonel snitching.
The Colonel still wants revenge. Hype approaches Miles to let him know that he needs to pay attention to the class because he can tell that he enjoys the class, but has to stay focused. Miles goes with Alaska, in her car, with a few other people to McDonalds in order to study for their upcoming precalc test. Miles is somewhat attracted to her. The group spend the afternoon studying together. Miles spends some time alone with Alaska and decides to ask her about her first name.
Alaska explains that her parents could not agree on a name, so they decided to let her choose her own name when she is old enough to do so. She explained that she choose the name at the time because Alaska was a big place, and it was far from Alabama, like she wanted to be. Miles becomes increasingly fond of Alaska after spending time alone with her. Miles, Alaska, Takumi and the Colonel go out by the lake to smoke. After hearing some noises in the bush, the Eagle comes out and catches them smoking.
At Culver Creek, this is an offense and the Eagle lets them know that they need to show up at Jury tomorrow, where their punishment will be decided. Miles explains what exactly the jury is.
The Jury is a group of 12 students elected by the faculty who decide the consequences for non-expellable offenses, like smoking. The Eagle serves as the judge and could overturn the decisions made by the Jury. Alaska and the Colonel end up getting 10 hours of community work. Alaska lets Miles know that she is going to try and set him up with Lara, the russian girl.
Alaska tells Miles that they are going on a triple date on Friday : him and Lara, Alaska and her boyfriend Jake, The Colonel and Sara, and Takumi who will be tagging along.
During the triple date, with Takumi tagging along, the group go to the gym to watch one of the basketball games. The date was going well until Miles get hit in the face by the basketball and ends up with a concussion.
Miles then proceeded to sit back down beside Lara, and puke all over her lap. Miles is very embarrassed about this, and returns to his dorm after going to see the nurse. Miles gets some rest, and the Colonel tells him about how Sara dumped him. Miles decides it is best to avoid Lara to save himself the embarrassment. Miles tries to speak to Alaska, but she acts very cold and condescending towards him.
Choose your question wisely, and then examine how Islam, Buddhism and Christianity attempt to answer it. Miles spends some time with Takumi. Alaska had done something that could have sent her home, but the Eagle asks her for any information she had in order to stay at the boarding school, so she ratted them out.
Miles definitely did not except Alaska to ever be a snitch, but understands the situation. Alaska tries to convince Miles to stay behind at Culver Creek during Thanksgiving. Alaska is one of the only students who stays back during the holidays because she does not want to go home. While everybody has gone home for Thanksgiving, Alaska and Miles spend time alone, and the first night they read and drink together under the stars.
Miles feels tipsy for the first time in his life. He cannot stop thinking of how beautiful Alaska is and how badly he wants her. Miles and Alaska spend the next day trying to find ways to prank the weekend warriors while everyone is away. Chip teaches Miles about the social structure of the school. Chip introduces Miles to his friend Alaska, and Miles is quickly enamored by her. Chip and Miles discover that this action was taken in retaliation for Chip supposedly ratting out their friends—a couple named Marya and Paul—and getting them expelled the previous year.
Miles, Chip, Alaska, and another friend, Takumi, begin planning a revenge prank. Miles becomes part of their friend group and starts smoking cigarettes. The four of them get caught smoking and Alaska and Chip cover for Miles and Takumi, demonstrating to Miles that you cover for your friends instead of ratting them out.
Miles settles into his new school and does well in his classes because he spends so much time studying. Alaska decides she will find Miles a girlfriend, and eventually introduces him to a Romanian student named Lara. Miles is hit by a basketball, gets concussed, and then vomits on Lara.
Afterward, Miles tries to talk to Alaska, but is confused when Alaska becomes moody and short with him for no apparent reason.
The Weekday Warriors target Alaska with a prank, reminding Chip and Alaska they need to work on their own revenge prank.
Takumi reveals to Miles that it was actually Alaska who ratted out the couple who were expelled the previous year. Takumi warns Miles that he cannot rat anyone else out if he gets caught carrying out the revenge prank. I hate, hate, hate, when books do this. Of course, that was how I personally interpreted it. This book also uses the r word slur. Just a big nope in my book. It was uncalled for, and I'm pretty sure it is common knowledge why it is wrong.
Making fun of someone's body, and how they look shouldn't be passed off as a joke. Not everything is a joke, and the impact words can make in these instances is great. So many run on sentences and long winded descriptions.
Too many descriptions of breasts and curves which made me uncomfortable. I would read one page, but it would feel like an eternity. Also the fact that this book sprinkles in curse words like a 1 year old middle school boy who thinks wearing Axe cologne and yelling at people in mandatory PE is a personality trait.
Final Thoughts: Okay, that's it. Thank you to this book for prompting me into making a new shelf called "the quirky didn't work-y". I severely dislike this book and do not recommend. Have a good day loves, and remember, don't do drugs. Final rating: 4. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. I couldn't put it down - just like i expected. John Green is seriously talented, and even though i don't like this book as much as i love his " The Fault in Our Stars ", it was still wonderful book.
I have to admit that Final rating: 4. I have to admit that i was on verge of crying on almost every page from the "After" part. And then, in the end, i did cry a little.
Let out a tear or two I liked Miles a lot, he was cool, interesting and nice Colonel, on the other hand, was fantastic character, crazy, with strong personality Takumi was great too, even though i wished there was more of him; Lara was here and there, likeable and cute girl and in the end we have Alaska Alaska is a different story Sure, she may be crazy and she might be awesomely defensive of womankind, but overall i didn't feel much about her.
But, she was still loveable. She didn't even glance at me. She just smiled toward the television and said, 'You never get me. That's the whole point. My fox hat. When we are with friends But some stories finish before we even blink. View all 47 comments. I first read this book in when I was 14 and it turned out to be the book that sparked my love for literature.
I've always loved reading, but before that I only read for the sake of entertainment. Looking for Alaska was the first book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading, but that simultaneously and more importantly, made me think about greater issues in life for a long time after I had finished reading. Now that I'm 21, I understand that while this remains to be a highly philosophical book, it's I first read this book in when I was 14 and it turned out to be the book that sparked my love for literature.
Now that I'm 21, I understand that while this remains to be a highly philosophical book, it's not the "deepest" and most perfect book ever. However, it still means the world to me and I'll always be thankful for John Green for writing it. Jun 14, Madeline rated it it was amazing Shelves: kids-and-young-adult. He meets a girl, who is your typical Manic Pixie Dream Girl, except on crack. Boy obsesses over Girl, Girl does not give much of a damn. Girl is impulsive and difficult to understand and shows many signs of being mentally unbalanced, but Boy does not care because she is hot.
Story continues in this vein for a while, and then Girl does something that causes all hell to break loose, goes totally off the rails, and Boy is left to pick up the pieces and continue worshipping Girl, although not quite in the same way he did before.
Katherine I is mostly normal, although still a constant source of mystery and worship. Margot Roth Speigleman is Alaska Young on medication. And Alaska Young is Remember the mermaids?
But the second you get close to them, they grab you and drag you under the water and drown you. Alaska Young is a mermaid. He falls, hard, for Alaska and bravely endures her ups and downs, and he suffers for it along with everyone else who was foolish enough to fall in love with her. She stubbornly remains a mystery throughout the book, refusing to explain her actions or moods, and this continues to the moment when she drives off campus, drunk and raging, and ends up driving her car straight into a police car the siren was on, the lights flashing that was parked on the highway at an accident site.
She is killed instantly, and even after her death Miles and his friends continue to be consumed by her. The thing I love about John Green and the reason this gets five stars, despite my griping is the way he writes about emotions. I cannot stop thinking that she is dead, and I cannot stop thinking that she cannot possibly be dead. People do not just die. It is so cold today — literally freezing — and I imagine running to the creek and diving in headfirst, the creek so shallow that my hands scrape against the rocks, and my body slides into the cold water, the shock of the cold giving way to numbness, and I would stay there In all the Before sections, it just felt like the characters were stalling for time, waiting for that inevitable disaster to happen.
Once it does, I suddenly became completely invested in the book and decided that I needed to give it five stars. And if Alaska took her own life, that is the hope I wish I could have given her. Forgetting her mother, forgetting her friends and herself — those are awful things, but she did not need to fold into herself and self-destruct. Those awful things are survivable, because we are as indestructible as we believe ourselves to be.
We thinks that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail. I think she meant to do it. View all 26 comments.
Oct 03, Ariel rated it really liked it. Well, I finished this book this morning, and let me just say it was excellent. Everyone says it because it's true. This is a pure and thought-provoking book.
This review cannot be without spoilers, so if you haven't read this book or don't want to be spoiled, don't continue. Basically, just read this book.
The book follows Miles, a slightly disconnected teenager, who has just moved to a boarding school. He befriends his roommate and his roommate's friends. One of these friends is Alaska, and he qui Well, I finished this book this morning, and let me just say it was excellent. One of these friends is Alaska, and he quickly falls in love with her.
And then, she dies. I can honestly say I did not see this coming. The truth is, I have not read any books that deal with death and the way that others respond to it. The characters were wonderful. Miles was usually intelligent and very relatable. Pudge, his roommate, sounded like a friend I would want to have. He was super smart and had lots of fortitude.
Takumi, in the end, was a beautiful character and I really wanted to know more about him. Lara was also great. I've known some exchange students, and she really portrayed one well. You can tell that exchange students are intelligent, but with their accents and simply worded sentences they seem adorable and lovely as well. Finally, Alaska. She was simply beautiful.
In the trashiest way. She was one of the most mysterious characters I have ever read about. Near the end of the book, I realized we barely know anything about her. And yet I mourned her loss alongside with Miles. I think that this is the most "deep" YA novel I have ever read. It was wonderfully written, and John Green's use of last words was intriguing and interesting. The way that the book was split, with "before" and "after" really showed what a big event Alaska's death was. I'm really glad that John Green also put some comedy into this book through all of the pranks though, because otherwise it would have been extremely depressing.
I'm also glad we never found out if it was suicide or an accident. It seemed right not to know. It is actually difficult to explain the impact this book had on me. It really made me think about others and the power of death and life. I recommend this book to everyone. View all 7 comments. I was recommended this by a good friend and I was really looking forward to it. I love the vlogbrothers videos and the first chapter really made me want to read it and find out more but it didn't live up to the expectation that the first few chapters set up.
My main problem with the book was the characters. It wasn't even that they were underdeveloped. Alaska and Miles just pissed me off. I let some of it slide by because I understand certain parts were intentional but Miles was just so whiny. I I was recommended this by a good friend and I was really looking forward to it.
I couldn't handle it. By the time I got to the "After" section of the book I was going through the motions; counting pages, skipping whole paragraphs that seemed unimportant and screaming internally at my book.
The took so long to figure out the great mystery of the incident that is didn't seem plausible for a group of teenagers who are supposed to be smart.
I have since read another John Green book and I truly loved it. His writing is excellent and it is so refreshing to see a YA novel with a male voice. I also rather liked that they actually did homework and went to classes. So, please, go and but another of his books and truly enjoy the author that is John Green. View all 21 comments. Apr 26, Kristopher Jansma rated it liked it Shelves: bookblog.
I've been getting in touch with my inner Young Adult this week, in preparation for yet another final rewrite on my own YA book. This has, for the most part, amounted to listening to Death Cab for Cutie and reading Looking for Alaska - a book that I have been actively avoiding.
The story of this is long and somewhat personal, so feel free to skip this part if you just want to know if the book is good. I first heard of Looking for Alaska in my thesis workshop, when a girl very snidely told me I'd h I've been getting in touch with my inner Young Adult this week, in preparation for yet another final rewrite on my own YA book. I first heard of Looking for Alaska in my thesis workshop, when a girl very snidely told me I'd have to take out part of my own book because it sounded very similar to this book she'd heard about on NPR, which had not even come yet out at that point.
Stubbornly I refused to cut the section and even read it at my thesis reading and when Alaska finally did come out, I flipped through just enough of it to decide my book was way better and then abandoned it. Sadly, Alaska has dogged me ever since. Agents and editors alike have told me that my book is too similar to it - which is apparently not a good thing - despite Alaska having won a number of awards and such. Anyway, sour grapes aside, I decided that if the comparisons are inevitable, I might as well know what I'm being held up against.
So what do the young adults of this world really want? Sex, apparently. And a stiff drink or twelve. Looking for Alaska is about normal, skinny Miles Halter, quickly nicknamed Pudge, who gets into Culver Creek Boarding School and leaves in search of something more interesting.
His quirky personality trait is that he memorizes the famous last words of various historical figures - a party trick that he uses to successfully get in with his roommate, who goes by "the Colonel" and the smoky little sexpot down the hall, Alaska Young. Wait, you might be saying, what's with all these funny nicknames?
Well, Alaska turns out to be nearly the only name in the book that isn't a nickname - though we do find out that her parents decided to let her name herself at the age of 5. Try as I might I can't recall a lot of excessive nicknaming in my youth. I suppose there were a few guys I knew who pretty much went by their last names, when there were too many Adams or Brians in the bunch.
I had one friend who referred to himself as the Emperor Anyway, I digress. All I will say is that the structure and the subject matter reminded me immensely of The Secret History by Donna Tartt which incidentally was my main inspiration as well But just as I felt that the second half of History sags, Alaska does too. It's hard to talk about why without spoiling the twist, so I'll focus my energy on the Before section, which will give you the gist.
As I said earlier, Pudge loves Famous Last Words, this is actually the facet that the snarky workshop girl told me was too close to my own book and I expected to hate this quirk - but in fact it grew on me. The whole book grew on me - the romantic tension between him and Alaska is perfect, and there are an awful lot of incredibly poignant moments as Pudge grows accustomed to the school and it's strange rules and rhythms.
Ultimately the book becomes a youthful meditation on life and death, which made me realize part of the joy of YA writing - just as in the Death Cab songs, the emotions can be laid much barer than in more serious literary works where things always seem to have to stay sort of ambiguous and sophisticated. Teenagers are supposed to be a little melodramatic, and that's sort of the joy of it.
Badly done, you get Gossip Girl style antics, a lot of who-cheated-on-whom-with-whomever-else. But rightly done, you get something like the better parts of Looking for Alaska.
So what's leftover? A lot of ridiculous stuff. The Colonel and Alaska are more or less perpetually drunk she buries wine bottles in the woods and there's a good deal of cigarette smoking going on as well - for which they are occasionally punished.
Fellatio is simulated on a tube of toothpaste then performed in real life. Alaska's big hunky boyfriend from another school comes by frequently and everyone talks racily about how much sex they seem to have and just how much Alaska loves it. Worse than anything, when the characters are good and drunk which is often they will break out in absurd, spontaneous, freestyle rapping.
In between all the genuine, poignant moments of the book, are a million moments where they're all so jaded and edgy and wacky you almost wish you could reach in and smack all their heads together. Maybe that's just me. A friend of mine who actually went to boarding school observed to me the other day that none of the boarding school books she's ever read including Alaska, which she did not like give any realistic idea of the sheer volume of WORK that needs to be done.
There's essentially no time leftover to get up to any trouble, she said. At any rate, Culver seems to be a somewhat less romanticised boarding school than the Exeters and Andovers of the world. It's in Alabama for one thing. Most of the rich kids head home on the weekends leaving only our protagonists to get up to trouble. There's very little sense that any of them feel pressure to do well or accomplish anything extraordinary in life.
The overriding question of the book is how one can escape the constant sufferings of life - not suffering like having to work hard or being humiliated or anything - think more like a teenager - it is the suffering of unrequited love, parents that just don't get it, the fear of getting expelled for one's various illicit pleasures, the embarrassment of puking on a girl Ultimately the book hinges on a more deeply serious moment - the sort that makes this philosophical question really important for them, and puts their previous, childish problems in perspective.
However, as I said earlier, this moment comes halfway through, making the final half of the book one very tedious denouement. Ultimately, the good in this book will stick in my mind far more than the bad.
The character's absurdities and the shaky structure are both quickly forgotten upon putting the book down. I'm genuinely glad that I read it, and not only because now I have a better idea of what to avoid with my own book. Alaska is a great character, when she's not a little bit over the top. And maybe that's just what being a teenager is all about. View all 17 comments.
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