Looking For Alaska

Author: John Green
Copyright: 2005
Pages: 160
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Reviewer: California Roll

In Looking for Alaska by John Green, winner of the Printz Award and written in 2005, Miles Halter, an awkward 16-year-old boy, gets sucked into an unforgettable journey that begins after he transfers to Culver Creek Boarding School. Miles is obsessed with knowing peoples’ last words. He fixates on memorizing them and is constantly searching for new ones. One, in particular, that jumps out at Miles is, “I go to seek my great perhaps.” At the start of the book, Miles decides that he is going to move to Culver Creek in hopes of starting over and finding his own “Great perhaps.” Little does he know he is about to embark on the most memorable and intense adventure of his life, and he is taking the reader along for the ride. It all starts when Miles is introduced to the Colonel, his roommate whose real name is Chip, and Alaska, who give him the nickname Pudge. Ultimately, they teach him how to get by, avoid trouble, smoke, drink, and have fun while attending Culver Creek. After a wild game of truth or dare involving lots of drinking, an incident occurs that becomes the point that the book revolves around. The book, which is being told in the first person by Miles, is broken into two sections composed of the events leading up to the incident and the events that follow the incident. As the reader progresses through the book, the plot escalates to the point where they are begging for more.

While reading Looking for Alaska, I found myself becoming part of the plot and being engulfed in its story. This book is easily one of the greatest books I have ever read. I recommend it to everyone, especially those who enjoy intense, exciting, and funny books. This book is a must-read that will leave the reader knowing exactly why this book deserved to win the Printz Award.