Bibliographic Information
Green, John LOOKING FOR ALASKA. New York, NY: Dutton. ISBN: 978-0525475064.
Plot and Critical Analysis
Miles leaves his friendless, boring life behind in Florida to attend a prep school in Alabama at the age of 16. There he comes across eccentric, but intelligent, group of friends, difficult teachers who he is all but too happy to please, and life changing events. He finds his place in a school that even with its typical high school cliques and struggles, is focused on education and knowledge. As a skinny, tall, awkward boy who has a memory full of famous people's last words, he is eager to finally have a group of friends. Within this group he learns of loyalty, crushes, and friendship. Along the way there are experiences faced by all teens - fights, pranks, school stresses, peer pressure - and a few experienced by most teens - drunkenness, talk of sex, death, the unknown. Each character has their demons and their quirks, which is representative of all teenagers who will read this. The dialogue from hanging out, fighting, and discussing difficulties of their past is clear and age appropriate with sarcasm, cuss words, and use of trendy phrases.
It develops into a more serious story than pranks and crushes, when a main character dies. The loss and shock of both death and the characters sense of responsibility is felt heavily by the reader. Events occur throughout that are very realistic for teen behavior, but it is with this unexpected tragedy that the portrayal of these teenagers is highly accurate. The other character's thoughts and feelings are very accurate to not only how people of all ages would grieve, but it is more so focused on teens trying to make sense of this situation and loss.
The reader can tell by the structure of the novel, that something huge in Mile's life is pending. Passages are separated into two parts. Part One of the novel is a count down of days "before" and the second part is a count of "days after". As anyone would feel this same divide in life - a divide caused by immense tragedy - it is a very clear way for the author to portray the significance of this event in Miles' life and provide forshadowing for the reader.
Awards and Reviews
Booklist Editors' Choice - Books for Youth - Older Readers Category: 2005
Kentucky Bluegrass Award: Grades 9-12
Michael L. Printz Award
School Library Journal Best Books: 2005
School Library Journal Best Books: 2005
YALSA Best Books for Young Adults: 2006
YALSA Outstanding Books for the College Bound - Literature and Language Arts: 2009
YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults: Death and Dying (2009)
YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers: 2006
School Library Journal
From the very first page, tension fills John Green's Michael L. Printz Award-winning novel (Dutton, 2005). Miles Halter, 16, is afraid that nobody will show up at his party because he doesn't have many friends. He loves to read biographies and discover the last words attributed to famous people. He's particularly intrigued with the dying words of poet Francois Rabelais: "I go to seek a great perhaps." Miles is leaving his loving Florida home for the "great perhaps" of the same Alabama boarding school attended by his father. Ominous chapter headings (40 days before, 10 days after) reveal that something tragic may happen. At school, Miles is accepted by a brainy group of pranksters led by his roommate and Alaska Young, a smart and sexy feminist. The teen becomes captivated by his new friends who spend as much energy on sex, smoking, drinking, and cutting-up as they do on reading, learning, and searching for life's meaning. As the school year progresses, Miles's crush on Alaska intensifies, even after it becomes evident that her troubled past sometimes causes her to be self-destructive. This novel is about real kids dealing with the pressures of growing up and feeling indestructible. Listeners will be riveted as the friends band together to deal with the catastrophic events that plague their junior year, and rejoice at their triumphs. Jeff Woodman clearly delineates the voices for each character in an age-appropriate, smart-alecky manner, injecting great emotion while managing not to be overly sentimental. This story belongs in all collections for older young adults, especially those who like Chris Crutcher, David Klass, and Terry Trueman.—JoAnn Carhart, East Islip Public Library, NY --JoAnn Carhart (Reviewed February 1, 2007) (School Library Journal, vol 53, issue 2, p63)
Publishers Weekly
This ambitious first novel introduces 16-year-old Miles Halter, whose hobby is memorizing famous people's last words. When he chucks his boring existence in Florida to begin this chronicle of his first year at an Alabama boarding school, he recalls the poet Rabelais on his deathbed who said, "I go to seek a Great Perhaps." Miles's roommate, the "Colonel," has an interest in drinking and elaborate pranks—pursuits shared by his best friend, Alaska, a bookworm who is also "the hottest girl in all of human history." Alaska has a boyfriend at Vanderbilt, but Miles falls in love with her anyway. Other than her occasional hollow, feminist diatribes, Alaska is mostly male fantasy—a curvy babe who loves sex and can drink guys under the table. Readers may pick up on clues that she is also doomed. Green replaces conventional chapter headings with a foreboding countdown—"ninety-eight days before," "fifty days before"—and Alaska foreshadows her own death twice ("I may die young," she says, "but at least I'll die smart"). After Alaska drives drunk and plows into a police car, Miles and the Colonel puzzle over whether or not she killed herself. Theological questions from their religion class add some introspective gloss. But the novel's chief appeal lies in Miles's well-articulated lust and his initial excitement about being on his own for the first time. Readers will only hope that this is not the last word from this promising new author. Ages 14-up. (Mar.) --Staff (Reviewed February 7, 2005) (Publishers Weekly, vol 252, issue 6, p58)
Connections
Any teenager who has experienced what it is like to be the awkward kid or move to a new school, will be drawn to Miles. He is a good kid just trying to find friends and find an environment where he can enjoy school, as well as meet some girls. Clearly, the big connection here is of belonging, love, and death. All very heavy experiences as we come of age. These issues are delicately handled by Green, but the writing in emotional and at times, heart wrenching to read. As characters face loss and feelings of guilt, the stages of grief are addressed, which actually would be beneficial to readers to understand the normalcy in grief and acceptance of it as a part of life, even if not understanding death.
A positive element to this story, and perhaps more significant than the death, is this group of friends. There are both males and females in this group seen as equal valuable members in comrodary, leaders, and best friends. They are from different backgrounds, of different ethnicities, and from different socioeconomic backgrouds, yet they come together to create their own family at the school. This group of friends is a positive role modle not because of their friends death, but becuase it shows how these friends stay together and support one another through a difficult time. A positive example for any teen reader, even though I imagine the alcohol use and mention of sexual experiences has some parents hesitant about this book.
Similar Readings:
This will go down on your permanent record: a novel (Susannah Felts): A story of a new kid in town befriended by an eccentric, artistic neighbor and their misguided adventures.
Vandal (Michael Simmons): Focuses on the struggle in the brother relationship and how abuse at the hands of one brother impacts their relationship until a tragedy changes the family.
No comments:
Post a Comment