Book Review: Looking for Alaska

Looking For Alaska by John Green is a novel about loss, loyalty and mystery. Miles Halter, the main character of the novel, is fascinated by famous last words. When Miles goes to a boarding school in Alabama known as Culver Creek, he meets new people with quite a lot to say. Miles’s roommate, Chip Martin (better known as “The Colonel”), teaches him about the school's social hierarchy and the people they can trust. Although the list of allies is short, it includes a lot of good people. One of the highest members on that list is Alaska Young. Miles is fascinated by her moody, unpredictable, enigmatic self, and does everything he can to further get to know her. On the other list of people—students who are not to be trusted—there are the Weekday Warriors: a group of rich kids who see the school from a very different perspective. They are most known for their ongoing prank war against The Colonel and Alaska, which Miles and a few others eventually get wrapped up in. Then, after a life changing event takes place only a few miles away from Culver Creek, both Miles and The Colonel must learn to cope with grief.

Overall, Looking for Alaska has many amazing aspects and is definitely worth the read. It is perfectly paced, such that the plot doesn’t move so fast that you can’t keep up or so slowly that you lose interest. It is quite captivating and intriguing once the story unfolds. The novel portrays everything through a very unfiltered lens, which is one of the most interesting parts about it. This book is also one of seven that John Green has penned, but it is not his bestselling: that spot is claimed by The Fault in Our Stars. However, Looking for Alaska, with its unique set of characters and fascinating storyline, stands as one of the most well-liked among fans of his work.