Looking for Alaska; John Green
| published July 11, 2014 |

Book review by Kristy Webster
Thursday Review contributor

Before Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters stole our hearts, there was Miles “Pudge” Halter and Alaska Young. It is no wonder or surprise to me that John Green’s novels transcend the Young Adult genre, captivating readers of all ages. Like The Fault in Our Stars, Green’s teenage characters in Looking for Alaska are bright, complex and intriguing people facing fears and coping with regrets that are not specific to adolescents but rather, inclusive of anyone wading in the depths of an incomparable human experience.

In The Fault in Our Stars, two terminally ill teens discover love and gratitude for the life they are given. In Looking for Alaska, we meet sixteen-year-old Miles Halter, who having led a sheltered and uneventful life, takes the first step towards what he calls “The Great Perhaps” by attending Culver City Boarding School. It is here where he encounters the beautiful and mercurial, but deeply troubled Alaska Young and his life is dramatically transformed, forever.


Related Thursday Review articles:

The Fault in Our Stars; John Green; book review by Kristy Webster; Thursday Review; July 11, 2014.

Audrey Hepburn's Neck; Alan Brown; book review by Kristy Webster; Thursday Review; November 23, 2013.

The Art of Racing in the Rain; Garth Stein; book review by Kristy Webster; Thursday Review; December 13, 2013.