Looking for Alaska

Ashlynn BurkJohn Green

Publisher: Speak2006

Introduction

This story takes place at a boarding school in Alabama.

A boy from Florida, Miles, comes to this school. He had no real friends at his old school, so boarding school was a great opportunity to start fresh.

He is happy to find that he easily made friends with the Colonel and his group of friends.

Protagonist

Miles Halter, nicknamed Pudge by the Colonel. He was an awkward and quiet teenager, with no real friends

until he went to boarding school and met friends. He became like these friends, losing some of his morals. He began smoking and drinking.

He loved memorizing people’s last words. He tended to conform to those around him when it came to

morality. Miles was a dynamic character, who grew emotionally

throughout the book.

Protagonist

• Alaska young was one of Mile’s friends at the boarding school.• She loved books, and had a very realistic view of the world.• She smoked and drank recklessly, not minding the strict rules of

the boarding school.• She had a very carefree, and spontaneous personality.• She was very beautiful, and most of her male friends ended up

falling in love with her.• She suffered with depression from incidents from her childhood.• She couldn’t wait to move out of Alabama.• Alaska was a great fan of elaborate pranks!

Antagonist

The Weekday WarriorsThese were the preppy, rich kids at the boarding

school.In one incident, these kids duct taped Miles and

threw him into the lake.The Colonel’s strong hatred of these kids is

shown throughout the book, and especially after the duct tape incident.

Central Conflict

The central conflict is the unexpected “suicide” of one of the main characters.

This leaves everyone speechless, and very depressed.

Some of the friends of this victim of suicide, tried to figure out if it was a suicide, or just an unfortunate event. They also tried to figure out why the person did it.

A possible solution is, they could have talked to more family members of the suicide victim.

Minor Characters

Lara, Miles’ 1st girlfriend at the boarding school. She was a pretty girl from Romania who embarked on the pranking quests.

The Colonel, Mile’s roommate, who was Mile’s first friend at the boarding school. He showed Mile’s to all of his friends and acceptingly added him to his group.

Takumi, a Japanese kid who was in the Colonel’s group of friends. He was also in love with Alaska, and took part in their pranking games.

Critic Reviews

“You know you've read a good book if it made you both laugh and cry, and Looking for Alaska did just that.”– NY Mom on Amazon. Found here.

“I went into it really excited, expecting a life-changing reading experience. It was just okay.”– Nancy. Found here.

“My first John Green book, but it definitely won't be the last.”– Natalie from Mindful Musings. Found here.

My Review

All in all, I found this to be an enjoyable read. The author, John Green, proved to be a very articulate writer. One of the best things about the book, were the compilation of last words John Green put together. They were all carefully chosen, humorous, and thoughtful. I would recommend this book, and I will most likely read it again.