Looking For Alaska
By: John Green
John Green
John Michael Green was born on August 24, 1977 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Green is an all American writer of young adult fiction and an educator on literature. He won the 2006 Printz Award for his first novel, and reached number one on a New York Times Best Seller list with his newest book in January 2012. Some of Green's books include An Abundanceof Katherines, Let it snow, Paper towns and Will Grayson, Will Grayson. Green's main character in his first novel, Looking for Alaska, has been rumored to be based on a younger version of Green.
Main Characters
Miles “Pudge” Halter- Miles is our main character in this novel. He is an awkward kid who is somewhat nerdy and unsocial. Miles never really fit in with the rest of his hometown, he always felt as though his life was incomplete. When he meets his new friends at Culver Creek, he becomes the kind of person he had wanted to be all along. Miles meets many new friends at his school, including his new crush Alaska Young.
Chip “The Colonel” Martin- Chip is a stocky, nerdy looking young man, who has gone to Culver Creek for a very long time. He is Pudge’s roommate, and he gives Miles the nickname “Pudge”. He may also have a crush on Alaska, just like Miles does, but respects Miles feelings about liking Alaska first. Chip becomes Pudge's best-friend at Culver Creek.
Takumi Harihoto- Takumi is a friend to both Chip and Pudge. He is the "funny guy" of the group, as well as a great rapper. Takumi also has a small crush on Alaska and finds her to be beautiful. Takumi is the friend of Chip and Pudge, but he feels like he sometimes gets left out of their friendship and group.
Alaska Young- Alaska is the beautiful, smart, rebellious girl whom Pudge falls in love with. When Alaska was a child, her mother had a seizure because of a small brain aneurism. Alaska did not save her mother so she died. Alaska’s father blamed her for it and she regrets it, for the rest of her life, throughout the story.
Chip “The Colonel” Martin- Chip is a stocky, nerdy looking young man, who has gone to Culver Creek for a very long time. He is Pudge’s roommate, and he gives Miles the nickname “Pudge”. He may also have a crush on Alaska, just like Miles does, but respects Miles feelings about liking Alaska first. Chip becomes Pudge's best-friend at Culver Creek.
Takumi Harihoto- Takumi is a friend to both Chip and Pudge. He is the "funny guy" of the group, as well as a great rapper. Takumi also has a small crush on Alaska and finds her to be beautiful. Takumi is the friend of Chip and Pudge, but he feels like he sometimes gets left out of their friendship and group.
Alaska Young- Alaska is the beautiful, smart, rebellious girl whom Pudge falls in love with. When Alaska was a child, her mother had a seizure because of a small brain aneurism. Alaska did not save her mother so she died. Alaska’s father blamed her for it and she regrets it, for the rest of her life, throughout the story.
Conflict
The main conflict of this book is when Alaska dies in a fatal car accident. One night Alaska and Pudge were drinking and hooked up. Alaska then received a phone call and freaked out. She asked Chip and Pudge to help her escape from Culver Creek so she can leave. When Alaska left she was under the influence and got in a fatal car accident that resulted in her death. For the rest of the story, Chip and Pudge feel responsible for what happened to Alaska, they try to figure out why she left in such a hurry and panic that night. While Pudge and Chip try and investigate what happened to Alaska on the night she dies, they discover that Takumi was the last one who actually saw her. Takumi confesses to Pudge that he saw Alaska running out in distress the night she died.
Quotes
“What is an "instant" death anyway? How long is an instant? Is it one second? Ten? The pain of those seconds must have been awful as her heart burst and her lungs collapsed and there was no air and no blood to her brain and only raw panic. What the hell is instant? Nothing is instant. Instant rice takes five minutes, instant pudding an hour. I doubt that an instant of blinding pain feels particularly instantaneous.”pg.146
-This passage is important because it explains Alaska's true feelings about when her mother died. Alaska feels guilty everyday of her life. She is constantly reminding herself that it was her fault that her mother passed away and she could have helped her. When Alaska says this to Pudge it makes him change his entire perspective on what death is.
“Before I got here, I thought for a long time that the way out of the labyrinth was to pretend that it did not exist, to build a small, self-sufficient world in the back corner of the endless maze and to pretend that I was not lost, but home.” pg. 219
-This passage is important, because this is the last passage in the book, and this passage shows that Pudge has matured and realizes that he never wants to lose his home town memories completely. Pudge began the book wanting to leave his home behind, but throughout the book he found his true self and discovered that his home town is what made him into the person he is today.
-This passage is important because it explains Alaska's true feelings about when her mother died. Alaska feels guilty everyday of her life. She is constantly reminding herself that it was her fault that her mother passed away and she could have helped her. When Alaska says this to Pudge it makes him change his entire perspective on what death is.
“Before I got here, I thought for a long time that the way out of the labyrinth was to pretend that it did not exist, to build a small, self-sufficient world in the back corner of the endless maze and to pretend that I was not lost, but home.” pg. 219
-This passage is important, because this is the last passage in the book, and this passage shows that Pudge has matured and realizes that he never wants to lose his home town memories completely. Pudge began the book wanting to leave his home behind, but throughout the book he found his true self and discovered that his home town is what made him into the person he is today.
Recomended Reader
I recommend that teenagers from age 13 and up read this book. I think both teens and adults would enjoy this, because it is a love story with real life events that cause a twist to occur. Teens would enjoy this book because it has to do with High School and real life situations that occur. Adults will also enjoy this book because it is a romantic story that pulls you in and causes you to think and problem solve. My favorite reason for reading this, was because of the plot teaser that made me change my entire take on the story. I do think you should be at least 13 tho, to understand and comprehend most of the content.
My Personal Take On The Story
I personally loved this book. I typically don't enjoy reading and have a hard time being pulled into a book, but this book kept me engaged and wanting to read more. This book was one of my favorites because of the twisted ending and romantic teen love story that went with it. I constantly wanted to read more because the book kept me constantly thinking and on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend this book to anyone.
Bibliography:
Good Reads Top Sellers
Looking For Alaska Charcater list
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/99561.Looking_for_Alaska
The Belgravia Center
Teens Fighting For Whats Right
http://www.belgraviacentre.com/blog/teenagers-with-hair-loss-what-can-they-do/
Brett Murphy Washington Lawyers
Auto Accident Lawyers
http://www.washingtoninjury.com/practice-areas/washington-auto-accident-lawyers
The Fault In Our Stars
John Green Looking For Alaska
http://faultinourstarsmovie.blogspot.com/2013/02/john-green-works-closely-with.html
Character Spoilers
Looking For Alaska Main Characters
http://library.thinkquest.org/08aug/02088/index_files/Page803.htm