Looking for Alaska

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Green, John. 2005. LOOKING FOR ALASKA. New York: Dutton Books. ISBN 0-525-47506-0.

PLOT SUMMARY
Miles Halter, a sixteen-year-old only child, leaves behind his routine, lonely life in Florida to attend a boarding school in Birmingham, Alabama. He is drawn quickly into a circle of outsiders who delight in bucking the school system and playing pranks on the popular, rich kids. Miles develops a crush on the beautiful, brilliant, and troubled Alaska Young. One stormy night, Alaska leaves the campus abruptly and is killed in an automobile accident. Miles and his friends struggle with the possibility that Alaska committed suicide and contemplate their roles in this scenario. In time, they come to accept that they will never know the truth about Alaska's death and move on with their lives.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
John Green, in his first novel, creates memorable, believable characters who achieve tremendous emotional growth through their experiences at boarding school. Miles Halter's lonely, friendless existence is portrayed vividly in the first pages of Looking for Alaska. Only two classmates attend the going-away party that his parents insist on before his departure to the Culver Creek Preparatory School in Birmingham, Alabama. His roommate, the "Colonel", is a brilliant, scholarship student who smokes, drinks, and plans elaborate school pranks. The third main character, Alaska Young, is a bit of a mystery. She is a bookworm and according to Miles, "the hottest girl in all of human history." These three high school juniors engage in activities and use language that will be familiar to young adult readers. Green describes the boarding school grounds with wonderful details that bring the setting to life. The students have computers and drive their own cars, thus establishing a contemporary time setting. The school is coed which allows for the development of male and female characters and their relationships.

The narrator of the story is sixteen-year-old Miles. The author grabs the reader's attention and sets the stage for a pivotal event by labeling the chapters X number of days "before" and X number of days "after". The countdown to the event provides tension and suspense to the plot. Green explores the themes of alienation, loneliness, alcohol, sex, friendship, loyalty, guilt, and self-discovery through the natural unfolding of the story without preaching or judgment. Young adult and adult readers will find the story of Miles and his friends captivating and thought-provoking

AWARDS
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year - 2005

Michael L. Printz Award - 2006

Bluegrass Award - 2006

REVIEW EXCERPTS
Voice of Youth Advocates: "The anticipated favorable comparisons to Holden Caufield are richly deserved in this highly recommended addition to young adult literature."

Publishers Weekly (starred review): "...the novel's chief appeal lies in Miles' well-articulated lust and his initial excitement about being on his own for the first time."

CONNECTIONS
>Introduce this book in a young adult book club setting. Make a list of the main themes and discuss them.
>Read about John Green at http://www.sparksflyup.com/bio.php.