Throwback Thursday: Looking for Alaska by John Green

 

Throwback Thursday

 

This weekly feature is hosted by Renee (Its Book Talk). Throwback Thursday offers a way to share some of our old favorites as well  as sharing books that we are finally getting around to reading that were published over a year ago.

I joined NetGalley in July, 2016. So far, I have reviewed 154 ARCS. However, in the past one year, my own TBR has been neglected a lot.  I have finally gotten my ARC addiction under control and so I will be reading more of my own books. I decided to join Throwback Thursday to help me achieve this goal.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole life has been one big non-event, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave “the Great Perhaps” even more (Francois Rabelais, poet). He heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . .
After. Nothing is ever the same.

Review

Looking for Alaska is my second book by John Green. The first one was The Fault in our Stars. This book begins with the MC, Miles heading the new school, Culver Creek. Miles is a shy, introverted young man. He is the kind of quiet kid who doesn’t have too many friends. However, things soon change at the new school where he meets his roommate, Chip (Colonel), Alaska, Takumi and Lara.

I liked Miles’ character. I loved the fact that he was obsessed with people’s last words. There is a time that I used to follow crime libraries and read last words by death row inmates. Miles wasn’t interested in death row but he knew a lot of last words. What I didn’t like about his character though was how he was influenced by his friends at the new school. I would have liked it if he remained his unique, weird self. I didn’t buy the sudden change into vices though I did like that some of his awkwardness remained.

I read this book without having read the blurb first. Needless, to say, I was curious when I found out that there was a character called Alaska. I mean, the title is Looking for Alaska so naturally I wanted to know, where did Alaska go or why are people looking for her. The book has chapters counting down to an event. I kept waiting to find out what the event was. After the event itself, the after chapters reveal how the character’s lives changed. I enjoyed the before but I was a bit bored by the after. It felt repetitive like nothing much was happening. And the plot sort of started dragging a bit.

As you can tell, I am somewhere in the middle as far as my feelings for this book go. I liked aspects of it but others didn’t work for me.I can’t say much about the book because I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise for those who haven’t read it yet and going by goodreads reviews, this is one book that you have to experience for yourself. Readers don’t seem to agree on much concerning it. Some loved it, other hated it(1 star reviews). Others like me loved the first section while others preferred the second one. Anyway, if you like issue-based YAs then you may enjoy this one.