Looking For Alaska - John Green

    This six weeks, I read Looking For Alaska by John Green. This is a realistic fiction novel that was published in 2005. I decided to read this book because I had read another John Green book this summer. I loved it so much that I had to read another one, and I ended up loving it! Looking for Alaska is about a teenage boy named Miles "Pudge" Halter going to a boarding school to seek a "great perhaps". There he meets a couple of friends and Alaska Young. Alaska is a beautiful and intriguing girl that he later falls in love with. Throughout the book, you will be drawn in by the antics of Pudge and his friends. I think the overall theme of the book is that there's always more to someone's life than you may think or see. Another theme could be dealing with mourning or depression after something tragic happens.
    This story is told from a third-person point of view. I think that third person is good for the story because it gives an equal share to everyone when it comes to showing their thoughts and actions.The plot is focused on Pudge's feelings for Alaska and the pranks the group pulls around campus. The intended audience for this book could really be anyone, but I think the group that would most enjoy the book is teenage girls. Most of this author's books are for teenage girls. The genre is realistic fiction and romantic, and I think would fit in to young adult also because of the intended audience. The author had a great way of keeping the reader interested. Every chapter was titled as "insert number days before" and the book was split into 2 parts which were before and after. So while reading, you have to keep going to find out what the "before" was leading up to. That definitely kept me interested. John Green uses a lot of love stories and death in his books. From the 3 that I've read, they've all been pretty emotional. I think this is what draws in all the teenage girls.
    This book, like the other 2 by the author that I've read, made me cry. And that may just be me, but it made me really think about the themes and better understand them. After reading, my perception of death and what people do right before the die can affect what happens to the people around them later on. It has also help me become more aware of finding out what's going on in people's lives. I think the style of the author just reminds me a lot of the other book he's written. The themes, the plot lines, and the affect afterwards are similar.
    I really loved this book. I think it was well-written and judging that is was by my favorite author, it made it more fun for me to read. I overall enjoyed the style of the author's writing by changing the mood so quickly.I recommend this book for any teenage girl that is into romantic books, comedy books, or any teenage girl at all, you would enjoy it. Of course there are other people that could enjoy it too, I'm just not sure guys would like it as much.

Alex Markey
11/6/13
Rating: 3.5/5