Looking for Alaska Review
So, finished Looking for Alaska by John Green in a total of two nights. (It would have been faster but school and sleep got in the way.) After the first night of reading, my thoughts pretty much always wandered back to the book.
My rating: 7.5 or 8 / 10
Spoiler free reasoning:
Looking for Alaska seems like it's going to be one of those books that sticks with me, like Perks of Being a Wallflower. I say 'seems' because I usually need to read a book more than once or twice to fully absorb it. Of course, since I just read it, I will not be rereading for a while. So I cannot say for sure, but I have a strong feeling that it will be one of those books for me.
I am not sure that I can fully explain why books stay with me more than others. I think it has to do with what they say beneath the plot. Not the symbolic meanings, but the messages about life. The ones that I can relate to, and affect me deeply because of my personal connection or because I relate it to someone that I know.
Now the review that contains spoilers:
Okay, so, despite the uncomfortable descriptiveness of certain parts of this book, I enjoyed Looking for Alaska.
I really should wait until after I have finished writing to attach the GIFs because I can't stop staring at Agnes....okay, focus...*staring*.....okay, now write.
Miles/Pudge--I liked him enough until he started to feel like he was the only one who cared about Alaska after she died. Yet, at the same time, I felt bad for him because Alaska would never be able to keep her promise to him. (I take promises seriously.) He was also only in love with the fun side of Alaska, not the one who was angry. I also thought it was sad how he almost didn't help the Colonel investigate Alaska's death because he didn't want to find out if she had killed herself on purpose or if it was just an accident.
Alaska--Darn it, John Green! I knew Alaska died, just like I knew how TFioS ended before I read it. Still, the journey to the end of the book makes that ending mean something. I don't know whether it was suicide or an accident, but I don't think I would even want to know the answer. Sure I'll wonder about it, but knowing would ruin her death, for me anyways. Not all questions are answered and sometimes the answer is not one you want to hear. I really like Alaska, present tense. I would not do the things that she did, but the glimpses of what I think was the real Alaska was enough for me. Like when she would open up to Pudge about her thoughts and her past. She was just hurting really badly. She didn't mope about things, but she didn't deal with them in a healthy way. I wonder if she was ever really happy. Maybe she was better than she had been at home, but the guilt of not calling 911 when her mom had an aneurysm was the root cause of her attitude and way of living.
Colonel--His stressing on loyalty was admirable and annoying at the same time. He knew Alaska a bit more than Pudge, and should have known why Alaska was so quick to rat out Mayra and Paul. He did come up with the prank in Alaska's memory, so I guess he's alright.
Takumi--It seems that Takumi knew more about people than others knew. He was smart enough to figure out that it was Alaska who had ratted on Mayra and Paul. He was the last one to see Alaska before she died, and so, he probably blames himself the most for her death. Poor guy.
Pudge and Alaska--I thought that Pudge's early crush on Alaska was cute and as the book progressed, I shipped it. I think (well more than think but less than know) that Alaska also liked Pudge too. She cared about him early on, but didn't do anything since she loved Jake. She said "I'm not flirting, I'm just tired." and proceeded to rest her head in Pudge's lap. She was the one who suggested that they, pardon my saying, hook up. She promised "to be continued." That part really got me, because she promised Pudge and was not able to keep it. After that night at the barn, when Alaska told everybody about her mom, I feel like Pudge should have known just how hurt Alaska was and should have tried a little harder to help her. She had friends and she could have tried harder to let them in, but she liked the whole being-a-mystery thing.
Like I said before, I think this will be one of the books that stays with me for a long time. It's hard to explain it, but the meaning is so much deeper than other books. I mentioned Perks of Being a Wallflower earlier, each time I reread that book, I understand it more and more. I feel like the same will happen for this book.
The website where John Green answers questions about Looking For Alaska. I haven't read through all of the questions and answers, but they ones I did read helped me understand the book a bit more.
http://johngreenbooks.com/alaska-questions/
~Jasmine
My rating: 7.5 or 8 / 10
Spoiler free reasoning:
Looking for Alaska seems like it's going to be one of those books that sticks with me, like Perks of Being a Wallflower. I say 'seems' because I usually need to read a book more than once or twice to fully absorb it. Of course, since I just read it, I will not be rereading for a while. So I cannot say for sure, but I have a strong feeling that it will be one of those books for me.
I am not sure that I can fully explain why books stay with me more than others. I think it has to do with what they say beneath the plot. Not the symbolic meanings, but the messages about life. The ones that I can relate to, and affect me deeply because of my personal connection or because I relate it to someone that I know.
Now the review that contains spoilers:
Okay, so, despite the uncomfortable descriptiveness of certain parts of this book, I enjoyed Looking for Alaska.
I really should wait until after I have finished writing to attach the GIFs because I can't stop staring at Agnes....okay, focus...*staring*.....okay, now write.
Miles/Pudge--I liked him enough until he started to feel like he was the only one who cared about Alaska after she died. Yet, at the same time, I felt bad for him because Alaska would never be able to keep her promise to him. (I take promises seriously.) He was also only in love with the fun side of Alaska, not the one who was angry. I also thought it was sad how he almost didn't help the Colonel investigate Alaska's death because he didn't want to find out if she had killed herself on purpose or if it was just an accident.
Alaska--Darn it, John Green! I knew Alaska died, just like I knew how TFioS ended before I read it. Still, the journey to the end of the book makes that ending mean something. I don't know whether it was suicide or an accident, but I don't think I would even want to know the answer. Sure I'll wonder about it, but knowing would ruin her death, for me anyways. Not all questions are answered and sometimes the answer is not one you want to hear. I really like Alaska, present tense. I would not do the things that she did, but the glimpses of what I think was the real Alaska was enough for me. Like when she would open up to Pudge about her thoughts and her past. She was just hurting really badly. She didn't mope about things, but she didn't deal with them in a healthy way. I wonder if she was ever really happy. Maybe she was better than she had been at home, but the guilt of not calling 911 when her mom had an aneurysm was the root cause of her attitude and way of living.
Colonel--His stressing on loyalty was admirable and annoying at the same time. He knew Alaska a bit more than Pudge, and should have known why Alaska was so quick to rat out Mayra and Paul. He did come up with the prank in Alaska's memory, so I guess he's alright.
Takumi--It seems that Takumi knew more about people than others knew. He was smart enough to figure out that it was Alaska who had ratted on Mayra and Paul. He was the last one to see Alaska before she died, and so, he probably blames himself the most for her death. Poor guy.
Pudge and Alaska--I thought that Pudge's early crush on Alaska was cute and as the book progressed, I shipped it. I think (well more than think but less than know) that Alaska also liked Pudge too. She cared about him early on, but didn't do anything since she loved Jake. She said "I'm not flirting, I'm just tired." and proceeded to rest her head in Pudge's lap. She was the one who suggested that they, pardon my saying, hook up. She promised "to be continued." That part really got me, because she promised Pudge and was not able to keep it. After that night at the barn, when Alaska told everybody about her mom, I feel like Pudge should have known just how hurt Alaska was and should have tried a little harder to help her. She had friends and she could have tried harder to let them in, but she liked the whole being-a-mystery thing.
Like I said before, I think this will be one of the books that stays with me for a long time. It's hard to explain it, but the meaning is so much deeper than other books. I mentioned Perks of Being a Wallflower earlier, each time I reread that book, I understand it more and more. I feel like the same will happen for this book.
The website where John Green answers questions about Looking For Alaska. I haven't read through all of the questions and answers, but they ones I did read helped me understand the book a bit more.
http://johngreenbooks.com/alaska-questions/
~Jasmine
Comments
Post a Comment