Looking for Alaska

I was really excited to read this book. Winner of this year’s Printz Award and a few others, the buzz has been that Looking for Alaska is beautifully written and funny throughout. Here’s the setup: Former loner Miles Halter goes to boarding school and makes friends with quirky smart kids, including a girl named Alaska. Alaska is intelligent, beautiful and tragic, susceptible to mood swings and eager to have lots of sex. She’s every smart, skinny boy’s wet dream, basically. Miles develops an immediate crush on her, but Alaska is living with a heavy reality that outweighs anything Miles has ever before dealt with. Let us just say that tragedy ensues.

I really really really wanted to like this book, because everyone else does and I’m a hopeless hanger-on that way. But I couldn’t even finish it. I just skimmed it, and when things happened more or less the way I predicted, I set it aside. Look, it was well-written, and the characters were interesting—they just weren’t as interesting as they thought they were. There was a self-congratulatory streak that ran through each one that really rubbed me the wrong way. Anyhoo, B-listers, let’s hear it! Is anyone out there with me? Anyone? Anyone? Or did you all love Alaska as much as the Printz committee?

Comments

[Brian F.]

I'll be interested to hear what you have to say about AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES, if you bother to pick it up after not liking this one.

KATHERINES is a lot lighter in tone but I think the writing is still pretty strong.

[Gail]

I definitely agree with you. I thought the book was incredibly predictable. I did manage to finish it, though.

[Jocelyn]

I actually really liked this book. John Green's other book, An Abundance Of Katherines, was very different from Looking For Alaska, and, since you liked his writing but not the plot (if I read that correctly), perhaps you'll like that one.

[Little Willow]

I liked it. I liked Alaska's character. I too hope that you give KATHERINES a try.