Looking for Alaska

John Green

Aug 2008 · Sold by Penguin

About this eBook

The award-winning, genre-defining debut from John Green, the #1 bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and The Fault in Our Stars
Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award • A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist • A New York Times Bestseller • A USA Today Bestseller • NPR’s Top Ten Best-Ever Teen Novels • TIME magazine’s 100 Best Young Adult Novels of All Time • A PBS Great American Read Selection • Millions of copies sold!
 
First drink. First prank. First friend. First love.

Last words.
 
Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words—and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet François Rabelais called the “Great Perhaps.” Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young, who will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A modern classic, this stunning debut marked #1 bestselling author John Green’s arrival as a groundbreaking new voice in contemporary fiction.

Newly updated edition includes a brand-new Readers' Guide featuring a Q&A with author John Green

Ratings and reviews

“How will we ever escape this labyrinth of suffering?"Alaska Young, an innocent 17 year old girl, found the answer. Was it an accident, or something entirely different? Have you ever suffered the death of your best friend and most possibly the girl of your dreams? This is the situation that Miles, your average high school student, suffers from in Looking For Alaska.Within this book, John Green expresses the harshness of life through the eyes of Miles Halter, who becomes ensnared in his ways of smoking, drinking, and pulling pranks with his best friends at Culver Creek Boarding School. He finds that his actions have great consequences. The story involves 16-year-old Miles Halter. Feeling lost in life, seeking his “Great Perhaps,” he moves from a public school to Culver Creek, a private boarding school, where he finds the girl of his dreams. Sadly, she has a boyfriend. Upon moving into his new school, Miles finds his place among the students. His posse consists of his roommate Chip Martin "The Colonel", Takumi Hikohito, Lara Buterskaya (his girlfriend) and of course, Alaska Young. He also discovers his enemies among the students; in his first week of school three boys pull a prank on him. They tie him up and throw him in the lake in nothing but his underwear leaving him to find his way out of the deep waters by himself; at least they leave him a towel on the bank for when he gets out. Later Miles is told that the boys who threw him in the lake were members of the Weekday Warriors, the snotty rich kids who attended Culver Creek. Over the course of the year at Culver Creek, Miles, Chip, and Alaska spend most of their free time at a place called the Smoking Hole, a tunnel under the bridge leading into the campus. Miles doesn't spend much time with Lara; although she is his girlfriend. While at the smoking hole the three smoke cigarettes and plan pranks on the dean, Mr. Starnes. It is throughout these occurrences that Miles falls head over heels for Alaska. The fact that Alaska doesn't seem to be interested in Miles only strengthens his desire for her. By allotting Miles to fall in love with Alaska, John Green sets the stage for a tragic disaster. He uses literary devices to help the reader foresee the accident coming. Although he forewarns the reader that an accident is about to happen, he still knows how to surprise the readers beyond belief, leaving them asking "Why John...why!" One night Miles, Chip, and Alaska are hanging out in Mile's dorm. They are celebrating the success of a large prank; Alaska and Chip commence to get drunk while Miles just decides to Chill. At some point in the night, the three decide to play truth or dare. To end the game, Alaska dares Miles to "hook up" with her. During the middle of Mile's and Alaska's make out session Alaska suddenly bursts into tears frantically repeating over and over "I forgot, how did I forget!" Alaska asks Miles and Chip to distract the dean while she sneaks off campus in her car and, like morons, they agree to do so. They will never speak to Alaska again. In her intoxicated state, Alaska plowed into the back of a squad car that had stopped to help a truck driver who had jackknifed in the road. She did not apply her brakes neither swerve a single time. Was it all an alcohol induced accident, or do the clues point to something else? Will anyone ever know what truly happened on that tragic night?

After reading the Fault in Our Stars and loving it so much I stumbled across a book store while I was out downtown and decided I might as well pick up a new John Green book, considering I had a lot of spending money on me. I went in a grabbed a random book, and It happened to be this one. I wasn't sure if I would like it, considering I knew nothing about it before I read it, but it was amazing. I started reading and had to put it down several times because I feared I might cry, or I was angry and how bad these characters were effecting me. His writing just pulled me in to the point where I was able to feel everything these characters felt. In all it took me about 10 hours (Over two days, this is an estimate because I put it down to go out and sleep and so I'm guessing here) and I loved every minute of it. The styles cool, it goes in an almost daily countdown to 'After' and then continues to count away from the date of 'After' Which After is a large event that happens in the middle of the book. This book was incredible, and I think you all should read this one as well as John Greens other books. :)

It is really interesting, like ur actually in the world where miles, and alaska r. John green put so much description, and metaphors and the quotes. . WOW!. One quote that is meh fav is "if people where rain, i would be the drizzle and she be the hurricane " such a good book it is really worth ur time!😍

About the author

John Green is the award-winning, #1 bestselling author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with David Levithan), The Fault in Our Stars, and Turtles All the Way Down. His many accolades include the Printz Medal, a Printz Honor, and the Edgar Award. John has twice been a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and was selected by TIME magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. With his brother, Hank, John is one half of the Vlogbrothers  and co-created the online educational series CrashCourse. You can join the millions who follow him on Twitter @johngreen and Instagram @johngreenwritesbooks or visit him online at johngreenbooks.com. John lives with his family in Indianapolis, Indiana.