Green, John. (2005). Looking for Alaska. Penguin Group: New York, NY.
Awards: Michael L Printz Award
Top 10 Books for Young Adults
Grades: 9-12
Pages: 350
Pages: 350
Genre: Fiction
Topics: Interpersonal relations, school, death, forgiveness
Summary: Mile Hartor, (who is fascinated by famous last words), makes the decision to drop out of public school and attend the prestigious boarding school in Alabama, Culver Creek, seeking a "Great Perhaps." Miles makes friends with his roommate, Chip Martin "Colonel", who is good at memorizing facts and despises the Weekend Warrior, the rich kids at school. He meets Alaska Young, an endlessly fascinating girl with erratic behavior. Alaska pulls Miles into her labyrinth, her pranks brings joy to his hopelessly boring life. While secretly and openly loving Alaska, he learns about her mother's death and the guilt she carries. One night, Alaska in an emotional distress leaves school with the help of her friends and dies in a car accident. Her death leaves her friends with unanswered questions, missing puzzles to her life, and guilt for letting her drive intoxicated.
Reader's Response: The protagonist, Mile Hartor, narrates the story in first person. The book has two parts, the first half narrates events before Alaska's accident, the second half narrates events after. After the author acknowledgements, John Green provides deleted scenes as well as Q&A. The novel brings up many topics that teenagers experience on a regular bases in their own lives such as friendships, good and bad influences, trust, struggles, childhood experiences, love relationships and the feeling of invincibility. The novel lends itself for writing and small or large group discussions on how teenagers perceive themselves and each other and how adults perceive them. One of my favorite part of the novel was when the characters played the game "Best Day/Worst Day." Students can analyze causes and and lasting effects for each character. They can also keep a journal to write about their worst and best days.
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