Looking for Alaska in The Dusty Bookshelf

Sep 10, 2013 Kevin Xu rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

After reading this book I can see why John Green and his books are so popular, and he is the second most followed author here on Goodreads. At first I thought the book was about a kid going to a boarding school in the state of Alaska, discovering himself in the process, but I was only partly wrong. The main character does discover himself, but not in Alaska. The story is about a high school student named Miles "Pudge" Halter who follows his father's footstep and goes to his alma mater "Culver Cr ...more

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Jan 24, 2008 Josephine (biblioseph) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I thought about whether a teacher really cares about students opinions. Especially those of students who are likely to be vague in attempting to sound academic while philosophizing about life. While my own experience with an aging teacher, on the brink of retirement proves otherwise. He wanted to get things over with, and research papers, by their nature, are hard to grade. So he took a different approach for the senior project and in general was more interested in us than other teachers. That p ...more

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Jul 14, 2017 Jenn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017-cover-to-cover

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 29, 2013 Karen rated it liked it

Shelves: ya-read-and-to-read, spring-23-recommendations

There is no denying John Green is an excellent author. I enjoyed the process of reading this novel, even if I didn't much enjoy the novel itself. Hence the three-star rating. Besides, although there were plenty of annoyances, I have been much more annoyed at books.

My major complaints are thus:

1. A whiny and largely uninteresting protagonist. His friends are interesting. He is not. They seem to like him. I don't know why.
2. It was fairly predictable. And then you get annoyed at characters for no ...more

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Nov 11, 2013 Casey rated it really liked it

Shelves: quick-reads, approved-for-future-progeny

It's easy to lament society's increased obsession with mediocre dystopian love stories, such as Divergent and whatever else kids (and people who are far too old to be kids) are reading these days. Sometimes, serious readers want to throw up their hands and completely lose faith in humanity. But do not go gentle into that good night, for John Green is writing meaningful books for kids (and people who are far too old to be kids), and in that there is hope.

What's wonderful about Green is that he ca It's easy to lament society's increased obsession with mediocre dystopian love stories, such as Divergent and whatever else kids (and people who are far too old to be kids) are reading these days. Sometimes, serious readers want to throw up their hands and completely lose faith in humanity. But do not go gentle into that good night, for John Green is writing meaningful books for kids (and people who are far too old to be kids), and in that there is hope.

What's wonderful about Green is that he captures what it feels like to be a teenager, when everything feels, overwhelmingly, as if it's happening right now, and the stakes feel so much higher than they have any right to. The beauty of being a teenager is that everything is either brand new or far off in the future, and that makes it easy to be hyper-present by default. The sadness, of course, is that teenagers aren't as grown up as they want to be, a fact that no amount of dark eyeliner, body piercings, and shouting matches can change.

Looking for Alaska is set at a boarding high school in Alabama, and deals with many of the activities that teenagers have been known to engage in from time to time. There's smoking, underage drinking, prank-playing, and sex, which may make some puritanical parents keep their kids from reading it (probably in favor of emotionally abuse sparkly vampire fiction, because that doesn't do anything crazy like question patriarchy). John Green takes his characters seriously, but doesn't act as if they're just younger adults. One particularly effective aspect of his writing is that his characters are at once precocious and sophomoric; this adult reader both remembered feeling the way they felt, and realized that they had such strong feelings and impulses because they haven't really developed into full-fledged people yet.

I loved The Fault in Our Stars, and I think I'll continue to pick up Green's books when I'm in the mood for a quick but emotionally-weighty read. While sparkly vampires will likely only appeal to the Abercrombie-aged crowd (do kids still wear that, or is there some new aspirational brand that kids are into these days? Would my point be better made if I mentioned Snapchat? Also, can someone please explain what Snapchat is?), stories that deal with what it means to be human are truly appropriate for all ages.

(Kids, if you're reading this, do yourself a favor and listen to this over and over and over again until you're sick of it, which you never ever will be because no one gets sick of The Velvet Underground. Note: The Velvet Underground was brilliant, but Nico annoyed the shit out of everyone, so remember not to say too many nice things about Nico. Then, pick up Trout Mask Replica, on vinyl if you can. Warning: your parents might wonder if you're on drugs, but it's worth it. You can thank me later.) ...more

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Dec 04, 2017 Nicole rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-read, young-adult, re-reads, ya-2017, december, november, honorable-mentions-ya, ya-very-good, alabama

Re-read 2022:
I forgot how sad and deep this novel was. I didn’t quite enjoy it as much the second time around. I think I am getting too old for some ya books. But it still remains an unforgettable read. John Green is one of the few YA authors whose stories consistently leaves a lasting impression upon the reader.

First read 2017:
John Green is beloved in the young adult book world and deservedly so in my opinion. Looking for Alaska reminded me of why I loved The Fault in Our Stars. Both are compe ...more

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