Looking for Alaska by John Green

Here's another book I read recently. To be honest, I discovered it by accident at my local library. I was searching for another book in the YA section of the library near the back and came upon this book. The cover was dark with an extinguished candle on the cover. The words Looking For Alaska jumped out at me. I thought would be an interesting book on the state of Alaska. Man, was I wrong! The female lead in the book name is Alaska Young. This story is narrated by a typical high school loser--no friends, no girlfriend, no social life whatsoever. Miles Halter, nicknamed Pudge, lives in Florida where he has a fascination with the dying words of famous people. He goes off "to seek the Great Perhaps," in the words of Francois Rabelais, the French philosopher. In other words, he wants to try his luck in a new school in a new state. He has a going-away party--only two people show up, but he's soon off to a small boarding school in Alabama. There, he becomes fast friends with Chip Martin, a.k.a. The Colonel and a Japanese exchange student named Takumi.

He also meets the beautiful and enigmatic Alaska Young and with his new pack of friends he starts smoking, plots elaborate pranks and gets his first kiss from Alaska. It's all good fun and Miles feels that he's living life to the fullest for the first time ever. However, everything is not so cut and dry and the source of Alaska's deep unhappiness is revealed during a drunken charade. Her mother passed away from a brain aneurysm when Alaska was eight. She was so stunned at the time that she didn't call for help fast enough--by the time her mother reached the hospital, she passed away. Alaska's father eventually forgave his daughter, but the damage was done. Alaska was emotionally scarred from then on, she always blamed herself for her mother's death. She has since used booze and sex to fill in the void her mother left. The chapters begin with the "before," as in, one hundred days before, until it gets down to zero. Once the reader gets to the "after," they are shocked to discover Alaska's sudden and tragic death, most likely a suicide, from the details given. Each character copes with her suicide in different ways. For Miles, who had an unrequited love for Alaska, the loss is devastating. He returns to Florida, his old school and life as he knows it before Alaska with a new appreciation for life and the possibilities that await him as a new man.

While this book is readable, it does have its faults. Some characters are simply cliches, ex. Japanese exchange student who raps, the Russian Lolita, high school boys who only drink and have sex. Alaska herself, is the most intriguing character, even though she doesn't get as many pages dedicated to her as The Colonel. The book leaves many questions unanswered and some subplots could have been removed to make the book flow better. All in all, I'm glad I read it, but it's not a book I'm willing to read again. I'll leave it to you to draw your own conclusions once you've read the book.