Spotlight on Realistic Fiction and Fantasy
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Miles experiences many
“firsts” at boarding school with his new group of friends like his first drink,
first smoke, first prank…and first death of someone close to him. Let’s shine the spotlight on this gripping work
of realistic fiction:
Summary
Miles
is an expert on famous last words. He
has memorized the last words of many historic figures who are deceased. Francois Rabelais’s last words rang true for
Miles, “I go to seek a Great Perhaps” (Green, 2005, p. 5). Miles decides he is ready for a change. He makes the decision to attend boarding
school at Culver Creek. His dad, uncles
and cousins have attended the same boarding school, but Miles is going to find
his “Great Perhaps.” He feels there is
more out there for him in his life and he is ready to seek it out.
His
roommate is Chip, but everyone calls him the “Colonel.” The Colonel nicknames
Miles “Pudge.” Pudge makes another new
friend, Takumi, through the Colonel.
Then, there’s their neighbor, Alaska, who is also friends with the Colonel.
Pudge is mesmerized by Alaska. He
is taken with her beauty and is intrigued by her insights on relationships,
school and life. He has strong feelings
for Alaska from day one, even though she has a boyfriend, Jake. Alaska sees Pudge as a friend and tries to
set him up with a girl named Lara. They
go out on a “triple and a half date” (Green, 2008, p. 80) with Colonel and his
on-again, off-again girlfriend, Sara, Alaska, Jake and Takumi.
As
Pudge settles into his new school, his new friends introduce him to their routines
on campus: eating bufriedos (fried burritos) in the cafeteria, hiding alcohol
in various containers in their room, smoking in the bathroom with the shower
turned on, meeting at the Smoking Hole and planning pranks on Weekday Warriors
(the students who only come to campus during the week).
After
Christmas, the friends start planning the junior class prank. The Colonel has a plan to start with a
pre-prank he calls “Barn Night.” They divide
and conquer by distracting Mr. Starnes (the dean of students), setting off
fireworks in his yard, putting blue dye in the gel and conditioner of some
students who pranked Pudge and sending fake progress reports to a large group
of Weekday Warriors. Then, they meet up
at a barn in the woods to spend the night.
They play a drinking game “best day/worst day” and share more details
about each of their lives. The group
finds out about Alaska’s best day – going to the zoo with her mom – and her
worst day – her mom died of an aneurysm the day after their zoo trip.
The group wakes up hung over the following day, then the Colonel, Pudge and Alaska meet up to celebrate their Barn Night success the following night. They drink wine and talk most of the night. After the Colonel falls asleep, Alaska and Pudge play “Truth or Dare.” Its Alaska and Jake’s anniversary, but after Pudge requests a Dare, Alaska and Pudge start kissing. Alaska gets tired and goes to sleep in her room.
Then
it all happens so fast…Alaska comes back to their room upset and says she has
to get out of there because she’s made a mistake again. Pudge and Colonel agree to distract Mr.
Starnes with fireworks and Alaska drives away.
The next day, Mr. Starnes calls the students to the gym. He shares that Alaska was in a car accident
and passed away. The Colonel and Pudge
are in shock. They are inconsolable and
blame themselves for what has occurred. They
struggle with wondering why Alaska was so upset and with knowing they could
have stopped her from leaving.
The
Colonel and Pudge find a note in the margin of one of Alaska’s books that lead
them to believe she may not have died from driving drunk. They begin to wonder if she may have taken
her own life. They try to cope with her
death and their feelings of grief and guilt while searching for answers. They learn to come to grips with what they
have experienced together and try to remember Alaska they way they know she
would have wanted them to remember her. They
plan one final prank in her honor as the official junior class prank.
Unfortunately, they do not find out
definitive answers about Alaska’s death, but they do find answers about
friendship and life. The book concludes
with Pudge’s religion paper, which serves as a final goodbye to Alaska.
Discussion
Green’s book will have a strong impact on readers. He holds nothing back with his writing style. The characters’ raw emotions will touch readers. The story Green develops feels relatable, like it could take place in a reader’s hometown or with a reader’s group of friends. It feels like a true story being told and fits with the genre of realistic fiction.
The book is set up in two
sections: before and after. The events
in the before section take place before Alaska’s accident and the events in the
after section take place after the accident.
Therefore, the plot is developed in a linear format. Within the two sections, the text divides with
headings signifying the day before or after the accident, like “one hundred
thirty-six days before” or “twenty-nine days after” then shares the events of
that day. Green sets up the plot
methodically. Readers know an upcoming
event will impact the book, but they will not expect what is to come.
Pudge serves as the
narrator and provides the reader with an inside view into his thoughts, emotions
and experiences during his daily life.
He is an honest teenager who searches for his identity and for more
meaning in his life at Culver Creek. He
finds a group of friends to fit in with and negotiates his role within the
group and with the Colonel.
Green’s writing style
invites the reader into the book. He
includes various dynamic characters from the Colonel and Alaska, to Takumi and
Lara. Each one has specific traits with
definitive actions and emotions. Readers
will be able to select a character with whom they relate. They will be able to check their thoughts and
emotions against the situations within the book and put themselves into
different character’s shoes.
Green accurately portrays
the friendships and relationships between characters. He includes teenage drinking, smoking and
cursing in a way that aligns with the characters identities and with the flow
of the text. He also deals with intimate
relationships in a suitable way. His
descriptions of intimate thoughts and situations are tasteful. His portrayal of teenage sexuality fits with
the actions and emotions of teenagers.
This book has faced criticism
for its sexual content, as well as the descriptions of teenage drinking,
smoking and use of explicit language.
Readers can make decisions about selecting this book. One consideration for readers is the role of
this book as a “mirror and window” (Vardell, 2008, p. 140). Readers will be able to see themselves
reflected in this book and expand their worldview about the experiences of
others.
Awards/Reviews
John Green has won many awards for his work. In 2007, An Abundance of Katherines, was a Michael L. Printz Award Honor book. Paper Towns won the Edgar Award for the Best Young Adult Novel in 2009. His books have also been recognized on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Looking for Alaska was the winner of the Michael L.
Printz Award, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, an ALA Quick Pick, a Los
Angeles Times 2005 Book Prize Finalist and a New York Public Library Book for
the Teen Age.
Here are examples of a few reviews:
“Readers will only hope that this is not the last
word from this promising new author.” - Publishers
Weekly
“Sixteen-year-old Miles Halter's adolescence has
been one long nonevent - no challenge, no girls, no mischief, and no real
friends. Seeking what Rabelais called
the "Great Perhaps," he leaves Florida for a boarding school in
Birmingham, AL. His roommate, Chip, is a dirt-poor genius scholarship student
with a Napoleon complex who lives to one-up the school's rich preppies. Chip's best friend is Alaska Young, with whom
Miles and every other male in her orbit falls instantly in love. She is literate, articulate, and beautiful,
and she exhibits a reckless combination of adventurous and self-destructive
behavior. She and Chip teach Miles to
drink, smoke, and plot elaborate pranks. Alaska's story unfolds in all-night bull
sessions, and the depth of her unhappiness becomes obvious. Green's dialogue is crisp, especially between
Miles and Chip. His descriptions and
Miles's inner monologues can be philosophically dense, but are well within the
comprehension of sensitive teen readers. The chapters of the novel are headed by a
number of days "before" and "after" what readers surmise is
Alaska's suicide. These placeholders sustain the mood of possibility and
foreboding, and the story moves methodically to its ambiguous climax. The language and sexual situations are aptly
and realistically drawn, but sophisticated in nature. Miles's narration is alive with sweet,
self-deprecating humor, and his obvious struggle to tell the story truthfully
adds to his believability. Like Phineas
in John Knowles's A Separate Peace (S & S, 1960), Green draws Alaska
so lovingly, in self-loathing darkness as well as energetic light, that readers
mourn her loss along with her friends.— School
Library Journal
“Green…has a writer’s voice, so
self-assured and honest that one is startled to learn that this novel is his
first. The anticipated favorable
comparisons to Holden Caufield are richly deserved in this highly recommended
addition to young adult literature.”- VOYA
Students could engage in a book study about banned/challenged books. Teachers could allow students the choice of a banned/challenged book to read (with parental permission) within a Literature Circle.
An interview with John Green could be shared with students from: http://www.voya.com/2012/10/19/wouldnt-you-like-to-know-john-green/
Students could watch episodes of Green’s video blog, “Vlogbrothers” on YouTube. Students could create video blogs discussing this book or the topic of banned/challenged books.
Students could watch Green’s YouTube video defending this book: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHMPtYvZ8tM and discuss reasons why this book should or should not be banned.
Students could explore Green’s website: www.johngreenbooks.com. The link for Looking for Alaska takes readers to a page with questions and more information about the book. Students could discuss their discoveries about the book and the author.
Bibliographic Information
Green, John. 2005. Looking for Alaska. New York: Dutton Books. ISBN: 0-525-47506-0.
Vardell, Sylvia, M. 2008. Children’s Literature in Action: A Librarian’s Guide. Westport: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN: 978-1-59158-557-2.
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