Genre: Young Adult, Social Situations, Friendship, Contemporary Fiction
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 4 stars
Got this book as a gift from my buddy, Jen.
In A Nutshell:
I almost do not know what to say about this book. I laughed, I cried, and I shook my head in dismay, but more than anything I was moved. I could not put this book down and now that I am done all I can say is that I want more John Green!
Review:
Pudge left his safe and boring life in Florida to find his "great perhaps" at a boarding school in Alabama. And he finds his great perhaps in Alaska Young, a classmate who loves to plan elaborate pranks, drink too much, and smoke to die. She shakes up his life in so many ways--but will the effect last? In the end that question becomes one of the hardest for Pudge to answer--and for Pudge to accept.
I have heard so many great things about John Green, but I really did not know what to expect. Looking for Alaska left me speechless for the last half of the book. I laughed, I cried, I shook my head in dismay, but more than anything I was moved. His characters almost instantly mattered to me--they grabbed my heart and my conscience and did not let go. I could not put the book down--and even now that I have finished it I want to read it again (and that is saying something because I am not a big re-reader).
I do have to note however that the teens in this book drink and smoke A LOT. I have read a lot of YA and normally I can take drinking or smoking with a grain of salt. It does not really phase me--but it was an almost constant theme in this story. It was hard to just look beyond it. However, it did not ruin the book for me but I did begin to wonder if lots of things in the book would have been different had the teens not smoked or even more importantly drank nearly so much.
Recommendations:
I cannot wait to read more of John Green's writing--and my next selection is based primarily on what I have on hand at the moment:
I just loved this book, it was heartbreaking and uplifting. Such a hard book to review but you did a great job =)
ReplyDeleteThank you. It was very hard to review--and it through me for quite a loop before the end. But I loved the ride. :)
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