After reading John Green's
Paper Towns, I definitely wanted to try his debut novel-
Looking For Alaska. Typically, I am not interested in books filled with depravity and this one had it all- drinking, smoking, sex, and reckless pranks. However, what pulled me into this book was its intellectual and articulate ease, especially its deep philosophical basis. Miles Halter knows countless peoples' last words- what he doesn't know is how to have fun, make friends, and live life to the fullest at home. He leaves to go to Culver Creek, a boarding school, in order to find what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "
Great Perhaps." Miles finally learns how to experience life with help from his roommate Chip and his clever, beautiful, self-destructive friend, Alaska.
K.L. Going described
Looking For Alaska:
"John Green has written a powerful novel-one that plunges headlong into the labyrinth of life, love, and the mysteries of being human. This is a book that will touch your life, so don't read it sitting down. Stand up, and take a step into the Great Perhaps."
This was the type of book that had me thinking about it days later. Although, I would not do even half of the crazy things that these characters experienced, their thirst for life made me think about how I could make my life a bit less predictable and unexpected.
"Sometimes you lose a battle. But mischief always wins the war."
