Looking For Alaska

I’ve read a lot of coming-of-age stories, but this one stands out like a diamond among copper. Emotional, intriguing, and complex, this book will make you question life, death, and everything in between.

“You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you’ll escape one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.” (32)

I hate to spoil novels, so I’ll try to give only the basics of details. The story begins and readers meet Miles, a friendless boy who has a strange hobby of “collecting” people's last words. He chooses to go to a boarding school called Culver Creek Academy’s to find his “Great Perhaps,” which you’ll find more about in the book. Anyway, Miles then meets Alaska, and his life changes forever.

“Yall smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die.” -Alaska (44)

I admit, the book was a little hard to get into. I didnt see the story going anywhere, but I kept reading for two reasons: one, the novel won an award, so it must be something special and two, the countdown (ex: one hundred and thirty-six days before) that replaced chapters.

I was not disappointed. As the plot progressed and and I got closer to the “After,” the tensions rose and I was left waiting, hoping for the best.

"Thomas Edison’s last words were: “It’s very beautiful over there.” I don’t know where there is, but I believe it’s somewhere, and I hope it’s beautiful.” (221)

There are a million things I wish to say about this book, but I don’t want to spoil anything. If you get anything out of this review, let it be this: READ THIS BOOK!!! It will either be the worst or the best thing you’ve ever read. There’s no in between.