Looking for Alaska

Wow…

I must admit, I found myself reflecting after finishing John Green’s “Looking for Alaska”. I reminisced about my time in elementary, high school (and even college, why not), thinking about the people I met during my schooling. Of course, encountering each person in our lives shapes and defines us in some way, there’s no doubt about that. But the period during our schooling is also when we form as individuals and begin to slowly “sense” how the world around us (supposedly) works. During this time, we often meet people who leave such an impression on us that we never forget them. But these people not only leave a strong impression, but their actions and thoughts “shake” us so much that we start to change (I hope positively) our views on certain things. With such people, we want to stay in touch for life as friends… or maybe even more.

However, life writes its own rules, and just as often, circumstances lead us to drift apart from such people. Or they simply disappear from our lives.

Though, you’ll meet such people even after finishing school. And there’s also the possibility of keeping them close… but also of losing them. Yeah…

In “Looking for Alaska”, we meet young Miles Halter. Our protagonist has been unnoticeable all his life (and seems to like it that way), when he suddenly decides to temporarily move to Florida and continue his education at “Culver Creek Preparatory High School”. Miles is one of those quiet, almost imperceptible guys. He loves to read, and particularly interesting is his “hobby” of reading biographies of world historical figures and memorizing their last words (yes, I know, now your hobby with napkins or scented stickers seems so harmless and boring 😀).

Soon after arriving, our protagonist gets a roommate in Chip “The Colonel” Martin, who rechristens the skinny Miles as “Pudge,” and the two quickly become friends.

The bad news is, on his very first night, Miles is kidnapped by the “Weekday Warriors” (a term used for the rich kids), wrapped in duct tape, and thrown into a nearby lake. Unfortunately (or fortunately), this isn’t typical newbie initiation but rather Miles being the victim of revenge by the rich kids, blaming “The Colonel” and his group for their (rich) friend being expelled from school, making poor “Pudge” both a victim and collateral damage.

And who are “The Colonel’s” companions? There’s wannabe hip-hop DJ Takumi Hikohito. And then there’s charming Lara, a Romanian immigrant who soon takes a liking to “Pudge”.

And there’s Alaska Young… Ah, Alaska… Young and stunning, but slightly emotionally unstable, a girl who instantly spins Pudge’s head and heart.

So our “Pudge” falls into this little group, known for their pranks on the “Weekday Warriors” and the dean in charge of students, known as “The Eagle” (with his piercing eyes), while trying to cope with challenging school subjects (including Professor Hyde, known as “The Old Man,” and his themes related to religion), flirting a bit, drinking a little, snacking, cheating on a test, finishing high school, going to college, getting a job, getting married, having children, and dying happy in old age.

And they all lived happily ever after…

…if only life was that simple, which it isn’t.

However, the plot of this novel has its own course. Just like life, right?

While reading “Looking for Alaska,” you get the impression that the author has indeed woven a part of himself and his high school experiences into this novel. And for that reason, I think this novel will appeal to all generations (but more on impressions later).