Book Review: Looking for Alaska
Where to start? First off, I am a huge fan of John Green--I read his books, I watch his videos, I follow him on social media, but mostly, I love him because he's also a fellow Hoosier. I had high expectations for this book considering I loved The Fault in Our Stars so much. But sadly, all I can say is that this book just wasn't enough for me.
When I say, "it wasn't enough," I mean that by the time I got done reading it I kept thinking that there should be more. I wanted the characters to be built up more, I wanted the story between Alaska and her friends to seem more real, I wanted a more vivid picture in my mind, but I didn't get that. I think everyone should read this book. It's an easy read and can keep your attention, but I'm not sure that it's a book worthy of being thought hard about or studied in schools.
Reading through this book I kept thinking, "okay, this is good, this is going somewhere," but by the time I flipped to the last page all I could say was, "THAT'S IT?!?" There was a definitive close, there was a nice little wrap up, but it needed more build up, more connection, and maybe just more detail.
I'm no literary expert, so my opinion on this book might be one that a lot of people disagree with. While reading this I felt as though the characters were made half heartedly and their connections were fleeting at best.
What really got me was when I skimmed through the last few pages of my extended edition. It included a personal discussion guide created by John Green to help aid students and others who were discussing this in a literary setting. That was what really made me think, "wait, what?!" This book was nothing to be critically looked at, there was no deep symbolism to be talked about, it was simply a sad story between teenagers that discussed how they handled said situation.
I know I should surely be seeing a lot of people cringe because I know a lot of people don't agree with me. What are your thoughts about the book? Let me know in the comment section below!
P.S. One of my goals for 2016 is to read more. In order to make friends, keep myself accountable, and generally just have a fun learning environment to be a part of this year, I started a Goodreads online book club called The Resolutioner's Book Club--feel free to join!!
We will be committing to reading a book per month and posting discussions about all kinds of topics every week. I hope you can join me.
