John Green was already one of my favourite authors before reading this book. I had read just The Fault in Our Stars by him yet I liked him. His writing is so raw and real. When I finished this book, I was not sure how to write its review. Whether to be happy or to be sad. I was conflicted literally because of the ending? I am not sure if it was meant to end like that or it was on purpose? But yet, I love the overall book. But here, I should definitely mention that I would have enjoyed it way more if I would have read it like 3-4 years back.
Miles Halter is the main protagonist of the story who lives in Florida. He is not a social person and is in search of his “Great Perhaps”. So Miles decides to attend the Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama to start a fresh life. There he makes his first friend Chip, known as “the Colonel” by all. He nicknamed Miles as “Pudge” and called him with the same name throughout the book. The Colonel introduces him to his friend, Alaska, who was a fierce and mysterious girl. Miles instantly falls in love with her. All of them are then involves in various pranks and mishappenings and then BAM! There is the unexpected mid-way surprise. I am not telling what that middle thing is (for the sake of spoilers) but that event divides the book into two part. One Before and one After that event.
The Before part is filled with a lot of high school events, the building of relations, the pranks that student plays and all. Yes, the typical high-school environment has been explained. The After part describes what happens after that tragic event, how the truth unfolds and how the lives of everyone involved changes. The Before part is kind of happier while the After is the one with lots of sorrow and heartbreak.
The best thing about Looking for Alaska is that it doesn’t feel like it’s a debut novel of John Green. It has so much more hidden things to say then the words can explain. John green has definitely shown his best raw talent in this and proving that you can literally emerge like a different person after you finish his book. It is a gripping tale. It is not a typical boy-meets-girl-falls-in-love-then-separate kind of story. It is a tale of true friendship, the effect of love, the longing for survival, the void in a relationship.
The story is more about Miles then about Alaska (as the title may confuse). The center point for both of them is looking for “labyrinth". I actually didn’t know about this word at the beginning but then it was used so many times in the book that it made itself clear. A unique thing that John Green has put as the hobby of Miles is “remembering the last lines of famous persons". I was like, why would anyone like to remember that? But surely, after reading many such sentences in the book it surely made me interested in those last lines.
"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.” "
The only problem that I had with this story was its ending. I felt like cheated. No seriously I wanted it to end correctly and to know the truth. But I think, the valid point in its favour can be that John wanted to think the readers about it?
All the characters that are mentioned feel like in real life. There are no cheesy ones, not even Alaska (though girls are generally shown as cheesy). I liked how the character of Alaska was made mysterious. And the fact is we often come across such characters in our lives too, who are mysterious in their own ways. The writing was typical John Green style – easy and flowing. And the best things is the beautiful quotes that he writes, which always make me love his work more.
"I may die young, but at least I’ll die smart. "
This story clearly reminded me of many things that were long forgotten. One such thing is the use of “Yellow Pages”. DO you remember this service? I used to use it like 6-7 years ago? There were other events too which clearly reminded that I am reading it little bit late 😛
Looking for Alaska is another fantastic book by John Green. It is funny and heartbreaking at the same time. This gives you new directions and point of thinking. If you love John Green then you should definitely read this.
"If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane."

Looking for Alaska
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– Unabridged
©2008 John Green (P)2019 Listening Library
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Product details
Listening Length | 6 hours and 40 minutes |
---|---|
Author | John Green |
Narrator | Wil Wheaton |
Audible.in Release Date | 24 September 2019 |
Publisher | Listening Library |
Program Type | Audiobook |
Version | Unabridged |
Language | English |
ASIN | B07XYFN4YB |
Best Sellers Rank |
#531 in Audible Audiobooks & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Audiobooks & Originals)
#1 in Fiction on Friendship for Teens #1 in Fiction on Dating & Sex for Teens #2 in Fiction on Death & Dying for Teens |
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Reviewed in India on 3 November 2017
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97 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in India on 28 January 2018
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Out of all the John Green books that I’ve read, I’ve found this one simply the best. It’s better than Fault in our stars for sure. But it’s much more different from that. The story is amazing. The characters are relatable will stay with you for life. It will bring back your days of high school (if you’ve passed out) or shine your days if you’re still in high school. Stop reading reviews. GO READ IT.
63 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in India on 22 September 2018
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Heartbreaking story. Before and after way of writing was beautiful.

5.0 out of 5 stars
Sad story
By Mezna Zubair on 22 September 2018
Heartbreaking story. Before and after way of writing was beautiful.
By Mezna Zubair on 22 September 2018
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41 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in India on 8 October 2019
Looking for Alaska is the first novel written by John Green. It is one of the best teenage fiction books I have read so far. This book is banned in schools in most of the countries due to profanity and sexually explicit scenes.
John Green is the author of other bestsellers novels including The fault in our stars, Paper Towns and is quite popularly known for his teenage fiction books.
Miles Halter is the main character of the story who has an unusual passion for learning peoples last words.
Alaska young is the other character who is young wild and free.
Do read this book to find out how their lives affects each other.
If this review is of any help to you do click 'Helpful Vote' below this review :)
John Green is the author of other bestsellers novels including The fault in our stars, Paper Towns and is quite popularly known for his teenage fiction books.
Miles Halter is the main character of the story who has an unusual passion for learning peoples last words.
Alaska young is the other character who is young wild and free.
Do read this book to find out how their lives affects each other.
If this review is of any help to you do click 'Helpful Vote' below this review :)
Verified Purchase
John Green is the author of other bestsellers novels including The fault in our stars, Paper Towns and is quite popularly known for his teenage fiction books.
Miles Halter is the main character of the story who has an unusual passion for learning peoples last words.
Alaska young is the other character who is young wild and free.
Do read this book to find out how their lives affects each other.
If this review is of any help to you do click 'Helpful Vote' below this review :)

4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best Teenage Fiction
By Krishan Taneja on 8 October 2019
Looking for Alaska is the first novel written by John Green. It is one of the best teenage fiction books I have read so far. This book is banned in schools in most of the countries due to profanity and sexually explicit scenes.By Krishan Taneja on 8 October 2019
John Green is the author of other bestsellers novels including The fault in our stars, Paper Towns and is quite popularly known for his teenage fiction books.
Miles Halter is the main character of the story who has an unusual passion for learning peoples last words.
Alaska young is the other character who is young wild and free.
Do read this book to find out how their lives affects each other.
If this review is of any help to you do click 'Helpful Vote' below this review :)
Images in this review



14 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in India on 21 June 2020
MY VIEW
I was surprised as to how much I loved and enjoyed this book. After reading ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ this was my second novel by ‘John Green’. I had no idea of what to expect but I ended this book within 3 days, and ended feeling a sense of how lightly I myself take my life, how uncertain and fickle moments are. This book has left a deep mark on me with its optimistic approach.
I also loved how Pudge’s parents support him, though they don’t understand him completely.
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This book is from the ‘Young Adult’ genre, which is about a boy with a unusual interest named ‘Miles Halter’ AKA ‘Pudge’ from Florida and his school mates ‘Chipper’ AKA ‘The colonel’, ‘Takumi’, ‘Lara’ and ‘ALASKA’ at this new school ‘Culver Creek’ in Alabama, which ‘Pudge’ joins in the hopes of seeking the ‘Great Perhaps’.
MY VIEW
I was surprised as to how much I loved and enjoyed this book. After reading ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ this was my second novel by ‘John Green’. I had no idea of what to expect but I ended this book within 3 days, and ended feeling a sense of how lightly I myself take my life, how uncertain and fickle moments are. This book has left a deep mark on me with its optimistic approach.
I also loved how Pudge’s parents support him, though they don’t understand him completely.
MY VIEW
I was surprised as to how much I loved and enjoyed this book. After reading ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ this was my second novel by ‘John Green’. I had no idea of what to expect but I ended this book within 3 days, and ended feeling a sense of how lightly I myself take my life, how uncertain and fickle moments are. This book has left a deep mark on me with its optimistic approach.
I also loved how Pudge’s parents support him, though they don’t understand him completely.

4.0 out of 5 stars
Buy it! Worth and short read!
By Rossy Veloshka Dourado on 21 June 2020
This book is from the ‘Young Adult’ genre, which is about a boy with a unusual interest named ‘Miles Halter’ AKA ‘Pudge’ from Florida and his school mates ‘Chipper’ AKA ‘The colonel’, ‘Takumi’, ‘Lara’ and ‘ALASKA’ at this new school ‘Culver Creek’ in Alabama, which ‘Pudge’ joins in the hopes of seeking the ‘Great Perhaps’.By Rossy Veloshka Dourado on 21 June 2020
MY VIEW
I was surprised as to how much I loved and enjoyed this book. After reading ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ this was my second novel by ‘John Green’. I had no idea of what to expect but I ended this book within 3 days, and ended feeling a sense of how lightly I myself take my life, how uncertain and fickle moments are. This book has left a deep mark on me with its optimistic approach.
I also loved how Pudge’s parents support him, though they don’t understand him completely.
Images in this review


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TENN4
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not for your young teen.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 June 2020Verified Purchase
I bought this book for my daughter, she is 14. I was really very disappointed when she said she was enjoying the book but there were some descriptive bits discussing a porn movie and then descriptive sexual content. I really wish books aimed at young people would disclose if there is content like this....some of us what to keep our children from being exposed too young to themes that for adults. She has decided to forego reading the rest, even though she was enjoying it, because she doesn't want to read those parts. I wish writers for teens would follow writer's life Stephenie Meyer, who wrote her books for young people to enjoy - and they did! - but left out descriptive scenes to protect young minds.
14 people found this helpful
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G. Cartmel
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the TV series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 February 2020Verified Purchase
If you've watched the TV series of this story, and loved it, then you'll find the book a little disappointing in comparison. Unlike most stories that are turned to TV or Film, where the book often offers more detail and insight in to the story, this is the other way around. Sure, the story is there in the book, with a few minor differences to the TV show, but when they made it for TV, they did an excellent job of fleshing out the other characters, such as the teachers and parents to bring more of a background and story to them as well as the relationship between all characters. The book itself would have been better with twice the number of pages and more effort put in to the detail; overall it seemed a little rushed, especially when you see what the screenwriters managed to do with it. The General in His Labyrinth by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which is Alaska's favourite book, is worth getting and reading, albeit just as a side interest, though it's certainly more of an adult literature, and can help get an idea of where they were going with Alaska's mental state in relation to it. The authorship of Looking for Alaska certainly shows that it's not a seasoned author that has written it, and there's definitely room for improvement. However, saying that, it's certainly worth a read, just for comparison to the TV show, and for the final detail of Miles' end of term paper, which is the only bit that is perhaps not focused on as much on the TV as it was in the book.
One person found this helpful
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Lucy Annabel
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book that truly stays with you once you have finished it
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2014Verified Purchase
There will never be a book that touches my heart more or sticks with me longer than Looking for Alaska. It was the first John Green book I ever read, unlike most people who started with TFIOS, and will forever be the most important book I have read to date. It is difficult to summarise a story that runs so much deeper than what Green has written, with subtext being a large part of the emotional theme of the book, so all I will say is that I truly recommend it. One of the (many) things I love about John Green's books is the realness of the characters and not necessarily the relatable nature of their situation but more the fact that it could be possible to relate to them in different circumstances, unlike the characters in other books who are 'normal teenagers' who are also shadow hunters or fighting a dystopian regime or who have a completely improbable and almost impossible love story with the perfect other half. Looking for Alaska embraces the normalcy of teenage life, where the adventure doesn't come from life itself but instead from the people in it; in the case of this particular book, an adventurous and daring girl called Alaska Young.
EDIT, Jan 2017: I recently purchased the 10th Anniversary edition as a gift for myself, and I cannot recommend it enough. The additional notes from John in the back of the book are amazingly insightful, and a wonderful edition for anyone who feels attached to the book.
EDIT, Jan 2017: I recently purchased the 10th Anniversary edition as a gift for myself, and I cannot recommend it enough. The additional notes from John in the back of the book are amazingly insightful, and a wonderful edition for anyone who feels attached to the book.
15 people found this helpful
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Ignite
5.0 out of 5 stars
Grabbed my attention
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2015Verified Purchase
In this American High School story our narrator, Miles Halter, is a shy young man with few friends. He becomes part of a small group including the bouncy Alaska. She has a boyfriend at another college and most of the group of friends fall under her spell. She's dynamic, enigmatic, occasionally moody but often fun. We are often allowed into their secret smoking and drinking as well as their classes. Miles, who loves reading of people's last words, is particularly entranced by the religion class run by The Old Man who wheezes his way through lectures.
This is intended, I believe, as a book for young adults but it grabbed my attention and never let up. After a catastrophe for the group, Miles is forced, not only by his own obsessive need to know, but also by the final paper set for the religion class, to consider the meaning of life, the finality or otherwise of death and the whereabouts of Alaska.
This is intended, I believe, as a book for young adults but it grabbed my attention and never let up. After a catastrophe for the group, Miles is forced, not only by his own obsessive need to know, but also by the final paper set for the religion class, to consider the meaning of life, the finality or otherwise of death and the whereabouts of Alaska.
8 people found this helpful
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Frances Stott
2.0 out of 5 stars
What a disappointment!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2015Verified Purchase
Having just read - and loved - The Fault in our Stars, I made the classic mistake of expecting to enjoy the author's other novels just as much. But what a disappointment.
This short novel, about a group of teenagers at boarding school, is divided into two halves; the first, measured in days before a pivotal event (no details to avoid spoilers), and the second in the days following it. The group are very much into practical jokes, which feature prominently in the plot (and are pretty far-fetched, especially the-near drowning of one character). The story is told in the first person by Miles (aka "Pudge"), who like some of his colleagues is obsessed with the beautiful and enigmatic girl Alaska of the title. What happens to Alaska is central to the plot.
I found this novel slow-moving and unconvincing, and while it is well-written, it didn't hold my attention. The behaviour of the students seemed unlikely, and the plot thin. I believe the book was aimed at teens upwards, but I'm afraid I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone.
This short novel, about a group of teenagers at boarding school, is divided into two halves; the first, measured in days before a pivotal event (no details to avoid spoilers), and the second in the days following it. The group are very much into practical jokes, which feature prominently in the plot (and are pretty far-fetched, especially the-near drowning of one character). The story is told in the first person by Miles (aka "Pudge"), who like some of his colleagues is obsessed with the beautiful and enigmatic girl Alaska of the title. What happens to Alaska is central to the plot.
I found this novel slow-moving and unconvincing, and while it is well-written, it didn't hold my attention. The behaviour of the students seemed unlikely, and the plot thin. I believe the book was aimed at teens upwards, but I'm afraid I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone.
2 people found this helpful
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