Just finished the book a couple days ago, overall it was an awesome book!! It is a teen fiction book I would recommend this book for teens because that was the audience intended. I loved that the book was divided into the "before" and "after" parts because the entire before was like a countdown to the "after" which made you keep reading because you wanted to find out what happens "after. I'm not spoiling the "after" but I'll just say that there is a major plot twist. The settings and characters were also done very well, it was set at Culver Creek Boarding School and the author really made the setting come to life. The characters in this book were all unique and the author did a really good job of describing the characters you felt like you actually knew these people it was very interesting. I would give this book a 9 out 10 just because I think no book is perfect but overall it was awesome.
I could not stop reading the after part it was filled with so much suspense and I loved it! I am very excited to read some of John Green's other books. "The fault in our stars" sounds really cool I might just borrow it from the library.
I would also give this book a nine out of ten, maybe even a nine point five out of ten because it was very suspenseful, the characters had interesting personality's, it left you wondering how Alaska died and the author didn't go too much into detail (ex: The Lord Of The Flies) but just enough so it wasn't boring. A very good read
Probably my favorite quote from the book! "When adults say ‘Teenagers think they are invincible’ with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don’t know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We thinks that we are invincible because we are".
My favorite quote from the book was "I people were rain I was a drizzle and she was a hurricane". It gives you a sense of how highly Miles thinks about Alaska. This guy would do anything for her! Even when he was dating Lara he was thinking about Alaska. Alaska was his world.
There was a quote that I thought was very interesting in this book. it was "i go to seek a great perhaps, so i don't have to wait till i die to start seeking a great perhaps" maybe Alaska committed suicide because she was confused about her life on earth and maybe wanted to seek a great perhaps in another life?
One of my favorite quotes from the novel is definitely "Francois Rabelais. He was a poet. His last words were "I go to seek a great perhaps." That's why I'm going, so I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a great perhaps." I love this quote because I really believe in seizing the moment and if you want to do something even if it's a big risk if you love and believe in it, do it! Don't wait till you're on your death bed to seek your great perhaps. - Jessica
Hi Megan! Good start! I hope you read some of the other John Green books as many SWL students and teachers seem to enjoy them! Abundance of Katherines, Fault through the Stars, Paper Towns. :) Ms. Morton
What makes your book? What I think makes Looking for Alaska, is Alaska Young. Without Alaska this book would be about just a bunch of teens goofing around, even though she isn’t the main character the book revolves around thus the title “Looking for Alaska”. Miles off the bat falls in love with her and gets dragged into Alaska’s world. You really become immersed into it cause Alaska is a truly fascinating character, the before part of the book is basically about Miles trying to figure out more about Alaska cause she is the mystery in this book. Often saying strange and mysterious things such as, “Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die.” And things that Miles say about her “if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane." But in the after part Alaska truly makes the book. **SPOILER ALERT** In the “after” part of this book Alaska Young dies in a car accident and the whole after part is about Takumi, Chip and Miles metaphorically looking for Alaska trying to figure out how and why she died. It ends up consuming them until they figure out why, it shows that even when someone dies a part of them never truly leaves you and that is very true in this book cause even though Alaska dies Miles and Colonel never quite forget. They end up doing what they can to make sure Alaska is never forgotten that’s why they do a Alaska Young Memorial Prank so that people will remember her. Alaska Young makes this book the story revolves around her and without her this book would have been nothing.
I completely agree with everything Megan said. Without Alaska the book would have no storyline and be completely bland, the book wouldn't exist without Alaska Young. Alaska is very mysterious but like Megan said you become immersed into the book because of her just like Miles does. The female characters that John Green comes up with for his novels are always so intriguing and you can't help but love them and that's definitely how I feel about Alaska in this novel. - Jessica
I agree with you 100 percent Megan! Alaska was a very interesting girl who I think was very smart but sadly a lot of the characters didn't realize that. I think the pranks she helped plan were hysterical and very clever that even their deen (the eagle) took it as a joke. Posted by Omar
I agree with you 100 percent Megan! Alaska was a very interesting girl who I think was very smart but sadly a lot of the characters didn't realize that. I think the pranks she helped plan were hysterical and very clever that even their deen (the eagle) took it as a joke.
Do you think Alaska Young killed herself? This is probably the biggest question in this book and the author never gives the answer, he leaves it up to the readers to decide for themselves. In my opinion I do believe she committed suicide, she may have not been planning to when she got in the car but I think she decided to drive into that cop car. Basically what happened is that Alaska wakes up at 3 at night screaming about forgetting something, she then gets into her car even though she is really drunk. She then ends up ramming into a police car in the middle of the road with lights flashing, she had plenty of time to swerve or break but the car never did slow or swerve it just rammed head on into the police car. I believe she committed suicide, throughout the book Alaska would say weird things like “Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die.” And she would also drink too much, smoke too much and drive too fast as if she was trying to put her life at risk. Then towards the end we find out that the day she died was the anniversary of her mom’s death and that’s why she left in the middle of the night to put flowers on her moms grave cause she forgot. Her dad always blamed Alaska for her mom’s death because her mom collapsed at home and Alaska didn’t have the sense to dial 911, she was only a little kid at the time. So I believe she did end up killing herself because she just felt like she made enough mistakes in life and that it she didn’t want to mess up anything else. I believe that she never truly forgave herself for letting her mother die; she just got tired with living with the guilt and regrets. I still don’t know for sure if she did or did not commit suicide but I’m glad it’s a mystery because it lets the readers decide for once.
I like that John Green let the reader decide the ending with their own opinions and ideas as well. When asked on his blog whether or no Alaska had committed suicide he answer "I dunno." I know most people think she committed suicide and I want to believe that as well but there's still that part of me that wants to believe that she didn't and that it was because she was drunk. So 60% believes that she committed suicide but there's still that 40% of hope that I keep that maybe that's not what John Green's intentions were although he won't reveal them. - Jessica
What part of life do you understand better, or see differently after reading this book? I see death differently after I read this book; it reminds you how easy it is to lose people and how fragile our lives really are. “You never know. It’s just. It’s like. POOF. And you’re gone”-Chip that quote is very true cause that’s what death is like you’re here than POOF you’re not, you no longer exist and the only things left are the memories people have of you. Death can happen at any instant when your least expecting it and Alaska’s death was a shock to me, it came when I least expected it, things seemed to be going well in the book. Then she was just gone. Death is therefore unpredictable it can happen at any moment it can be an accident or intentional. It also helped me understand what can motivate someone to kill themselves and how it’s really a buildup of bad events that can lead up to that ultimate decision. Granted we don’t if Alaska actually killed herself but we can see why she would feel the need to end her life. It also helped me understand that pain is inevitable and suffering is optional, because Alaska really chose to suffer because she kept on blaming herself for her mother’s death ans she made herself suffer. It really shows how people can really choose to suffer or they can just move on, Alaska never forgave herself and she let guilt consume her. So I understand better that part of life because we will all experience pain but it’s our choice to suffer.
I agree that death is obviously inevitable and that it can happen at anytime You don't know when you're going to die, it happens like the quote from Chip says you're here then POOF you're not. Which is why Alaska's death was so shocking because you didn't think that would happen, I knew something was going to happen because she was drinking and driving but I didn't think she'd die, it shocked and hurt myself as well as the other characters. I think that Alaska's suffering and blaming herself for her mother's death came at first mainly from her father and later from herself because in a sense he drilled it into her mind that she was to blame and that she was a horrible person so after a while she started to believe it. - Jessica
If Alaska hadn’t died, do you think her and Miles would end up dating? That is also a question I had when I finished the book, because we all knew throughout the book that Miles was in love with the book but Alaska already had a boyfriend. A couple hours before she died her and Miles kissed and stuff, and when she left she said “To be continued”. Talk about bad timing. So would she and Miles have ended up together if she had not died? I think they would have because I feel that Alaska finally ended up falling for Miles, she and Miles grew closer and closer as the book progressed and eventually she fell in love with him. But now Alaska will always be Miles biggest what if cause he will never know if she did love him. But I think she would have broken up with her current boyfriend Jake and gone with Miles, I would have liked to see it happen though.
I also thought about that a lot after Alaska died. I agree with Megan that they definitely would have ended up dating because it was clear before Alaska died that she had fallen in love with Miles like he did with her. I wish they could have ended up together in the end if it not for Alaska's death. I feel that they were meant to be in each other's lives, they were two very different people who learned a lot from each other. - Jessica
Just finished the book a couple days ago, overall it was an awesome book!! It is a teen fiction book I would recommend this book for teens because that was the audience intended. I loved that the book was divided into the "before" and "after" parts because the entire before was like a countdown to the "after" which made you keep reading because you wanted to find out what happens "after. I'm not spoiling the "after" but I'll just say that there is a major plot twist. The settings and characters were also done very well, it was set at Culver Creek Boarding School and the author really made the setting come to life. The characters in this book were all unique and the author did a really good job of describing the characters you felt like you actually knew these people it was very interesting. I would give this book a 9 out 10 just because I think no book is perfect but overall it was awesome.
ReplyDeleteI could not stop reading the after part it was filled with so much suspense and I loved it! I am very excited to read some of John Green's other books. "The fault in our stars" sounds really cool I might just borrow it from the library.
DeleteI would also give this book a nine out of ten, maybe even a nine point five out of ten because it was very suspenseful, the characters had interesting personality's, it left you wondering how Alaska died and the author didn't go too much into detail (ex: The Lord Of The Flies) but just enough so it wasn't boring. A very good read
DeleteProbably my favorite quote from the book! "When adults say ‘Teenagers think they are invincible’ with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don’t know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We thinks that we are invincible because we are".
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quote from the book was "I people were rain I was a drizzle and she was a hurricane". It gives you a sense of how highly Miles thinks about Alaska. This guy would do anything for her! Even when he was dating Lara he was thinking about Alaska. Alaska was his world.
DeleteThere was a quote that I thought was very interesting in this book. it was "i go to seek a great perhaps, so i don't have to wait till i die to start seeking a great perhaps" maybe Alaska committed suicide because she was confused about her life on earth and maybe wanted to seek a great perhaps in another life?
DeleteOne of my favorite quotes from the novel is definitely "Francois Rabelais. He was a poet. His last words were "I go to seek a great perhaps." That's why I'm going, so I don't have to wait until I die to start seeking a great perhaps." I love this quote because I really believe in seizing the moment and if you want to do something even if it's a big risk if you love and believe in it, do it! Don't wait till you're on your death bed to seek your great perhaps. - Jessica
DeleteHi Megan!
ReplyDeleteGood start! I hope you read some of the other John Green books as many SWL students and teachers seem to enjoy them!
Abundance of Katherines, Fault through the Stars, Paper Towns.
:) Ms. Morton
What makes your book?
ReplyDeleteWhat I think makes Looking for Alaska, is Alaska Young. Without Alaska this book would be about just a bunch of teens goofing around, even though she isn’t the main character the book revolves around thus the title “Looking for Alaska”. Miles off the bat falls in love with her and gets dragged into Alaska’s world. You really become immersed into it cause Alaska is a truly fascinating character, the before part of the book is basically about Miles trying to figure out more about Alaska cause she is the mystery in this book. Often saying strange and mysterious things such as, “Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die.” And things that Miles say about her “if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane." But in the after part Alaska truly makes the book. **SPOILER ALERT** In the “after” part of this book Alaska Young dies in a car accident and the whole after part is about Takumi, Chip and Miles metaphorically looking for Alaska trying to figure out how and why she died. It ends up consuming them until they figure out why, it shows that even when someone dies a part of them never truly leaves you and that is very true in this book cause even though Alaska dies Miles and Colonel never quite forget. They end up doing what they can to make sure Alaska is never forgotten that’s why they do a Alaska Young Memorial Prank so that people will remember her. Alaska Young makes this book the story revolves around her and without her this book would have been nothing.
I completely agree with everything Megan said. Without Alaska the book would have no storyline and be completely bland, the book wouldn't exist without Alaska Young. Alaska is very mysterious but like Megan said you become immersed into the book because of her just like Miles does. The female characters that John Green comes up with for his novels are always so intriguing and you can't help but love them and that's definitely how I feel about Alaska in this novel. - Jessica
DeleteI agree with you 100 percent Megan! Alaska was a very interesting girl who I think was very smart but sadly a lot of the characters didn't realize that. I think the pranks she helped plan were hysterical and very clever that even their deen (the eagle) took it as a joke. Posted by Omar
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100 percent Megan! Alaska was a very interesting girl who I think was very smart but sadly a lot of the characters didn't realize that. I think the pranks she helped plan were hysterical and very clever that even their deen (the eagle) took it as a joke.
DeleteDo you think Alaska Young killed herself?
ReplyDeleteThis is probably the biggest question in this book and the author never gives the answer, he leaves it up to the readers to decide for themselves. In my opinion I do believe she committed suicide, she may have not been planning to when she got in the car but I think she decided to drive into that cop car. Basically what happened is that Alaska wakes up at 3 at night screaming about forgetting something, she then gets into her car even though she is really drunk. She then ends up ramming into a police car in the middle of the road with lights flashing, she had plenty of time to swerve or break but the car never did slow or swerve it just rammed head on into the police car. I believe she committed suicide, throughout the book Alaska would say weird things like “Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die.” And she would also drink too much, smoke too much and drive too fast as if she was trying to put her life at risk. Then towards the end we find out that the day she died was the anniversary of her mom’s death and that’s why she left in the middle of the night to put flowers on her moms grave cause she forgot. Her dad always blamed Alaska for her mom’s death because her mom collapsed at home and Alaska didn’t have the sense to dial 911, she was only a little kid at the time. So I believe she did end up killing herself because she just felt like she made enough mistakes in life and that it she didn’t want to mess up anything else. I believe that she never truly forgave herself for letting her mother die; she just got tired with living with the guilt and regrets. I still don’t know for sure if she did or did not commit suicide but I’m glad it’s a mystery because it lets the readers decide for once.
I like that John Green let the reader decide the ending with their own opinions and ideas as well. When asked on his blog whether or no Alaska had committed suicide he answer "I dunno." I know most people think she committed suicide and I want to believe that as well but there's still that part of me that wants to believe that she didn't and that it was because she was drunk. So 60% believes that she committed suicide but there's still that 40% of hope that I keep that maybe that's not what John Green's intentions were although he won't reveal them. - Jessica
DeleteWhat part of life do you understand better, or see differently after reading this book?
ReplyDeleteI see death differently after I read this book; it reminds you how easy it is to lose people and how fragile our lives really are. “You never know. It’s just. It’s like. POOF. And you’re gone”-Chip that quote is very true cause that’s what death is like you’re here than POOF you’re not, you no longer exist and the only things left are the memories people have of you. Death can happen at any instant when your least expecting it and Alaska’s death was a shock to me, it came when I least expected it, things seemed to be going well in the book. Then she was just gone. Death is therefore unpredictable it can happen at any moment it can be an accident or intentional. It also helped me understand what can motivate someone to kill themselves and how it’s really a buildup of bad events that can lead up to that ultimate decision. Granted we don’t if Alaska actually killed herself but we can see why she would feel the need to end her life. It also helped me understand that pain is inevitable and suffering is optional, because Alaska really chose to suffer because she kept on blaming herself for her mother’s death ans she made herself suffer. It really shows how people can really choose to suffer or they can just move on, Alaska never forgave herself and she let guilt consume her. So I understand better that part of life because we will all experience pain but it’s our choice to suffer.
I agree that death is obviously inevitable and that it can happen at anytime You don't know when you're going to die, it happens like the quote from Chip says you're here then POOF you're not. Which is why Alaska's death was so shocking because you didn't think that would happen, I knew something was going to happen because she was drinking and driving but I didn't think she'd die, it shocked and hurt myself as well as the other characters. I think that Alaska's suffering and blaming herself for her mother's death came at first mainly from her father and later from herself because in a sense he drilled it into her mind that she was to blame and that she was a horrible person so after a while she started to believe it. - Jessica
DeleteIf Alaska hadn’t died, do you think her and Miles would end up dating?
ReplyDeleteThat is also a question I had when I finished the book, because we all knew throughout the book that Miles was in love with the book but Alaska already had a boyfriend. A couple hours before she died her and Miles kissed and stuff, and when she left she said “To be continued”. Talk about bad timing. So would she and Miles have ended up together if she had not died? I think they would have because I feel that Alaska finally ended up falling for Miles, she and Miles grew closer and closer as the book progressed and eventually she fell in love with him. But now Alaska will always be Miles biggest what if cause he will never know if she did love him. But I think she would have broken up with her current boyfriend Jake and gone with Miles, I would have liked to see it happen though.
I also thought about that a lot after Alaska died. I agree with Megan that they definitely would have ended up dating because it was clear before Alaska died that she had fallen in love with Miles like he did with her. I wish they could have ended up together in the end if it not for Alaska's death. I feel that they were meant to be in each other's lives, they were two very different people who learned a lot from each other. - Jessica
ReplyDelete