Book: Looking for Alaska

"Looking for Alaska" was the first book I've read written by John Green. I heard good reviews about the book online and from some friends. The book won the 2006 Printz Award as his debut novel. I read it during the summer of 2011. I chose Looking for Alaska because I recently read it again a few weeks ago and it’s actually the first book I’ve ever read again. It was totally worth it.

Looking for Alaska has a unique arrive on my taste on books. When I read the first few chapters of the book, I didn't really capture the whole idea of the story. I thought of the protagonist, Miles as a loser, who also admitted it himself. Miles has this unusual obsession on reading famous last words and author's biographies without reading any of their books. He set himself to an adventure by moving to Culver Creek Boarding School to seek the "Great Perhaps." It was his answer to their argument for leaving home. With the heat and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek, he met Alaska Young. The out of this world, gorgeous and adventurous Alaska.

His roommate, The Colonel introduced him to Alaska. Along the way, he met Takumi and together they spent most days. Spending time drinking, smoking, studying, hanging out and the highlight of it all, the pranks. Miles evolved wildly into a whole new person, caught in the snare of drugs, cigarettes and pranking the rich and authoritative students of the Creek. While looking for "Great Perhaps" he then became affected by these changes. Miles falls in love with Alaska deeply in his own definition. When they shared one kiss, she stopped and told him "to be continued."

After that one kiss they shared, Miles' life changed drastically. The Colonel and Pudge aka Miles tries to make sense of it all and seek for answers. And on this process, they find answers to questions they weren't even asking.

When Miles became Pudge, the smoking wine drinker, he felt the deepest, obscure love and sorrow towards what has happen to the "Great Perhaps" that he was looking for.

This book has taken me to a whole new level on the concept of love. It was amazing. And I know that “love” is not something that one person can talk about fluidly. I think anyone can and will understand love when the person has experienced it. Any reader may think of the story as mainstream but once you get into the character's life and view, it is beyond ordinary. Every detail told unveils a different story and that's what I loved most about the book. Each character just moves you. Love and grief moved me. Pudge made it seemed that love is something you don't have to wait for. Not like those books with stories, telling that love is something you strive and work hard for. This book showed the different kind. Love was something you just do. It's something that just comes naturally. And even if he was given love vaguely, he had it and he felt it. It was there. The book was dramatically passionate. The sorrow Pudge felt was for loss.

But in my point of view, it's a bit different. I believe that no one can be that broken that cannot be mend. In my view, I think the sorrow was for Alaska. The point was to find the way out of the labyrinth but she just found herself helpless, weak and cold in the end. That's brokenness for me. That's what people should work on.