I have been wanting to read Looking for Alaska for quite a while. Out of the John Green books I had read previously I really enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars, but I didn't care for Paper Towns. I've been curious about this one and I really needed a John Green tie-breaker. Unfortunately, since this one was very middle of the road, I still don't know where I stand on John Green books. They are all over the place for me.
I took a quiz once on Facebook (probably Buzzfeed or something) that was to see what John Green character you are. My result was Alaska and after reading Looking for Alaska I'm not sure how I feel about that. She definitely is a screwed-up character! And very moody. Well I guess I can be very moody. :P
I enjoyed that Miles was looking for "The Great Perhaps." I could immediately connect with him as far as reading about adventures in books and wanting to find that in real life. I like that he read about going to boarding school in a biography and that led him to decide to attend a boarding school. I also liked that the boarding school was a school for smart kids and it was all very Dead Poets Society. Which I LOVE that movie!
The best part about Looking for Alaska was the humor. It wasn't ALL of the book, but the few humorous parts were pretty darn good. I wish there had been even more of that in the book. I also really liked the growth of Miles. His character development was pretty on point for his age. I can remember being that age between a kid and an adult and really finding out some things about the world. This is definitely a good one for TEENS. Not that it's bad for adults, but I think that maybe if I was still a teenager I would have appreciated this one even better.
One thing that really bugged me was the countdown in the book. It made the plot really obvious and it was distracting for me. The other thing I didn't care for was how the end (the after part) dragged on. It's already a short book, but it probably could have been even shorter. The end went on and on taking too much time exploring plot lines that were already extremely obvious.
Overall Looking for Alaska was mostly enjoyable, but it wasn't a GREAT book for me. I would still say it's worth a read though. Especially for someone who actually is a teen.
I recommend Looking for Alaska for fans of books with a screwed-up female character, Dead Poets Society, and boarding school novels.
I don't know what it is about John Green's writing, but it just doesn't work for me. I tried reading A Fault In Our Stars some time back and it just wasn't for me. I'm glad that you liked parts of this one even though it wasn't the best book for you, Erin!
ReplyDeleteFrom your review, it's safe to assume this won't be one I'll enjoy.
Great review!
Oh if you didn't like that one then I really can't suggest this one for you. I think I'm just not really a John Green fan. Not bad, but not great overall for me.
DeleteI'm a fan of THE MAN. LOL! Forgive me, I'm on cup number 3 of my caffeine mojo. This is on of my TBR Challenge books this year, so I'm sure I'll be reading it soon.
ReplyDeleteYeah!!! CAFFEINE!! I hope you love this one when you read it. :D
DeleteThe humor sounds great as does the setting. Erin I have never tried a Green book!
ReplyDeleteYes, both definitely were great. Oh, wow! You may have to try one someday and see what you think. :)
DeleteI do love Green, glad this was an okay read for you even if it won't be a favorite. ;)
ReplyDeleteYeah it won't be a favorite, but there were a few things I really enjoyed about it. :))))
DeleteI've debated on reading this one. I wasn't a big fan of The Fault in Our Stars, so I'm not in a big rush to read more books from John Green.
ReplyDeleteDena @ Batch of Books
Ooo I don't know if I would recommend you read another one, but you never know! :)
DeleteI love John Green, but this is my least favorite book by him. Maybe if you try a new one, you'll enjoy them more, some of them are hilarious!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm glad it wasn't that bad for you.
Which ones do you suggest I try if I decide to try any more of his books?
DeleteI really want to read this one too so I'm sorry it wasn't great -- the count down does seem distracting! I may pick this up still when I'm in the right mood. Great review!
ReplyDeleteIf it looks pretty good to you then I recommend you still give it a go. I hope you enjoy it.
DeleteI'm no longer on the fence about John Green. I don't dislike his stuff but I can just live without it. I will read this one because I already bought it but I don't see myself running for anything else. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteI know just what you mean. Maybe that sums me up about John Green, I can live without it. I may try another at some point, but maybe only if it's picked for my IRL book club like this one was. :P
DeleteI still haven't read a book by John Green. *hides face* But I won't be starting out with Paper Towns now, so thank you! And those buzzfeed quizzes are so addicting, I always end up clicking them in my Facebook feed too lol!
ReplyDeleteI definitely recommend not starting with Paper Towns for sure haha. Right? Those quizzes are crazy addictive. :)
DeleteI have only read Fault in Our stars from him. I thought this was supposed to be his best book though. Even while reading FIOS I felt like I didn't buy some things that teens definitely would. Great Review!
ReplyDeleteTori @InToriLex
Oh I had no idea this was supposed to be his best book! It was good, just not great. I liked TFIOS better.
DeleteI really liked this book, but I can see where you might feel that it would be a book teens would relate to more than adults. I felt that way with Perks of Being a Wallflower. I LIKED it, but felt that if I had read it as a teen, I would have CONNECTED more with it. "I go to find a great perhaps" is one of my all-time favorite book beginnings. Like right from the start I knew whatever happened next for Miles was going to be huge and life-changing. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI feel that way about Perks of Being a Wallflower too. I think I rated that one the same as this one. That is a great beginning. There definitely were some good things in this book that made it worth reading. :)
DeleteI'm with Nick - I personally cannot do John Green. Or Nicholas Sparks, in related/unrelated news. I'm very happy for all the people that love Green's work, but it probably won't ever be me (though I never say never). :D Great post, Erin!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa @ The Eater of Books!
John Green and Nicholas Sparks are not for everyone, that's for sure. I do like Sparks books and movies. But let's be real, they are all the same! Haha! 100% same formula, but I don't mind them. If I space them out a lot. :P
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