Summer Reading Post #4: Looking for Alaska

***SPOILER ALERT***

I chose Looking for Alaska because of the author. John Green also wrote The Fault in our Stars, which is up in my favorite books. There were many, many connections, in very strange ways. Not to be depressing, but honest, but I relate to a lot of the thoughts Miles has about Alaska’s death. There’s always questions. The finality of death hits you and takes your breath away. It’s like instantly aging 10 years. Miles just wants to know why. I could agree with that to some extent. There’s always the “why me?” floating around. Another thing in specific, the constant reminders of a human passed come with everything you do, and Looking for Alaska really does show that. Anything that someone loved is a sudden thought of them, and it’s hard.

I would recommend this book to any teenager. There is a part for any and everyone in John Green’s book. This one just focuses on loss specifically. The confusion of situation, the sadness of moving on, and the satisfaction of knowing, are all inevitable feelings that high schoolers face. There’s no avoiding it. So in conclusion to this post, but not to my thoughts on the book, this book is a very relevant source of an accurate portrayal of loss, and I highly recommend it.

Summer Reading Post #3: Looking for Alaska

One section of the book that I got me hooked was something Alaska said. Miles and her are talking about where they got their names, especially one like "Alaska". Miles then tries to kiss Alaska and is abruptly stopped. She then goes on to talking about how if there's something you want, you have to go for it before you can't anymore. She says,"You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present," (Green 54).

This part grabs me and pulls me in. It's such a reality check. Like, what are we all waiting for? She is saying that if you want to do something, do it, and do it now. You can't think about it, the time we have is fragile. When she says, "You use the future to escape the present," it reminds everyone that by thinking about the future, you're wasting your present.  By then, it might not even be what you want anymore. Alaska is very thoughtful and her character is addictive.