I’m warning you now that this may just be a horrible review because it’s hard to find words to describe this book. Partly because it was just amazing and partly because I don’t want to give anything away. This one will certainly make my top 10 list of the year though. I put Looking for Alaska on my wishlist awhile back but I instantly went and checked it out from the library after reading Nymeth’s amazing review where she compared it somewhat to The Virgin Suicides. I can certainly see where the resemblance comes from.
Like The Virgin Suicides, this book brought to me a feeling of nostalgia for days past, for a time that’s come and gone, and for a time that may have never existed but a time that you still miss. The book is full of feelings of melancholy, hazy summer days, teenage firsts, love, loss, sorrow, and searching. Green’s characters are fully three dimensional and believable and I feel like I’ve known somebody just like each of his characters.
As I said, there’s not much that I can say of the actual story, but I’ll tell you what I can. The book is split into two sections: “before” and “after”, so you know from the beginning that something big is going to happen somewhere in the middle. The section headings count down “128 days before” and so on…Our narrator is Miles, a young man from Florida who has had problems at his school and has never had many friends and is going to live at a boarding school in Alabama. Miles has always had a fascination with people’s last words. His favorite being the last words of Francois Rabelais, “I go to seek a Great Perhaps“.
Miles arrives at the boarding school and quickly makes friends with a group of people who introduce him to the joys of teenage life and the bonds of friendship. One of the people is Alaska Young, a young girl who smokes, drinks, talks about sex, and loves to read. When hearing of Miles’ (now called “Pudge” since he’s so skinny) love for last words, she tells him about her favorite last words from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s book The General in His Labyrinth. Simon Bolivar says as he dies “How will I ever get out of this labyrinth?” It is a question that follows throughout the book and it’s a powerful question when you think of what it means.
Like I said, not the best review, but trust me when I say that this is one of the best and most powerful books that I’ve read this year. I was hooked from page 1 through page 221 and I still wanted more. To anyone who’s ever been a teenager, fallen in love, gone through hard times, crumbled and tried to pick up the pieces, you’ll feel at one with Green’s writing. It’s magic what he does with a pen.
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I’m so happy to see you enjoyed this one.
I just finished reading/reviewing Paper Towns, John Green’s third novel. I still need to catch up on the second though.
Chris is back! Chris is back!!! I’m so happy to see you posting.
I’ve read the other Looking for Alaska (about Alaska . . . go figure). This one scared me, but you and Nymeth are tempting me. I tried to read The General in His Labyrinth and it bored me. That’s just a side note.
*sigh* I dunno Chris… I’ll think on this one. My TBR pile is growing again.. plus I did get book 3 to Sabriel and still waiting for book 2 to come into supply again to read those… plus next tuesday a book gets released that I want and will also order the 2 books to go with the book Cath sent me… and if that isn’t all enough soon Carl will have is halloween challenge, and somewhere in here I HAVE to reread Inkheart and Inkspell and the last book comes out in October (right in the middle of Carl’s challenge! Which I’ll join but now am wondering if I’ll get to finish it because of all these books I want to get to that aren’t even on his challenge! *groan*… oh, and as you may notice, I’ve been on a bit of a biography kick (it happens now and then) and the over a thousand page John Ford book is wanting to be picked up! I’m sure when I pick that up at least a month of other reading is gone!
in other words… I have to wait on this ! But I will add it to the list on Amazon so I don’t forget it. …cripes I need help lol lol
Oh my!!! The great perhaps, the labyrinth. Teenage stuff? Death? oh, my! You have me thinking of suicides or the death of the loved one. I soo hope not. It sounds really good, though. and the section heading idea countdown idea is intriguing. Nostalgia is hard to write although YA books and books about teenagers generally do it pretty well. I’m wondering, though…. the melancholy….
So glad to see you. Two reviews in two days. Neat! I was missing you. -C
When I read Nymeth’s review, I immediately went and dug this out of my TBR stacks and put it on my nightstand. But I made myself promise that I would not crack it open until I finished at least a couple of the books that I already have started. You’re making it very hard for me to keep that promise!
First of all, no, not at all a horrible review! I know how hard it is to write about this one without gving “it” away, but you did a splendid job, Chris.
This is going to be on my list of favourites of the year for sure too. Unless I come across 20 other books that are even better, which would be awesome, but it’s doubtful
On a side note, you so have to read The Virgin Suicides!
Don’t you hate when you love a book but can’t explain why? I’m having the same problem with Mister Pip.
You and Nymeth have me intrigued by this book, and I’m definitely going to have to read it.
The internet has spoken. I must read this book.
Man….review number 2 of this book, and it looks like I’ll have to get it now. I thought your review was great!
Good to see you back again!!
i just picked this up last week and hope to get to it soon!
Okay, I must read this soon. Drats, another one!
You and Nymeth are a very bad influence, especially when you combine your super book powers. I like that you compared it to The Virgin Suicides. I need to read that as I loved the film and reading Middlesex.
[...] but I wasn’t in any rush to grab a copy, however a couple of incredibly positive reviews at Stuff as Dreams are Made on and Things Mean a Lot convinced me to make more of an effort to find a copy, in the end I ordered a [...]
Thanks for a great review that convinced me to finally read this book!
I really need the push to go out and find a copy.
You can read my thoughts on it here.
I’ve been reading a lot of great reviews about this book lately. I’ll have to check it out.
I love the before and after structure, too. It’s really an amazing book in many ways.
Ooh, this one sounds intriguing. It’s on my list. Thanks!