Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska
Author(s)	John Green
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Young adult novel
Publisher	Dutton Books
Publication date	2005
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	221
ISBN	0-525-47506-0
OCLC Number	55633822
LC Classification	PZ7.G8233 Lo 2005

Looking for Alaska is the first young adult novel by John Green, published in March 2005 by Dutton Juvenile. It won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association. It is divided into two parts, Before and After.

"Before" synopsis

The book begins with Miles Halter's parents throwing him a goodbye party, as he is leaving his Florida home to go to Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama. Although his parents are disappointed when only two people attend, Miles has learned to expect nothing more; he is not popular at his current school. When pressed, he uses François Rabelais's last words — "I go to seek a Great Perhaps" — to explain why he is leaving home. Miles' adventurous side made it easy for him to not be nervous as he left the place he had called home so many years before.

Miles moves to Culver Creek and becomes acquainted with his roommate, Chip "The Colonel" Martin. Shortly after being introduced, the Colonel gives Miles a nickname of his own: "Pudge", ironic because Miles is so thin. His friendship with the Colonel introduces him to Alaska Young, a girl on whom Pudge develops a crush. On his first night, Pudge is duct-taped and thrown into a lake by the "Weekday Warriors", privileged Birmingham-area students. The only apparent reason for this is that he and the Colonel are roommates. The Colonel and Alaska are both furious, and an all-out prank war ensues. Being friends with these pranksters also introduces Pudge to a facet of his "Great Perhaps" that he might have only slightly anticipated, if at all: a newfound sense of danger, and over recklessness at breaking rules through such illicit activities as smoking and drinking on campus.

Pudge's affections for Alaska grow as the novel progresses, but as she is dating a college student, he sees his situation as hopeless. However, Alaska consistently makes subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) comments on how she finds Pudge attractive. Even so, she introduces Pudge to a girl in his math class, the shy Romanian Lara Buterskaya, who becomes his girlfriend. Afterwards Pudge, Lara, Alaska, the Colonel, and their friend Takumi play a "pre-prank" against the Weekday Warriors. In the midst of a drinking game, Alaska reveals that when she was 8 years old, her mother died of a brain aneurysm, and the panic-stricken Alaska watched her mother die, rather than call 911. Although her father eventually forgave her, she has always carried guilt over her mother's death.

Some time later, Alaska, Pudge, and the Colonel play Truth or Dare, with Alaska and the Colonel becoming extremely drunk. Alaska gets close to Pudge and the two share a moment where they kiss. Alaska soon falls asleep, only to be awakened later by the phone. After talking for a few minutes, she comes back into the room screaming and crying hysterically about being sorry. She successfully urges Pudge and the Colonel to distract the "Eagle", the Dean of Students, in order to allow her to drive off campus. The two then go to bed and think nothing of what transpired.

"After" synopsis

The day after Alaska's departure, a schoolwide assembly is called. There, it is revealed that Alaska was killed in a car accident. Heartbroken, Pudge and the Colonel try to uncover the truth about her death: whether it was a suicide or a normal accident, as well as the reasons behind her leaving that night. They must also deal with the guilt of letting her go. They come to realize that the night Alaska left was the anniversary of her mother's death, and she had possibly forgotten to visit the grave. They never find out whether or not she committed suicide. In memorial for Alaska, the Colonel and Pudge pull a prank that Alaska had planned before her death. At the end of the novel, Pudge turns in an essay for school that answers one of Alaska's questions: "How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?" He concludes that to forgive is the way out of the labyrinth of suffering, and Alaska's spirit must still exist somewhere, because it was too full of life to stop existing.

Characters

• Miles "Pudge" Halter – The novel's protagonist, who has an unusual interest in learning famous people's last words. He goes to the boarding school Culver Creek in search of his own "Great Perhaps". Tall and skinny, his friends at Culver ironically nickname him "Pudge". He is attracted to Alaska Young who does not return his feelings. He is frequently compared to Holden Caulfield of J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye.
• Alaska Young – The wild, self-destructive, beautiful and enigmatic girl who captures Pudge's attention and heart.
• Chip "The Colonel" Martin – 5 feet tall but "built like Adonis", he is Alaska's best friend and Pudge's roommate. Gets his nickname from being the strategic mastermind behind the schemes that Alaska concocts. Comes from a poor background. He is obsessed with loyalty and honor.
• Takumi Hikohito – A surprisingly gifted MC and friend of Alaska and the Colonel, who often feels left out of Pudge, the Colonel, and Alaska's plans.
• Lara Buterskaya – A Romanian immigrant, she is Alaska's friend and Pudge's girlfriend for a short time.

Controversy

The book has been challenged for content dealing with sexually explicit situations. Two teachers at Depew High School near Buffalo, New York, used the book for eleventh grade instruction. A letter was sent to parents advising the book contained controversial content. An alternate reading selection was available for those opting out, and a small percentage of parents chose this option. Nevertheless, the book was challenged on the grounds that it is "pornographic" and "disgusting". One parent even went as far as refusing to read the book himself, reportedly saying that "One does not need to have cancer to diagnose cancer". The book was ultimately retained by the school board after the author explained himself.

The main characters in the story are teenagers who also drink, smoke and use explicit language. The author has publicly defended his work. "Some people say, 'You wrote a dirty, dirty book.' But there are very old-fashioned values and even a lot of religion in it," Green said. "There are some adults who think that the only kind of ethics that matter are sexual ethics. So they miss everything else that is going on in the book." Green also said, "The book has never been marketed to 12-year-olds. Never. It is packaged like an adult book; it doesn't even say it's published by a kids' book imprint on the cover, and it's never shelved in the children's section of bookstores."

Green also defended Looking For Alaska in his vlog on Jan 30, 2008.

Green attended Indian Springs School, a boarding and day school outside of Birmingham, Alabama. During the time he was a student there, two students died under circumstances similar to one of the characters in the novel.

According to John Green himself at a book talk in Rivermont Collegiate on October 19 2006, he got the idea of Takumi's "fox hat" from a Filipino friend who wore a similar hat while playing pranks at Indian Springs School. From the same book talk, Green also stated that the "possessed" swan in Culver Creek came from his student life at Indian Springs School as well, where there was also a swan of similar nature on the campus. The two pranks that occur in the book are similar to pranks that Green pulled at his high school. Green has also stated, while giving a talk at Indian Springs, that several of Culver Creek's teachers are direct caricatures of multiple faculty members at Indian Springs.

Film adaptation

The film rights to the novel were acquired by Paramount Pictures in 2005. The screenplay was potentially going to be written and directed by Josh Schwartz (creator of The OC), but due to a lack of interest by Paramount Studios the production has been shelved indefinitely.

References

• Bob Carlton (2005-03-13). "One-time Indian Springs student finds his way in first novel". 

External links

• Looking For Alaska is on the ALA 2005 Teens' Top Ten

Awards
Preceded by How I Live Now	Michael L. Printz Award Winner 2006	Succeeded by American Born Chinese