Looking For Alaska by John Green: A Review

Overview:

    The Creek, is what its students call it. It's a boarding school in Alabama where Pudge (a.k.a Miles) has recently volunteered himself to go. Because he as no friends. Period. But because of his decision, Pudge meets Alaska, the cigarette-smoking badass. Alaska lets Pudge see a side of her that no one really ever gets to see and in return, he makes her feel whole for a little while. Filled with touching sentiments, teenage angst, love, loss, and laughter, John Green brings to life what it truly is like to be a teenager and all of the struggles one faces.

Review:
   
   Wow. I've seen this book come up so many times on my Tumblr dash and I never really tried to read it until now. It was wonderful. It's safe to say that I know now why everyone is in love with this book. Hell, I fell head-over-heals in love with it from page one. It was beautifully written. This book really spoke to me in the light of recent events in my life. I'll share something personal here, if that's okay? It's relevant to the novel, I swear.
   On May 2, 2012, my friend's boyfriend committed suicide. It was devastating. I didn't know what to do with myself. Fortunately, I did not turn to drugs or alcohol, like one of my peers. This book really shows what it's like for someone to lose someone and not know why.
    In Looking For Alaska, the characters responded accurately to what I know I was feeling. I had no idea when I started reading this novel that there was going to be a suicide in it. It was a welcome surprise.  I think this book sort of helped me see the good in the world and that people actually care about you. I recommend this book. Please read it. It's the next chapter in hopefully a long list of books like Jay Asher's 13 Reasons Why.

Overall rating out of 5: 4.6

Characters:
Alaska Young- badass, sexy, smart, just wants something whole in her world of endless loss
Pudge- funny, uber skinny, memorizes famous peoples' last words
The Colonel- pranking mastermind, loves to get drunk
Takumi- smart, calls himself "The Fox"
Lara- Romanian Sweetheart
The Eagle- headmaster

Memorable Quotes:

"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." p. 54

"Sometimes you lose the battle. But mischief always wins the war." p. 56

"I wanted so badly to lie down next to her on that couch, to wrap my arms around her and sleep. Not fuck like in those movies. Not even sex. Just sleep together, in the most innocent sense of the phrase."p. 88