Looking for Alaska Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

I read this first in college for a young adult literature class, got through the rest of college, started working, and in the process of all of that in-between stuff, I forgot about this lovely book. I remember liking the book, but not much else. I don't know if I just got busy or if I was too involved in myself or what. Either way, I'm glad I reread it.A young adult novel about life and death and moving on doesn't sound all that original at first, but Green's treatment of adolescents is different. He makes his characters complex and intelligent and impulsive as every teenager truly is. He does not treat his characters as they might treat themselves, over-important or that which should be pitied. Nor does he treat them as so many adults might, with disdain for their rashness and lack of experience. The author makes his story accessible and realistic to teens and adults alike because there seems to be truth in the conflicting emotions his characters go through.Mildly pornographic. MILDLY. Just tasteful enough for adolescents learning that sex is confusing and funny and kinda great but really just mostly confusing at first.I'm glad the answers aren't given in this book. It's about learning how to move on when there aren't definite answers, when there is doubt. This book is about figuring out some things on your own and doing the best you can with what you've got. It helps to forgive and to empathize and to search, but keep going all the while, day by day.

I initially picked this book to read for a literature class I am taking for a module on the censorship and banning of books for children and young adults. Having absolutely loved The Fault in Our Stars, when I saw this John Green novel on the ALA's list of most frequently banned books in the 21st century, I jumped at it. The grounds for its censorship has been the presence of profanity, underage drinking and smoking, drug use, and sexual content. It is true, there is all of that, but presented in a realistic, true-to-life way. I am staunchly opposed to censorship and banning and this is a book that I not only don't believe deserves to be banned, but it is one that I have made a "must read" for my own kids.The novel takes place within the Culver Creek Preparatory High School near Birmingham, Alabama. Miles “Pudge” Halter is the new student, obsessed with the last words of famous people. He has transferred to Culver Creek in the hopes that he can find his own “Great Perhaps,” an idea that has come from the last words of François Rabelais, “I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” At his last school, Miles was a bit socially awkward, more obsessed with reading biographies than with socializing with friends, and he wants to start fresh at Culver Creek. The first person he meets is Chip “The Colonel” Martin, his new roommate who introduces Miles to his own best friends. Takumi Hikohito is obsessed with hip hop and rapping and Alaska Young is a beautiful girl, although emotionally rather unstable, for whom Miles immediately falls.In many ways, Alaska is the glue that holds the group of friends together. She is beautiful and intelligent and fun to be with and very enigmatic. Although we see different parts of her throughout the book, we, as readers, never really know her any more than her friends do. Even at the end, there are questions that leave you angsty and emotional. Her story is her own and threads of it run through the stories of all of her friends. She is irrevocably a part of their own histories in a myriad of ways.More than anything, it is a story of coming of age, with all of the pain and angst that goes along with it. There are beautiful moments, funny moments heart wrenching moments, touching moments. There are moments of laughter and moments of sadness. It is an absolutely beautiful story.One of the things I really enjoyed about the book was its structure. It is created in two parts, "Before" and "After," leading us to and from a pivotal point that I won't describe. The chapters underscored that concept, marking time like "forty-five days before." You know something is going to happen, but you have no idea what it is.My Recommendation: I think that this is a beautiful book that touches on real situations in ways that are both touching and tragic.

"Looking For Alaska" follows, for me, soon after his novel, "The Fault In Our Stars". There will be more, I'm sure. Both books have young characters dealing with pain and death yet radiate wisdom, hope, and as many smiles as tears. I love the fact that John and his brother Hank are vloggers so I get to know something about their lives and preoccupations and hear the stories told in their own voices. I then see the author's reflection in his characters and hear them speaking as he might. I am left no less convinced of the genuineness of the people on the page and the reality of their fictional conditions. Both books have been rich, rewarding reading experiences for which I am grateful. John Green and one of his principal characters in "Looking For Alaska" are fascinated with the last words of people. I expect it is exceedingly rare that any of us gets to choose what ours will be. If I could and had to right now, they might be, "Keep up the good work, John Green."

Amid all the sadness and loss and wasted life within this story, there was occasional rollicking humor, and frequently a wistful sweetness that even tragedy could not destroy. I was less interested in Alaska's personality than in those of her friends Miles and the Colonel; Alaska was a psychological whirlwind who never really grew, while Miles and the Colonel struggled hard to figure out who she was and who they were. Pranks and hijinks aside, it was their struggles that made Looking for Alaska a riveting story. My two favorite lines, both near the book's end, were "we had to forgive to survive in the labyrinth," and "If only we could see the endless string of consequences that result from our smallest actions." Ultimately the narrator, Miles, discovered that forgiveness gave him enough hope to move forward.

I really enjoyed the first 60% of this book, which is Part I. There was a very nice slow build to the main event, and the pacing was great. Then the main event happened, and it was a slow, resolve to the end. I didn't enjoy this as much, probably because it was most about the "why" the event happened, and I had already figured it out.The book as a whole is beautifully written with humor and depth. The style fit perfectly with the characters. I enjoyed all of the characters and their stories. I can see why this is a popular YA book and a popular author.