Looking For Alaska by John Green

Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter's whole life has been one big non-event. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-butboring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into a new life, and steals his heart. After. Nothing is ever the same

I'm a fan of John Green, don't get me wrong...but this book...hmm...I'm really not that big a fan of this book.

I read "The Fault in Our Stars" and I really like that book in all it's young adult fiction glory, but Looking For Alaska is nowhere in the same league, I feel.

I commend this story for the sake that it deals with tragedy in a young life. It deals with something that not everyone can easily handle or understand and I think that such a subject is good material. It also makes for something else on the shelves of what's in the stores.

But, I felt like the chracters were so BLAND. The main character in the book is Pudge, who should be rounded and faceted, but he's really not! He's a pushover who really has no general sense of individuality. With this book, the feel is just a group of depressed teenagers in a school they don't care for with people they dont care for. So overall, they are just pissy little kids who say they have hard lives. Each character doesn't have anything to really distinguish them from the group...they are just THEM. Does that make sense? They all generally act the same and talk the same with the details of their pasts being a little bit different. In the end, you don't get a clear picture of why they act the way they do or what makes them tick. They simply ARE.

This is especially true with Alaska, the love interest. Now, you'd seriously think that you'd get a bigger picture of at least her in the story and figure out why she's the way she is but you ge titty bitty details that ultimately don't really lead up to anything. I honestly think it's all substantial.

And you all know my problem with density when it comes to the characters. Even though it's staring at you (the reader) in the face as to maybe WHY things are happening and what's going on, these characters are just blind enough to miss the irking little fact thats RIGHT THERE.

I also feel that the tragedy of the story, happened too soon. With the events that lead afterards I feel like theres nothing to keep the story interesting. I had a hard time trying to finish this book for the sole fact that it wasn't a story anymore. Rather, you were just being told. Also, back to the fact of dense characters who can't figure it out, although you the reader might have already have figured out WHY...the characters are still looking for the answers.....For me personally, seeing as I already have a general idea and I was just waiting for the story to finish up to see if I was right (which I was), was pretty annoying.

I'm sorry if none of this really makes sense, but I feel like it does.

Oh the woes of the troubled reader.

I give this book a 3/5. It's a good read, but I think it just needs more.