Found what I was looking for in Alaska

My punny title (sorry, I really couldn't help it) says it all. I was struggling to find YA novels of substance, of literary merit, of true quality. Granted, I haven't read many yet, but I was still disheartened. I was also hesitant to pick up another contemporary novel, afraid of the same issues I'd already run into.

I can honestly say that from the first page until the last, I truly enjoyed Looking for Alaska, by John Green. Miles is a junior in high school who decides to leave his boring life behind and seek the Great Perhaps at Culver Creek boarding school. Miles has a strange interest in knowing people's last words, and the last words of Francois Rabelais, "I go to seek a Great Perhaps" inspire Miles' trip and guide his journey. He immediately meets an eclectic group of friends, each bringing something interesting and distinctive to the table. One of these friends is Alaska- sexy, beautiful, rebellious, and perhaps reckless. And absolutely irresistible to Miles. The book moves at a steady pace, following the daily happenings and harmless mischief, until the climax of the story, where the book cuts into sections of Before and After. The event that separates them will devastate and challenge the friends together and as individuals.

One of the things I loved about this book was its ability to be laugh-out-loud funny and entertaining while still incorporating literary strategies, real-life issues, and so many elements to dissect and interpret. Students will likely enjoy the novel, and this always puts them in a more willing position to analyze. We discussed a few in class, but there are so many ways to look at this novel. Alaska's character alone presents family issues, gender issues, psychological issues. The Colonel, Miles' roommate, has an intense hatred for the "Weekday Warriors", the rich students who go home on weekends; this presents a prominent social class element. It's also then interesting to explore where Lara, a friend in the group who comes from a wealthy family, fits into the group despite her social class. If you delve deeper, there's a recurring image of running and what it means, be it running scared in the darkness or running from trouble with sparklers. Character development is also so important. How much of our personalities are shaped by the events and circumstances in our lives that we cannot control? What makes us who we are? Each character in the book is distinctive and comes from a different background and different life experiences. How does this motivate their actions? There are so many other questions to ask of students, and I really think you could spend weeks just delving into characters and all of the other issues I've mentioned.

I can't help but be cliche. I laughed. I cried. I loved this book for so many reasons. I would give it my highest recommendation for a classroom, a summer read, high school students, college students, even adults. I think it would satisfy most any reader.