A Review of Life Changing Books: Installment 3 :)

Greetings everyone! I’m very excited to see you all again and, in an effort to get through to all the blog ideas that are quite literally pouring out of me at this point and stockpiling rapidly, we continue this little series. 🙂

The next book in our little series is another work by the famed John Greene, “Looking for Alaska”. 

This absolute miracle work of young adult fiction centers around the experiences of main character Miles “Pudge” Halter as he settles into life around the boarding school “The Creek”. There, he meets characters such as Alaska Young and Chip “the Colonel” and we get to see Miles embark on his journey through the series. 

From petty prank wars, to the absolutely devastating death of his classmate and friend, and everything in between, “Looking for Alaska” puts a previously unexplored spin on the classic telling of the teenage experience. It’s not often certain experiences, especially the more traumatic ones, are explored in such visceral detail, however this book has no qualms in detailing Miles’s feelings about each and every event in his life at The Creek. 

And that, my dear reader, is what I adore about this work. No matter how grisly or dark or stupidly teenage-esque an occurrence gets, this book does not shy away from it. “Looking for Alaska” is unyielding in it’s depth filled pursuit of inner connection with it’s readers, and that brazenness is something I can only hope to live up to when and if I begin novel writing. 

This book changed my life because it wasn’t afraid to. That’s the important part. 

And, as someone who has endured what can easily be considered far more than my fair share of trauma in my life, I’m very proud anytime I find a work of literature that explores that. Works such as this, which don’t hesitate to put emphasis on failed sex attempts and drunken breakdowns and spontaneous forays into the forest that lead to nothing but petty pranks and bad consequences, are truly what brings me comfort as someone who has been through so much. 

I love seeing works like this that give a true picture of the “teenage experience”. Because it is messy. It is nonsensical. It is a roller coaster. It can be awful. It can be amazing. It is often both. It is a good story. 

And this book tells it flawlessly, hence the reason your read for this week is “Looking for Alaska”. I promise, it’s very worth it. 

Until next time, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone between, above and beyond. 

Sincerely, Someone looking for their own Alaska. 

Author: Hunter Nix

God may have put me on this earth, but Alan Rickman can certainly take me off it if I tarnish his name any further. View all posts by Hunter Nix