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    Looking for Alaska
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    Looking for Alaska
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    Looking for Alaska
    Audiobook7 hours

    Looking for Alaska

    Written by John Green

    Narrated by Jeff Woodman

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words - and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

    Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A stunning debut, it marks John Green's arrival as an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateSep 21, 2006
    ISBN9781423324485
    Unavailable
    Looking for Alaska
    Author

    John Green

    John Green grew up on Long Island and has worked in New York City since graduating from the School of Visual Arts with a degree in graphic design. He was the comics consultant for Disney Adventures magazine and has also worked on comics for Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, Scholastic, DC Comics, and First Second Books. His latest project is Hippopotamister, his first graphic novel as both writer and artist. John lives in Brooklyn, and you can see more of his work at www.johngreenart.com.

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    Reviews for Looking for Alaska

    4/5

    4,751 ratings415 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Pudge comes to Culver Creek Preparatory School in search of a great perhaps. He finds it in the form of gorgeous and gutsy Alaska Young, who changes his life forever.I'd heard tons of great things about this novel, and I've gotta say, it was very good. I like YA lit that deals with human issues rather than uniquely teenage concerns, and I think John Green does just that. Pudge and his friends are young adults, sure, and many of their experiences have firm ties to that time of life, but their story is something anyone can relate to. They're people, first and foremost, and they deal with the same difficult issues that plague us all.I really liked Pudge's voice, too. He's open, honest, and just a tad snarky. And he genuinely sounds like a sixteen-year-old guy. If you're anything like me, you've read a few too many YA novels that read like some adult writer's idealized version of a teenager. This ain't one of 'em. Pudge and his friends are the real deal. (And can I step away from my point for a moment and say that I loved their friendships? They felt as real as the characters themselves). What's more, Green never writes down to his target audience. He treats them as capable of dealing with anything he might choose to throw at them. It's a thing of beauty.And then there's the novel's structure, which works very well indeed. The book is divided into two parts: Before and After. It's an effective means of building tension. We know something's set to go down in t-minus X days. We assume it's going to be terrible, because we all know the formula. And we really, really, really don't want it to happen, because we like Pudge and the Colonel and Alaska and we want them to be happy, dammit. And then it happens, and it's pretty well what we expect, (because this is one of those stories we've all read before), but we're still upset. We all hoped John Green was pranking us, but he's above those sorts of shenanigans. Instead, he gives us a moving commentary on the ways that some events become milestones in our lives.This is a great book. I really do recommend it. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite love it, but I did like it quite a bit. I got a lot out of it on an intellectual level, and I'm sure it'll stay with me for some time to come. I'm looking forward to reading more of John Green's work in the future.(A slightly different version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina).
    • 4/5
      I enjoy John Green's books... this is a young adult book that deals with teens navigating their way through the hurdles of freedom and responsibility on their way to understanding who they want to be as adults. The loss of a friend both exaggerates and focuses these issues, but shows how a big event can both tie and divide friendships. I love the concept of Pudge going to the private school to find the Great Perhaps.
    • 4/5
      The first John Green book I've tried, and I enjoyed it quite well. The new flipback edition works very nicely, too. Looking forward to the next one.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this story. Loved the characters, they were all unique and and made me laugh out loud. I listed to the audio version and the reader did a great job of giving the characters unique voices. I Like how Myles blossoms at the private school and immediately makes friends when he had none at his old school. This is a fun yet sad book to read. I highly recommend it.
    • 3/5
      This and other reviews can be found on Reading Between Classes

      Cover Impressions: Meh. Not something that would ever grab my attention except for the name John Green.

      The Gist: During his first day at Culver Creek Boarding School Miles "Pudge" Halter meets the strange in enigmatic Alaska Young and nothing will ever be the same.

      Review:
      Looking for Alaska is split into Before and After some mysterious event. It is difficult to discuss this, and difficult to write a review without giving away the big event - so I will try to discuss other factors.

      I had some issues with this novel. I loved The Fault In Our Stars and was looking for the same type of connection with the characters. However, I didn't find it here. I found the characters to be generally unlikeable. They were not particularly friendly or caring. They drank a lot, smoked a lot and swore a lot. They didn't really seem to DO anything. The teen angst dial was a little too high and I found it difficult to feel anything for the characters or their situation.

      This is not the novel for a reader who wishes for a great deal of action - there is very little. What you will get is page upon page of teenagers waxing philosophically and asking big questions about life. I will admit, I kept waiting for the big reveal - for some piece of evidence that would answer one of the main questions that the plot poses, but I guess that is much of the point. There are never adequate answers in these types of situations and the living must simply attempt to go on living.

      Perhaps as a teenager, this would have more resonance. However, as a jaded 30 year old teacher - it falls flat.

      A note on content: this is another book that I find frustrating in that the language/sexual content prevents me from recommending to my students.

      Teaching/Parental Notes:

      Age: 16 and up
      Gender: Both
      Sex: Kissing, Petting, Talk of Masturbation, Vulgar Sexual Language
      Violence: Death by car accident
      Inappropriate Language: Shit, Christ, Fuck, Ass, Bastard, Piss, Bitch, Dick, Pissed
      Substance Use/Abuse: Underage Drinking, Smoking, Marijuana Use
      Other Issues: Suicide, Child Abuse
    • 5/5
      Well this proves it. Even in the 21st Century, you can write serious, literary, complex, profound and spiritual mainstream fiction that appeals to a wide audience, of both teenagers and adults.

      At least you can if you are John Green.
    • 5/5
      Dammit, John Green, take your five stars.
    • 5/5
      I don't remember the last time I sat down and read a book cover to cover without regard for what was happening around me. This book made me feel so many things and spoke to me in so many ways.
    • 5/5
      You can find the synopsis elsewhere; I'm going to tell you how I felt about this book. Looking For Alaska is an incredibly well written coming-of-age story that covers love, loss and suffering with intelligent humor and surprising depth. Each character is a self-contained entity who manages to stand out, fit in and avoid cliché. I enjoyed reading this very much and I recommend it.
    • 4/5
      I really liked this book. I picked it up before any reviews were read, and any opinions were stated, but I picked it up as a recommendation. I won't lie - the part where she's just suddenly dead was a bit shocking to me. The aftermath was incredibly sad, and hard to get through without crying at times. You just feel so many emotions going through after, it just comes at you like a ton of bricks, compared to the beginning of the book. Give it a shot - a book like this can be relatable no matter the age, sex, orientation, etc.
    • 4/5
      Like Paper Towns, I struggled to like the main female protagonist, Alaska, at first, But I think that was the point. As we get under her skin, we learn so much more about her and why she is the way she is. And the narrator is someone I could certainly sympathize with and understand-going into the teenage years wanting to find yourself, wanting to find your tribe and what your purpose is. I love John Green, and need to make sure I've read everything he's written.
    • 4/5
      What a really great book.
    • 3/5
      First, this is a great book to listen to as an audiobook. The chapters have headings like "98 days before" and "14 days after" so you get a regular reminder of where you are in the story.

      As great as this was at simultaneously keeping me interested yet not demanding too much of my thought/attention while driving, I think on the whole that it was the most "young adult" of Green's books, at least of those I've read so far. Even though these high school kids drink, drive and make out with each other, and at least one of them is actually having sex, the narrative voice and the arc of the relationships felt more like middle school than high school. Or maybe Green just did a genius job of capturing how immature high schoolers really are, and it's hard to admit that?

      In any case, it was a good read, but I don't think I got much out of it at the end. Despite my geographical connection to the title, I didn't particularly identify with any of the characters, and though I did care about them, it was a perfunctory kind of caring that didn't really penetrate.
    • 4/5
      It was a good book, but I read Paper Towns first and preferred that. The characters were similar in both books, and so were the overall themes.
    • 5/5
      There really is nothing I hate, and love, more, than crying, over a good book.

      This one ruined me. It made me go from careless to sobbing in a matter of seconds. It made me think. It made me realize things I never realized about death. And sure I can cry when someone dies, but this was real. It was so real, so real, and I can't get over it.
      I hate you John Green
      Oh but I love you all at the same time.

      I hope it's beautiful over there too
    • 4/5
      It's a good story, don't get me wrong. I just don't get why it's so overwhelmingly popular. It doesn't seem to offer anything to the YA genre that hasn't been done thousands of times before (in many cases by more talented authors - sorry, John. I love all your shows, but your writing? Meh...)
    • 4/5
      My teenage years were many moons ago but this book brought back all the angst and feelings of those times. Mr Green certainly captures the heart of a teenager and explodes tiny darts of feeling into the hearts of his readers.
    • 5/5
      Thoughtful book on youth suicide very well written.
    • 5/5
      Such a powerful and sad book will leave you speechless and in tears. I know because it happened to me when I read this magnificent book.
    • 4/5
      Moving, engaging, funny - slightly less polished than 'Stars'. Still excellent.
    • 5/5
      If Truman Capote had written Holly Golightly as a teenager, she would have been Alaska Young. An enthralling, moody, spontaneous and troubled youth enticing her minions at an upscale boarding school where she pranks, drinks, smokes and professes feminism while maintaining her grades and friendships. Told in the voice of Miles (Pudge), who rooms with Chip (the Colonel) whom are in the inner circle orbiting around Alaska. Getting away with as much as they can, along with a few extra comrades, this is a story of intelligence, allegiance and sadness. Sure, there are numerous LOL's of witticisms, audacious pranking, and general teen angst, but the underlying abyss still pulls. A haves, have nots division and anti-authoritative resistance also plays heavily in this tale centered on the before and after to the climatic core of its telling. Finding Alaska is a labyrinth of life, folding oneself into it and feeling safe there, not really wanting to find one's way out. Philosophical is so many degrees, it needs to be required reading in every high school
    • 3/5
      Not Green's best work. I found the plot to be a bit predictable and therefore fairly uninteresting, but the characters were still strong. However, a lot of missing details left it unbelievable. Like, no dorm proctors to keep a better eye on things? The only authority figure for the entire school is the Eagle? There are no counselors to help Alaska? No special counselors brought in for the rest of the students at the end? I just couldn't believed that a ritzy boarding school would be so neglectful of its students.
    • 3/5
      I've seen John Green's books all over the chain stores, and also heard about this particular novel being controversial as it deals with some heavy and/or taboo topics for the young adult genre, so when a friend wanted to know my opinions of the novel I borrowed her copy and gave it my careful attention. You can only hash out the merits of the narrative with someone, like my friend, who has already read the book. To talk about it in detail would spoil the novel. That very fact is often a marker of a weak plot, which is indeed this novel's greatest fault. The second half of the book, after a major event happens with one of the characters, feels forced and lacks the emotional depth it could have possessed had the story and characters been a bit more developed in the first half.That said, I did like the characters. The Colonel's meticulousness and pride made him one of the more fleshed out figures. Alaska was also intriguing, as a title character must be, but the troubling events in her past that serve as dramatic turns at several points in the novel were not dramatic enough, if anything. Maybe I'm just too jaded, but I think the average fifteen or sixteen year old reader can handle and even deserves more complexity, more weight, and even a little more hurt than John Green is willing or capable of giving in this novel.
    • 3/5
      This book almost received two stars from me instead of three. I didn't like the story. It did nothing for me, and it wasn't all that great. But, even though I didn't enjoy it very much, I had to give it the third star because John Green really did write it beautifully."So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that of people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane."This quote is one of the many that really stuck out to me. The language was beautiful, and it really was written well. The story, however, did not draw me in. I couldn't relate or attach myself to any of the characters. I couldn't feel their emotions or get lost in the story. So, when Alaska died, I didn't feel anything. She just died. It was just words on paper to me.Not to mention, Pudge. I couldn't, for the life of me, sympathize with him. He was funny. He was a fun character to read about for most of the book. But once Alaska died, I just couldn't feel anything for him. The only thing he could think about was the fact that she had kissed him. He became so hung up on that one moment in her life, he couldn't even begin to move on to the rest of it. His thoughts were so repetitive. I mean, how many times do I have to hear about how Alaska is dead and maybe the kiss meant nothing? Who cares about the kiss?? Yeah, it was a big part of the story, but it wasn't the only thing he'd ever shared with Alaska. Every time Pudge would go on about how he felt so special because of that one night, or he would wonder if the kiss would have happened again, or he would act like he was the most important thing in her life, I had to put the book down and shake my head for a few minutes before I could finish the page.One thing I enjoyed was that the book was split into "Before" and "After." I loved how each smaller section counted down the days before, and counted the days after. It was very creative and made it a little bit more interesting. It also made it a very quick read.Overall, the book was not the worst book I've ever read, but it certainly was nowhere close to the best.
    • 4/5
      I didn't enjoy this as much as Paper towns, but a good read anyway. About a young teen who attends boarding school and falls in love with a vibrant, carefree, but troubled young girl, Alaska Young. A typical coming of age story where they experiment in drinking sex etc. Towards the end Alaska becomes more and more distant and troubled and no ones really knows why, but they make various assumptions. Unfortunately Alaska dies in a car accident, but did she commit suicide???? This book created great discussion amongst our more advanced readers as to what happened to Alaska and what type of character was she, Miles and the others.I liked the part where her friends played a prank at graduation in her honour.
    • 2/5
      there are some people who love this one more than TFIOS and i just don't understand it?? the most i can say about this book is that it was nice. i kind of enjoyed it but it was very predictable and i never got attached to any characters. but maybe it was just me. i don't know. though i would be interested in watching a movie based on it because those seem to be good.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful book, made me laugh out loud at parts and cry in others. Great story about growing up and the choices you make and the friends you love.
    • 5/5
      I'm dead 'nuff said
    • 5/5
      Wow.

      I started reading this book thinking it was actually another book that someone had told me about and I AM SO GLAD I MADE THAT MISTAKE! This book spoke to me in a way that a teen book has not done in a long time. It made me bawl my eyes out in places, but that was because Green has a way of truly making you feel like you are a part of this story.

      I think this book is one that can speak to all teens in any stage of their life. There is some harsh language and the main characters drink and smoke cigarettes, but that is just how some teenagers are... even ones at a preppy boarding school in Alabama. I still think that all teens should read this though. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's just too important of a book to not be read.

    • 5/5
      You can definitely vicariously live out your wildest teenage dreams and fantasies with Miles, the 16-year-old narrator in Looking for Alaska, and also wrestle the hard truths of life. I loved the duality of those aspects in this novel; gripping to the end in both hilarity and the depths of emotion.