Looking For Alaska

Author: John Green
Published: 2005, Dutton
221 pages

This is another book that really spoke to my morbid side.  It is written from the perspective of Miles, a teenage boy who ships himself off to boarding school in search of "the Great Perhaps" (a quote he borrowed from the last words of poet Francois Rabelais).  Once he gets there, he makes a few friends, including his roommate "the Colonel," and falls in love with the girl every other boy is also in love with -- Alaska Young.

The book is organized into two sections: "Before" and "After."  Toward the middle of the book, it's still unclear what pivotal event is going to transform the "Before" into the "After."  Then Alaska tragically dies.  And we have our pivotal event.  In the "After" section, Miles and the Colonel commit themselves to uncovering the mystery behind Alaska's death.

This book won the Michael L. Printz Award in 2006, and it is clear why.  The characters are extremely well-developed.  From timid, naive Miles to destitute, genius the Colonel to smart, strong, moody, feminist Alaska, Green has created completely believable characters.  Miles and the Colonel's journey through grief is touching, but it isn't complete over-the-top drama.  It maintains a sense of humor and lightheartedness while dealing with such an intense subject matter.  The characters and plot, while similar in setting, stand in stark contrast to the one-note characters and stereotypical plot I think Cormier created in The Chocolate War.

My favorite thing about this book is that Miles is obsessed with famous people's last words, and I've decided that I should start getting obsessed with that, too.  There are several good last words mentioned in the book, but my favorite are playwright Henrik Ibsen's, on page 11: "...he'd been sick for a while and his nurse said to him, 'You seem to be feeling better this morning,' and Ibsen looked at her and said, 'On the contrary,' and then he died."  I don't think it gets much better than that, but if I find any other good ones as I explore my new hobby, I'll let you know.

This is a great book for anyone, but especially for anyone dealing with grief.  The message I took away from Miles's journey is that death sucks, but life goes on and the best way to deal with losing someone you love is to celebrate his or her life, not completely bring your own to a halt.