Looking for Alaska by John Green
Bibliographic
Information:
Green, J. (2005). Looking for alaska. New York, NY: Speak. ISBN 9780142402511
Summary:
Meet Miles Halter,
a high school junior, starting a new life at Culver Creek boarding school.
Always on the quest for the Great Perhaps, he meet Alaska Young, a smart,
witty, and moody teenager who will forever change Miles. Go on their journey
together as they search to find their way out of the labyrinth in John Green’s Looking for Alaska. Learn how one life
can change another as you search for your own life and meaning.
Critical Analysis:
After reading
John Green’s Looking for Alaska, I am
forever reminded of the true talent in Green’s writing and style. In this
novel, Green immediately pulls the reader into his contemporary realistic
fiction as Mile’s is off to Culver Creek, a college preparatory boarding
school. The uniqueness, yet connectedness of each of Green’s characters makes
this novel appealing to all readers – young, old, male, and female.
Green has
organized this novel as a lead up in days counting down to the main climax of
the novel and then as a counting up of the days following. John Green has the
ability to bring in a multitude of teenage troubles – friendship, school
pressure, peer pressure, smoking, drinking, romance, intimacy, and thoughts of
suicide – and incorporates them in one novel. He beautifully handles the
passing of a classmate and the aftermath effects this has on the remaining
living. This is a story to learn from. It is no wonder that John Green was
awarded the Printz Award in 2006 for Looking
for Alaska. This is a beautiful novel that will make you laugh out loud,
contemplate life, and cry. John Green has done a phenomenal job with the tale
of Miles Halter and his love, Alaska Young. Perhaps, you’ll find your Great
Perhaps while Looking for Alaska.
Creative Activity:
Last Words
Last words
become increasingly important to Miles as the story progresses. He knows the
last words of many famous people and figures. Think about what his last words
might be. Think about what Colonel’s last words might be. Reflect on what
Alaska’s last words might be. Write their last words.
Research
someone you admire that has passed. What were his/her last words? Why are last
words important? If someone were to write your last words, what would they say?
What’s in a
Name?
Alaska
confesses to Miles that she named herself on her seventh birthday. It was her
present, since her parents could not come to an agreement on her name when she
was born. Her mother wanted to name her, Harmony Springs Young and her father
wanted to name her, Mary Frances Young. Legally, on her birth certificate it
stated Mary Young. Later Alaska came to learn that her name came “from an Aleut
word, Alyeska” meaning “that which the sea breaks against” (p. 53). Does the
name “Alaska” tell us anything about her character?
Consider the
characters names from Looking for Alaska and
your own name. What do you know about your name? Research to find out why your
parents gave you the name you have and what it means. Does it hold any truth to
who you are?
Related Resources:
Create an author study and display other
books and movies inspired by John Green. You might include:
-
The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green
Green, J. (2014). The fault in our stars. New York, NY: Penguin Young Readers. ISBN 9780142424179
-
Another
beautiful novel written by John Green. Just as you fell in love with Miles and
Alaska, you’ll find yourself falling in love with Augustus and Hazel.
American School Counselor Association – Website
and Crisis Handbook
- The American School Counselor
Associations provides a lot of online resources regarding school issues, such
as crisis situations. School districts and corporations should have resources
set in place to help students deal with crisis situations, including the death
of a classmate. In the event that the school does not have a comprehensive
plan, this website provides some general guidelines and provisions to be made
in crisis situations such as the death of a classmate.
“Grief in the Classroom” – An Article
from NPR Ed.com
- This article addresses ways in which
teachers and classrooms can address death and grieving. It also includes
several helpful websites, including www.GrievingStudents.org . This would have been a beneficial
implementation at Culver Creek.
Published Reviews:
BookPage remarks, “Looking for Alaska is funny, sad, inspiring, and always compelling.”
Hobbs, S. (2005).
Looking for alaska: High school triumphs and tragedies. BookPage.com. https://bookpage.com/reviews/4023-john-green-looking-alaska#.V4Rl_Mcte18
Kirkus Review states that Looking for Alaska “sings and soars.”
Kirkus Review. (2005).
Looking for alaska. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-green/looking-for-alaska-2/
Be sure to follow the journey as you are Looking for Alaska!
~ Mandy :)
*book cover image borrowed from www.barnesandnoble.com*
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