Tolog Review: Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska
by John Green 
reviewed by Morgan Sarno

Miles Halter spends his time engulfing himself in biographies and famous peoples’ last words. That is, until he moves to Alabama to attend Culver Creek Boarding School in search of his ‘Great Perhaps’. He meets his roommate Chip, A.K.A. the Colonel, Tkaumi, and Lara, a Russian exchange student who is Miles’ unofficial girlfriend, since he secretly loves Alaska. This is where Alaska comes in. The unpredictable, enchanting, thrill seeking Alaska Young that enters into Miles’ world and throws his once safe, uneventful life into a tumult of mystery and heartbreak. She fazes him with the question from her favorite book, “How will I ever get out of this labyrinth?” Together they plot Culver Creek’s best ever, junior class prank. It is a two-phase prank that has been the product of two years of very detailed planning to go down as the ultimate prank in Culver Creek history. However, all of this is cut short when the event happens.

The structure of the book being separated into two sections of ‘before’ the event and ‘after’ the event hooks the reader immediately. Looking for Alaska goes from a seemingly happy, feel-good book to a suspense filled mystery in Miles and Chip’s search for what led Alaska to do what she did; how and why she escaped her labyrinth. John Green’s thought provoking book makes the reader ponder not only the meaning of life, but also if it is better to live a short event filled life or a long simple one.