Summer Reading Assignment: Entry Four

The Michael L. Printz award is given to the best books suited for teenagers and young adults, and the array of winners is quite vast. However, for this blogging project, one book was only necessary. Out of the expansive list of winners and honorary winners, I chose Looking for Alaska by John Green. Here are some reasons behind my decision of reading this book for school.

First things first, this is one of the few books on the list that I have previously heard about. In fact, I had already read this novel prior to this project. I just didn't read it "well enough" and didn't observe any themes or any certain writing style. I first heard about this book in the 7th grade, when a classmate in English did a book report on it and presented it to the class. Of all the reports presented, mine included, his made the book seem the most interesting, hence my initial interest in the novel.

Second of all, around the same time I chose this book to read for the summer, a very particular romantic movie came out to theaters, The Fault in Our Stars. This movie was initially a book, acquiring the same title, and was written by John Green--the same man who wrote Looking for Alaska. And to plop the cherry on top of the sundae, there is an excerpt from TFIOS in the final pages of my copy of the novel. So given all the hype that occurred upon the film's release, I figured it wouldn't be all that bad of an idea if I gave one of Green's books a shot.

Nothing personal really inspired me to read this book, however. Just witnessing soap operas and school-set dramas kind of reminds me of this novel. But despite my personal experiences having nothing to do with this book, I do have an idea of what kind of people it reminds me of and who I'd recommend it to. Genders are mixed, but it depends on how much they care about romance and drama. So, based on the demographic, I'd recommend it to a female, in high school, who is easily lured in with romances such as Twilight and, of course, The Fault in Our Stars. And trust me, there will be a cult based on this book. How would I know this? There's a movie in the works.

So, seeing the sorts of literature that's out right now, it's good to be a John Green fan. So a good way to catch up with what's being praised in his fandom, because its movie rendition might come right after, is to start from the very beginning with his debut book, Looking for Alaska.

Summer Reading Assignment: Entry Three

Sure, the novel Looking for Alaska by John Green contains a whole slew of emotion, but when looking for any part of the book that is "gripping," it shouldn't necessarily mean leaving you at the edge of your seat, much rather giving you a significant interest in the novel, making you want to read more. When Alaska dies, the moment is described, but not creatively. In fact, there wasn't even a narration as it happened. The news was revealed by the Eagle, after the accident occurred. It was described as more of a headline than anything else. If the story of Alaska's death was told as it happened, now that would have left the reader at the edge of their seat.

So in this novel, what makes a certain segment "gripping" is having some kind of meaning or philosophy behind it that will make you want to dig deeper to find its meaning, and by "dig deeper," I mean continue reading.

"I have here Alaska's final. You'll recall that you were asked what the most important question facing people is, and how the three traditions we're studying this year address that question. This was Alaska's question." (written on the chalkboard) "How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?-A.Y." (Green, 58)

Spoiler Alert; the meaning of this quote is revealed before this quote was even said. Alaska had stated this quote from Simon Bolivar before she made it the topic of her final. She told Pudge the meaning of "suffering" specifically. "It's not life or death, the labyrinth. Suffering. Doing wrong and having wrong things happen to you. That's the problem." (Green, 84). She also describes the things you feel in the labyrinth. "You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth. Thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it would be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present." (Green, 54) Now, thinking of the future may be the coping mechanism, but the way to escape this labyrinth is also mentioned. However, just because it is mentioned doesn't mean I will.

So to summarize, the way to get hooked to Looking for Alaska is to think rather than to listen, and a main theme, that theme being the "labyrinth," is quite involved in that thought process. Your brain is the detective, rather than the television. You are Columbo, you're not just watching it.  That's how you get hooked.