Looking for Alaska-Book Review

*Contains Spoilers*

            The ever so popular author and Youtube vlogger, John Green, is widely known for his accomplishments for his New York Times bestselling book called The Fault in Our Stars. He has also won the 2006 Printz Award for his first published book, Looking for Alaska.

            Looking for Alaska is about a boy called “Pudge” or Miles Halter. He is a quirky kid. He knows about every significant person in history last words. His family decides to send him to a boarding school for his junior year. This is where he meets a girl named Alaska who is beautiful and enigmatic, according to Pudge. Throughout the story the teenagers learn consequences of mistakes and just being a young adult and learning what comes along with growing up in the world.

            "At some point, you just pull off the Band-Aid and it hurts, but then it is over and you're relieved" (Green, 7). The beginning of the book starts out with Pudge getting situated into his new school. He is a bit shy, but curious to his new environment. Pudge lives his life through the "Great Perhaps" which is his way of saying he wants to go on of life adventures. He continues to seek this "Great Perhaps" throughout the book. It becomes interesting to see how he handles this after certain events that could have changed his view, but really just makes them stronger. Pudge is a really well developed character. First he is flawed. This is beneficial for teenagers because we are obviously not perfect and anyone can relate to how Pudge handles situations handed to him and his friends.

           Alaska. She was an extremely deep character. She was beyond the teenage years. Her character was one of the key things in this book that kept you glued to it. I mean, "Who is Alaska Young?"

          “You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking how you'll escape one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present” (Green, 54). Throughout the book there is always talk about a labyrinth. This becomes a centralized theme and is prominent in "Pudges’ journey." Most teenagers can relate to having the thought of what will happen next instead of living in the moment. Any minute could be your last and the characters soon realize……

        

"The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive"(Green, 200). Towards the last two thirds of the book something major happens that changes the course of the book. Pudge and Alaska couldn’t get over the fact that there was no way out of the labyrinth. They believed it was just suffering. In a way Alaska would have been suffering, that is if you think she committed suicide, and wanted to get out so she killed herself. She felt terrible about her mother and thought it was all her fault and had to live with that suffering. Alaska had a lot of skeletons in her closet. She never really gave away much to anyone except for when she started drinking. Even though I have finished the book, Alaska still remains somewhat of a mystery to me and that’s something that I really liked about her character.

          Overall I would give this book an A- on the letter grading scale. John Green writing style in this book was outstanding. It was witty and thought provoking, which are two wonderful combinations to have in any book. He got me inside of Pudges head and slowly eased me into the world. While there wasn’t a happy ending, you still go the same feeling out of the book that you would have if it ended happily. Obviously this book isn’t for people who like a nice wrapped up ending with a bow on top. Looking for Alaska leaves the reader with some ambiguity or unanswered questions, which you can take and make it something of your own. Basically, I can see why Looking for Alaska was and still is a highly popular book for all teenagers to read. If you liked any other books by John Green I definitely recommend this book.

Silver Linings Playbook Book Trailer

Book Talk

Post 5- "Not Fake vs Fake"

When I was little I always reminded myself that non-fiction was "not-fake." If a book was made up then it was fiction a.k.a "fake." I read non-fiction books to be informed about something. I don't want to read a book about, I don't know, lions and have the author tell me that they live in Australia. Yes lions might be in zoos in Australia so it technically isn't "lying" but on the other hand it isn’t 100% accurate. If you produce a memoir that is 95% true then why can't you make a note at the beginning of the book saying "loosely based on..." Or maybe even make it a loosely based fiction? Either would work for me.

"Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth..." This oath that people recite every time they are in court might just be similar to what happened to Frey when he was on the Oprah show. These comparisons might be a bit of a stretch, but from the way Oprah reacted, Frey might as well be a criminal. Frey's story was probably really good before he came out with the truth. I bet it changed some people lives when they read it. And I bet he wished he had said that is wasn't entirely the truth before he published the book. I personally haven’t read the book, but I know that I would have mixed feelings on whether it would still be a good book or not. I mean a book is a book. If an author wrote a story about their life and called fiction then later called it non-fiction I probably would have a hard time believing what was real and what wasn't. And vise versa. 

          I think that you do need to differentiate non-fiction verses fiction. If I want to read about someone’s life then I will pick up a NON-fiction book. If I want to read a fantasy, romance, sic-fi, etc. book then I will get a fiction book. Some people get emotionally involved with peoples memoirs. I bet that some people feel like they can relate to something that the author had gone through and it could mean something HUGE for that person. I can't imagine being told that parts of a memoir were made up or exaggerated. If an author wants to write a memoir and then say it was a lie later, probably will do them much good. I mean, "the truth will set you free" after all.

Post 4- Silver Linings Playbook

There are a lot of scenes within Silver Linings Playbook that have a whole lot of meaning to the story. The main character, Pat has recently been released from his “away time” at a mental hospital where he spent four years of his life away from the love of his life, Nikki. Now that he is home, he is doesn’t really know where his life is going except for the fact that he is going to get his wife back. When his friend Ronnie invites him over for a dinner, he meets Tiffany. This scene would be important to have in the movie because she plays a big part in Pats life as soon as he meets her.

            Another scene that the movie should have is where Pat’s dad punches Pat. Since the point of view from Pat, you don’t get to see other characters thoughts or their past. This scene shows you that Pat’s mental disorder has affected his family more than he thinks. Most fathers wouldn’t punch their son for no reason and his dad (from what I have read) doesn’t strike me as a character that would want to solve a problem physically.

            The diner scene where Pat and Tiffany go on a “date” is important too because it is where they get to know each other. Pat tends to ask the “elephant in the room” questions that everyone wants to know, but are too afraid to ask. And Tiffany is the person to answer all the questions without second thoughts, and is pretty open about her life. They complement each other very well, but they both don’t realize it until later in the book.

Like I said, most of all scenes in the book play prominent part in the overall plot so scenes that they could cut could be some of the therapy scenes. Pat has to meet with his therapist Cliff on a regular basis. They pretty much talk about Nikki, Tiffany, and just life. A writer could cut and condense some of the scenes into one or two, but still get all the main points across. Another scene they could cut is when Pat exercises he tends to think about his wife, Nikki. It would be hard for the writers to get his thoughts into the movie without it being awkward or out of place in the movie. While it is important to know how the main character is thinking, the movie writers could find a way to incorporate them in another way.

If I Stay- How to Survive a Car Accident

How to Survive a Car Accident

         Ever got into a car accident and were trying to decide whether you wanted to live or move on? Yes? No? Most of you would probably say no to this, and I would have to agree. It isn’t a very common occurrence in most people’s everyday lives. In the book, If I Stay by Gayle Forman, the protagonist Mia does have to decide to stay or go, so it might help you when you least expect it (just like her). Or you randomly picked the book up not even knowing what it was about. Or maybe you want to see Mia’s thought process in another level? WELL, whatever the case may be, this is the book for you! If you ever find yourself battling between life and death, keep reading! (The exclamation mark wasn’t trying to come across as insensitive to dying, FYI.)

            Many of you just want to know what this particular book will enclose. You think this book is going to be extremely long and have many tips. Wrong! There are only three extremely important reasons to ensure a long lived life (hopefully) after a crucial car accident. 

One of these reasons being is to have a passion.                                                               For many people music can be a huge part of their lives   and can mean differently to every person. Music is a huge outlet for Mia in the book. She finds herself playing the cello when ever possible, which is all the time. “It's like the piano and the cello are being poured into my body, the same way the IV and blood transfusions are. And the memories of my life as it was, and the flashes of it as it might be, are coming so fast and furious.” When something is that powerful in someone’s life like music is in Mias, you should think about what you would be leaving behind and what it means to you. You really don’t know what you got until it gone, right? Another important point in the book is love. It may sound cliché but “love is all you need” as some popular music group once said (…or sang). “Love triumphs all.” “Love is blind.” You could go one on forever with those. Anyway, before Mia’s accident she had met a boy named Adam and they eventually fall in love. “But the you who you are tonight is the same you I was in love with yesterday, the same you I’ll be in love with tomorrow.” Adam becomes a huge deciding factor to her “big decision.”

       Love is a very important thing that everyone should have in their lives. It doesn’t matter if it’s love for something you do, love for someone, someone loving you; just having love in your life is the most important thing and will help you get through anything.  Last but not least is that you must stay strong. Life isn’t going to be easy by any means, and Mia realizes that. She knew that if she chose to stay she was going to have to be tough and work through things because in life you cannot control the unexpected curve ball that’s being pitched to you. “I have a feeling that once you live through something like this, you become a little bit invincible.” Mia knows that she can either stop trying or keeping moving forward, but she only has one shot.

       The book How to Survive a Car Accident might be a bit eccentric and different from the average read, but the fans will love it. It dives into even deeper into Mia’s thought process and how she decides whether to stay or go. If a person picks up this book and reads it, they might finding themselves reading If I Stay and becoming as hooked as the fans are now. This book could increase the fan base and increase the sales. I personally think this book will be a great addition to the If I Stay series and something the fans will enjoy and love.

What is a book?

         A book is more than a past time, more than a story, more than words on a page. “One must always be careful of books and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.”(The quote is actually from one of my favorite books, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare.) Books aren’t like any other media out there. They are their own unique little world on their own, that many people have long forgotten about over the years.  It is sad now that being an avid reader is something unique about people, now a days. I mean way back books were the only things people had.  Now we have cell phones, television, computers, etc. If you think about it, books are a lot like cars. When books were “officially” in use for everyone, there probably weren’t many to choose from, just like cars. When more and more people start using books or cars, new types come out. Now, there are so many to choose from. Then things started to get really innovative and then suddenly there are bikes, trains, planes, subways, motorcycles, and much more. Eventually that first car isn’t in use anymore or as much. There are better and more improved things to choose from. This hasn’t happened yet, but maybe one day we won’t need cars anymore. They will just be a prototype to something bigger and better. This is like books. When new and improved ways of doing something different (i.e. kindles), from what you have always known is an awkward stage. There are some people who like to stick with their own ways and don’t like change, and then there are some people who are all about making progress and getting the next big thing. I guess I am one of those people who is stuck in the middle.

Why I Read

        I read because it gives me an escape from life. Sometimes life can be too much and knowing that I can escape, even if it’s just for a little while, it helps me get through hard times. Reading lets me let go of my worries and travel into a new world, without leaving the solace of my bedroom.  It is a skill that I have only recently acquired. Before going into eighth grade I never read. It would have been a feat if I read five books a year. Now I could probably read five books in a month or less. As many people can relate, I went through an awkward stage in middle school and reading was a great outlet for me when I was stressed, bored, or even just having a bad day. When I got into eighth grade, my teacher basically told us that we had to read twenty minutes a night. I remember my friend recommending me a book called City of Bones. I was probably never going to read it, but I did and that when I became hooked. I ended up finishing it in a month, which was impressive for me. After that I kept reading and reading and reading more and I guess you could say, “and the rest was history.” 

I love this quote because I honestly believe its true.