John
Green is one of the most successful contemporary writers of Young Adult
literature. At the age of thirty-six, he is already an award-winning author
with
four published novels of his own, two collaborative works and a film currently
being made, which is based on his latest novel, the best-selling tearjerker The Fault in Our Stars (2012). Back in
2007, he teamed up with his younger brother Hank to create a YouTube channel Vlogbrothers that has gained over one million
subscribers, the so-called Nerdfighters,
and allowed them to branch out to found more projects - SciShow in which Hank explains the wonders of science and CrashCourse dedicated to history and literature
that John is a master of.
His first book, Looking for Alaska, published in 2005, has been awarded the Micheal
L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult literature by the American
Library Association and several other literary awards. The main character, Miles Halter, a teenage boy obsessed with famous
people’s last words, leaves his boring Florida life behind and sets off to
Culver Creek, a boarding school in Alabama, in search of the Great
Perhaps -
something great,
something worth living his life for before it is too late to set off for such
quests. There he meets his roomate
Chip Martin, Japanese student Takumi and Alaska Young – a smart and utterly
fascinating girl with just the right amount of sexiness and mysteriousness that
capture Miles’s
heart. The foursome grows close and Miles suddenly finds himself having
friends. Then one night changes everything and the ever so mysterious Alaska
inflicts even more mystery and questions that Miles and Chip long to know the
answers to.
While Green's books fit into the Young Adult category, they are critically
acclaimed and loved by a wide range of readers. They're fun and sad, discussing
topics such as love and friendship, pain and suffering; all in all, they are
relatable not only for teenagers. The story of Miles Halter has two parts: Before
and After. One of the many things that I love about this book is the ambiguity of the event that sweeps
the plot from Before to
After. To quote
Green himself, books belong to their readers. That's why the denouement is not
completely clear, leaving space for readers to make up their minds about the
story.
I highly recommend this novel even
if your teen years are long gone and if you think that a story set in a
boarding high school could never interest you. I guarantee that Looking for Alaska has what it takes to
be both intellectually and emotionally engaging and make its readers feel all
kinds of things, quite possibly even leave you teary-eyed as you turn over the
last page.
- Zuzana Ondová
