Looking for Alaska -- John Green

After two years in a public school, Miles Halter is entering a co-ed boarding school as a junior:

"God, we'll miss you," Mom said suddenly, stepping through the minefield of suitcases to get to the bed.  I stood and hugged her.  My dad walked over, too, and we formed a sort of huddle.  It was too hot, and we were too sweaty, for the hug to last terribly long.  I knew I ought to cry, but I'd lived with my parents for sixteen years, and a trial separation seemed overdue.

His first night there, he's dragged out of his room in his underwear, arms and legs duct-taped together, and thrown in a pond.  He's told that it's a message to his roommate, Chip--otherwise know as the Colonel.  (Who I loved, by the way).

And then there's Alaska.  She's the kind of character that you love one minute and want to shake the next--which is the way the boys seem to feel about her.  They all love her (and are all in love with her, really).  At the same time, there's a piece of each of them that doesn't like her--or, at the very least, a part that doesn't want to love her.

It's a fantastic book--the characters are complex and can be confusing, but it just makes them seem more real.  There's a little bit of everything in it--drinking, smoking, sex, comedy, tragedy.  Miles is the one telling the story, so we're only getting his understanding of the events as they unfold.  There's quite a bit of room for interpretation.  It reminded me a bit of A Separate Peace.

Can someone else please read this?  It's a YA novel, but I wonder if YAs will really like it as much as adults will.  I loved it, and it's been getting super-duper reviews, but I'm really curious about what the teen response will be. 

Comments

[Emily]

I'll read it.

[leila]

Thank you! I'll set it aside for you.

(Begging works sometimes, huh?)

[jess]

I just finished this and couldn't remember where I'd read about it - it has been on my list for months. Anyway, I thought it was excellent. I wondered the same thing, about who it would appeal to - for the first half, I kept thinking I should recommend it to my brother (he's 17) because the tone was just so great and something he'd get. But the second half, "after," I'm not so sure. I mean, I like tearjerkers but do teenage boys? I might have to find out.

[Rose]

I loved it and I'm 14.

[Hans]

I'm a teen, and I really enjoyed it. Green has a detailed control over the language - and though the characters seem just a tad larger than life, I suppose it just makes them more lovable.