Looking for Alaska

Welcome back lovers and faithful bloggers. I apologize for the extended reprieve we recently took, but with college coming to a close and job searching in full swing, it has been difficult to get online and tell you about all the wonderful things we have been reading here at Whiskey Before Breakfast. To save you from any further excuses or apologies we may have let's just dive in to the review you all have been on the edge of your seats for.

Teen fiction is a genre of books that I find myself enamored with more than any other genre. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's a "guilty pleasure" of mine, but just a fascination. Yet, as I dig deeper and deeper into this genre, I'm beginning to discover there is more breadth than depth in both content and topics, more substance than sustenance. In an age where teen books seem to thrive on pathetically written series and one word titles such as "Desire", "Crossed", "Blamed", or "Twilight", it really is like finding a diamond in the rough when one actually captivates you. The diamond I recently discovered was John Green's Looking for Alaska.

Before giving you my review I want to briefly paint you a picture of Green and I's relationship. No, I've never met the man, but my first impressions of him formed from merely seeing his name in the Teen Fiction aisle of my local book store. Since I am one to hold The Perks of Being a Wallflower as one of the few groundbreaking, life-changing novels of this generation, I am always quick to dismiss anything or anyone that attempts to come close to it. When I saw that Green had four books already published and a couple of awards under his belt, my first thought was, "fraud". Of course, I had absolutely no evidence to support such a claim, but I thoroughly convinced myself in those four seconds that this man was not a writer, but merely taking advantage of the wave of teen fiction novels that seem to have flooded our shelves. I was also convinced that this man was probably friends with Stephenie Myers. Two months later, I purchased his work Looking for Alaska more out of the inclination to prove a point than to actually read something worthwhile. I was very wrong.

Looking for Alaska is a raw novel about a boy named Miles "Pudge" Halter who enrolls in the Culver Creek Preparatory High School in Alabama after leaving his public school in Florida. He is a tall, lanky glass of water with an overwhelming fascination for famous last words. It is through this "hobby" that he stumbled upon Francois Rabelais's last words -- "I go to seek a Great Perhaps" -- and considers this transfer his time for seeking. At Culver, Pudge meets an estranged and cigarette addicted cast of characters who become his closest and best friends. More importantly, he meets Alaska Young. If there was one thing that I took away from Alaska, aside from her self-destructive ways and unpredictable mood swings, was this: curves. Green's understanding of language and craft pleasantly surprised me and I soon found myself captivated and enthralled by the story that unfolded. The work follows Pudge and his friends as they battle and prank both the Weekday Warriors (the rich students that leave on weekends to be with their rich families) as well as the Eagle (the Dean of Students). Through all of this, Pudge confronts something more than love or friendship or loyalty, but comes face to face with the question of: "What is the labyrinth?". It is a question that Alaska poses to Pudge when discussing their favorite books/last words and is a running theme throughout the work (and one all the kids struggle to answer). Three days after I had the book in my hands I finished it.

Some critics and reviews have mentioned this work in the spirit of Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye and I have to forcefully disagree. I saw no similarities between the two aside from some deviant behavior and a fair amount of swearing. Pudge is far more innocent and retrospective than Holden. In all honesty, he compares more to Charlie from Perks than Holden. But, I can agree on the fact that this book rivals that of most revered teen fiction novels this day an age and should be read if nothing more than to suck a little more marrow out of the bones of life. This novel doesn't surround itself with themes of forbidden love or werewolves or zombies, but begs the question of "what is the labyrinth" and asks the reader to do the same.

-- Zach