#BookWorm: Looking for Alaska

Hey all,

So I have been going through books like crazy this month! I recently finished Looking for Alaska by John Green, the same author who wrote The Fault In Our Stars and wow does this man have a way with words and emotions. First of all, it is not similar to TFIOS except for his writing style and that it is about teenagers. For some reason I get very into books with teen to twenty somethings, probably because I can relate and find the teenage brain fascinating. Let me start off with this, I REALLY enjoyed this book. First, it was from a male perspective which is not a style I read super frequently but I actually enjoy a lot. It is cool to hear a side from a guy's thoughts being female because you don't always understand why their head works the way it does. And if you are male, I'm sure it is refreshing to read a book with a point of view from a male character that isn't an action novel. I also loved that this book took place at a boarding school, which is something that I have never experienced but that reminded me of a Hogwarts feel minus the magic. Is that weird? Probably, but I tend to relate a lot of things back to J.K. Rowling's genius work. Anyways back to the book.

The book's main premise is about a high school boy who goes to boarding school looking for the "great perhaps". Along the way he meets an array of people, all of which are fantastic characters. And no, he is not literally looking for the state of Alaska. When I first read the title I thought it was going to be a similar book to Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Not at all. One huge thing that I liked about this book was John Green's portion at the end of it where he explained that some of this story relates to his actual life and he went to boarding school. Cray. I love love love when authors throw a bit of themselves into their work, because I do that too, and to me it makes your fans more interested in the books. Overall I would give this book a 8.5/10. It did not hit me quite as hard as TFIOS, but nevertheless it was a great read. I am looking forward to reading more of his books since I have heard awesome things about the rest of them.

So have you read TFIOS and Looking for Alaska? What did you think? Did you like one more than the other? If you have read one and not the other, I suggest you read both! I am now about halfway through Dear John by Nicholas Sparks and looking forward to getting through a pretty thick stack of books this summer. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks for reading,
- Olivia :)