Looking for Alaska- Summer Assignment Post 4

I chose to read this book because I read The Fault in our Stars, also by John Green, and loved it.  When I saw another John Green story was an option to read, I didn't even give the other books a second thought.  I had also heard good things about Looking for Alaska from friends and online reviews.  I knew I'd love the book and I wanted to make my summer reading as enjoyable as possible.

Like I said in my earlier post, I would recommend Looking for Alaska by John Green to anyone.  For people who like romance, there's romance.  For the people who like pranks, there are pranks.  For the people who like stories they can relate to, there's real issues that many people can relate to inside the book.  Sure, some guys may not like the romance side of the story, but it actually is a really good book (but then again, what John Green book isn't?).  

If the people that don't like romantic stories look past that one small detail, I think everyone would like it.  There are some points brought out within the book that really make you think about your views, other people's views, and how they relate and how they're similar.  John Green does a really good job of incorporating a lot of religions when talking about religions and a lot of societal issues when talking about societal issues, but he never sways towards one viewpoint or another.  Everyone can agree with at least one point or thought brought out in the book and you may be able to form new opinions after reading.  

I think that if I did have to recommend this book to one group of people in particular, I would recommend it to people who enjoy romance, laughing, and like thinking about the deeper meaning in things, not just thinking at surface level.  

I just want to mention this one point:  the entire story does not require deep thinking.  Most of the story is easy to understand and a light read.  So don't be turned away by me saying that there's deeper meaning and you just want a story to read, not a story you have to think about.  There's a good balance.

Looking for Alaska- Summer Assignment Post 3

Looking for Alaska by John Green could be a book for anyone.  Some people may not necessarily like the storyline, but there are so many great things that John Green points out about friends, family, religion, and just life in general that really made me think.

For example, this quote really made me think about how we, as human beings, spend our lives.  Alaska Young was explaining her views to Pudge when she said, "'Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia....  You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it 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).  I really think that what John Green points out about life in this quote is true.  All of us think about the future and I think most of us don't really focus on what's going on in this point in time.  We all have aspirations.  Maybe you're in a race and you want to get a certain time, but you don't think you can do it.  You think to yourself, "I'll get there eventually" but you don't push yourself to work really hard so that 'eventually' is months from now instead of years from now.

Maybe you're not into deep, thought-provoking quotes.  Maybe you just like something light-hearted and funny.  When Pudge and The Colonel were talking about Alaska, The Colonel didn't agree with what Pudge was saying so he said, "'I just did some calculations, and I've been able to determine that you're full of shit'" (Green 78).  I don't know why this was so funny to me, but it was.  I guess witty comments like this one are always funny.  Maybe they are for you, too?

If you'd like to read some more Looking for Alaska quotes to see why you'd be interested in the book, you can click on the link here.