LOOKING FOR ALASKAby John Green
AR: Yes
Interest Level: Upper Grades
I bought this book two summers ago, but have only just gotten around to reading it...and I can't believe I waited so long to dig into it! Mrs. Camden and I started it at the same time, and I really want her to finish it before I REALLY blog it...I don't want to say too much about this one until she finishes it, because I don't want her to read my words and have it give away the story. ( I mainly just wanted to post something so she'd know I finished it!) LOL I will say this, though...I laughed, I got angry, I cried, I thought, I laughed some more, and thought some more....while reading this book. It is a bit dark, but very thought-provoking and it grabbed my attention from the get-go.
This was an amazing book. I concur with Mrs. Schauer in that it made me think, cry, and think some more. To the possible chagrin of future bloggers/commenters, I am going to spill the beans -- a major character dies -- but I must report that fact to explain fully how the book affected me. I must say that the character's actual death did not upset me as much as the effect it had on the other characters in the book. I could only hope that throughout my life thus far, I have made an impact such as this character had made on her friends and acquaintances.
ReplyDeleteI recently lost my father -- my author officianado, my book guru (before the PHS librarian-of-the-year took his place!). This book made me think a lot (in my opinion, more than I wished) about death and our places in this world while we're here. Pudge's dedication to "last dying words" made me wonder what my dad's last words were. I was in the room with him at the time and I don't remember them. I wonder now what my last words to him were. This book brought to mind thoughts that hurt my heart. I felt Pudge's pain -- his initial denial, then his resolve, yet still underlying denial but by choice at that point. I felt his anger, his guilt, his need for "to be continued . . . ".
I took a long time to commnet on this book because I had to heal. This book, as I said, was amazing, but I may feel so strongly simply due to timing. It made me laugh and it hurt me. But it was worth it. Thank you, John Green, for your book -- and thank you Mrs. Schauer for recommending it. Neither of you had any intention of helping me through the grieving process for my dad, but that's the beauty of it all, isn't it! The beauty of the story . . . the power of the written word!
P.S. -- Favorite line out of the book: "If only we could see the endless string of consequences that result from our smallest actions." (p. 218)
Wow--what a great blog post. I honestly had no ulterior motive when I recommended this book to you, other than I thought it was one we'd both like, but I am glad the book was able to help, even if the help required some hurt first. This book also made me think about life and death and our place in the big picture. I too lost my dad--when I was 22--and I still have, all these years later, a need for "to be continued..." I don't think that need will ever go away, until it actually is continued when I leave this earth to join him. Thanks for sharing, Becky.
ReplyDeleteOmg! This book was so (what's the word?) awesome, amazing, wonderful... Mrs. Camden is right- the death of the character didn't affect me as much as the effect it had on the other characters. This book was just great! Thanks for recommending it Mrs. Schauer! :-)
ReplyDeleteAwwww, you're welcome...I'm glad you liked it! Now you need to read PAPER TOWNS and AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES...John Green is an amazing author, isn't he?
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