Looking for Alaska

Green, J. (2005). Looking for Alaska. New York, NY: Dutton. Miles Halter convinces his parents to let him go off to a boarding school for his junior year in high school. There, he meets a group of friends, including his roommate that gives him the name “Pudge”. Miles soon learns about how the students enjoy playing pranks on each other, drinking, smoking etc. The problem occurs after Miles and Alaska are acquainted.  The group of friends fell asleep one night after socializing in Alaska’s room, when she got a call on the hallway payphone in the middle of the night. She became hysterical and left with the help of the friends, although she was drunk. She was killed in a car crash that night. The friends speculate may have been a suicide, after putting all the pieces together. In the end, Miles knows he must forget Alaska and hopes that she forgives him for it because he forgives her. The author intended this book to be for students 9^th grade and up. However, there are some controversial issues in this book like drinking, smoking marijuana, suicide and sex. Although it’s a good read, I would proceed with caution when deciding whether or not to add it to my collection. This book could play upon both the reader’s emotional and social development, as it addresses issues of conforming, death and secrecy. Teenagers are learning how to deal with their hormones and other issues such as peer pressure, sex and drugs.