I thought this book was amazing. I so often find teen literature disappointing and predictable, but this book was very well written with an amazing plot to back it up.

Ah, this is such a beautiful book! The characters are so lifelike and multi-faceted, it's just wonderful. John Green does a fantastic job of balancing excitement and adventure with insightful and philosophical observations. There is definitely underage drinking, drug use, and a little bit of sex, but the characters are not 'rewarded' for any of this, if anything, it all causes their downfalls. And the sex especially is, as John Green once said, a representation of how physical relationships can never ever compare to emotional relationships. So this really is a great read, I highly recommend it.

There's alot of controversy surrounding this book, and I can certainly understand why. Sex, drugs, and a couple of f-bombs can be found within the pages of this book, but I'm glad they're there. What people often fail to understand is that these things are a part of life, and teens are often faced with them quite frequently. I'm not saying that all us teens lead a secret drug and sex filled life (although you'd be suprised), they're things that we do have to deal with. Looking for Alaska is by far one of the best books I've read, and I know many adults will agree with me on that. The great story that Green lays out is not one of sex, smoking, or drinking. It's one of life, death, and finding yourself, but without those things it would be only a mere shadow of the truth. Before you realize this you can never truely enjoy and comprehend this wonderful work of literature.

This book, was by far the best book that I have ever read. It shows readers a thing or two about trust and living life to the fullest. It was amazing, no other author could have pulled off the suprised twist in the middle of the book the way Green handled it, and the ending, was simply the end of a 20 year series, or thats how if felt rather. Green puts you in the middle of the story with his vivid details and the way he flows through the book. He makes you want to not put the book down because he is not talking about Wizards or Dragons, he is talking about real life here and this is what counts, this book is by far the most amazing thing i have ever read because it changed me and my view on a lot of things, if you ever want a good quick or a powerful read, or a even a new author to get into, this book, more like this story " Looking for Alaska" is the one you want to go to the book store to get, not the library, the BOOK STORE.

John Green's debut novel may have been the most amazing piece of literature I have ever had the opportunity to read. It does include one part that parents should be aware of (but it is literally about a paragraph long) and they may want to

Looking For Alaska is one of the best books I have read, It issomething different for all the other teenage books out there. You can quote the entire book and see a little of yourself in each character.

I actually decided to check this book out at the library after reading this review and watching John Green's video on YouTube, and I agree with him on all counts. Yes, there is one frank sex scene, but it is horribly awkward compared to the emotional encounter Miles has with Alaska. This is not intended to push porn, in fact, it seems to discourage it. If you haven't already, check out the YouTube video with Green explaining his reason for putting the scene in the book and you will definitely become a Nerdfighter. The only reason I list violence is because of minor encounters with bullies and SPOILER: a car wreck and possible suicide. The language is as mature as the book's subject matter, which includes heavy drinking and smoking, but no teenager would walk away from this book thinking that these are good ideas. The debut novel by Green actually portrays positive messages about love, life, and the loss thereof. There is a reason this book remains on many school's reading lists. (If only it was on mine...)

Honestly, this is my favorite book. There's a reason why it's on reading list for a lot of high schools in the country. I've been recommending it to my high school teachers for years. Although, I read it first when I was 14, I would be tentative to suggest it to anyone below high school age. One would have to take into account the maturity level of the child. I feel there are a lot of themes and positive messages in this book that wouldn't be fully understood by younger kids. Of course there's also the issue with the sex, drugs and language. I don't feel that the author, John Green, seems to glorify any of these things, he's just presenting an unedited view of teen life. In fact, for parents of high school students this book could be a wonderful beginning to starting to have that incredibly uncomfortable conversation with their teens about drugs, alcohol and sex. Personally, this book really did change my view of life. Similarly to the main character, I've also lost someone very close to me, but this book reminded me that we are "greater than the sum of our parts" and we can't be "irreparably broken". This book gave me hope, and it's that hope that helped produce the strength for me to survive my lost and define myself past it, becoming the person I am today.

Out of this entire book I loved Alaska's quote "How do I escape this labyrinth of pain straight and fast" which is actuall a haiku