Saturday Read: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Working at a bookstore, I run into plenty of what I call “book snobs.” People who will only read a book if it’s received 5-star reviews from the most prestigious of literary critics, if it is on the Bestseller list or if it’s won the flipping Nobel Prize. Even though these people see themselves as the cream-of-the-crop of book readers, I think they are just shallow and narrow-minded. Plenty of books, even fluffy ones, can have great messages and really strike a chord within the reader.

By Alex

That’s one of the reasons that I read teen fiction. It always has a great message and doesn’t try to be precocious. Teen fiction – written to inspire a love of reading in young peoples’ hearts – is written soulfully and simply. And I love it.

One of my favorite teen fiction reads is “Looking for Alaska” by John Green. This is Green’s debut novel and, in my opinion, his best to date (although “Paper Towns” and “An Abundance of Katherines” are great as well!). He writes from the perspective of a naive teenage boy, finding his first love. I find this book so beautiful and honest and, most importantly, quirky.

Green insists on all of his characters being a little off kilter. Pudge, the main character, collects the dying words of famous people, while Alaska, the main female character, named herself. The story is a believable and important one and the ending is simply mind-blowing.

Green’s talent as a writer shines through in this stunning debut, but it also maintains a unique quality that I only find in teen books – that is, poignant honesty and nothing unnecessary to the story. He doesn’t try to overcrowd his book with big words or intense metaphors; he simply tells a beautiful story, simply.