Looking for Alaska

by John Green

Summary:
Miles didn't exactly know what to expect when his parents sent him to Culver Creek Preparatory School, a boarding school in Alabama.  But from the moment he walks into the dorm room he will share with his new roommate Chip, Miles knows that there is something different about this place.  There's something about their friend Alaska, a girl who's confidence and love of life knows no bounds, that keeps everyone coming back for more.  But life can't stay perfect always. When a car crash interrupts, Miles and the rest struggle to come to terms in their own roles in the wreck.  And learn to live after others are gone.

Review:
Green's book is a study in before and after a tragedy.  Miles and the rest of his group at school are not bad kids, but they break the rules they want to.  They aren't exactly models of clean living but they never do anything really terrible.  But a tragedy that could have been avoided cuts through all of their lives.  We watch him and his friends try to come to terms with it, as well as with their own roles in it.  It is a well written book about loss and survivor's guilt, as well as the necessity of moving on.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade