A book set in high school

A book set in high school

Title: Looking for Alaska
Author: The inimitable John Green
Publication date: 2005

First I need to establish that John Green is a genius. The Fault in our Stars is perfection. An Abundance of Katherines, in some ways, is better than TFIOS (that's right, I said it.) Looking for Alaska is the third of Green's books that I've read in the last 12 months. If it had been written by any other author I would probably have rated it higher but Green is competing against Green in my esteem and that's a tough match up.

I plan to read all of Green's work but when I found Looking for Alaska on a banned books list, I got a little righteous and had to buy it and read it immediately.

Here's some advice to the parents out there: If you want to know what is going on in the minds of your teenage children, read John Green. This man captures adolescence with complete authenticity. The good, the bad and the sad.

"But while you were looking out the window, you missed the chance to explore the equally interesting Buddhist belief in being present for every facet of your daily life, of being truly present. Be present in this class. And then, when it's over, be present out there," he said nodding toward the lake and beyond.

At a small co-ed boarding school in Alabama, Miles Halter is hoping to turn his invisible existence at his home high school into a bright future. Almost immediately upon arriving for his junior year, Miles discovers something he lacked previously: a friend. And so begins the story of a cast of misfits, who somehow fit together.

Miles' roommate, The Colonel, introduces him to Alaska (and this is where I find out the book isn't about the Last Frontier) who, in turn, introduces him to Takumi. They form an immediate unit but the nucleus of the group is Alaska as the three boys are drawn to her beauty, her brain and her wit (well, and her cigarette stash to be fair).

The group engages in a series of pranks but remain committed to their studies and pull in top grades. And then tragedy. The students turn away from one another and then back to one another as they search for answers to questions 16-year-olds shouldn't have to ask.

Green dives head first into the trials of adolescence: smoking, drinking, sexing and studying. Throughout it all, he tells a story about friendship and forgiveness.

Three stars

Next challenge: A book you can read in a day