"Looking for Alaska" by John Green || Book review

Some time ago I read "The fault in our stars" and I really loved it, so I thought I should read something more by John Green. I decided to give "Paper towns" a try and I couldn't even get past the first couple of chapters, I found it bad and I was disappointed. So, I was not sure if I wanted to read any more of his books, to be honest. Additionally, I had heard that these two books are so similar, they could as well be rewrites of the same story. I don't know if this is true, but luckily this one sucked me right in and grabbed my attention.

The story was not the most interesting that I've read; it is simple and a bit predictable, but at the same time it's not bad, or boring either. It keeps you reading, but it's not extraordinary, or mind-blowing. The characters were well-portrayed and I could really get a clear idea of who they were, or how they talked. What I liked most about this book was its humor. While it's not supposed to be a funny book or a comedy - as a matter of fact, the story is rather tragic - it still had its funny moments and made me laugh at many points (Their pranks, the basketball scene, and the bj scene were my favorite and made me laugh very much). Humor, by the way, is something that I truly appreciate in all books. I love it when I read a tragic story or even a very heavy and serious one and I can find some humor in it. It doesn't change the overall atmosphere or feeling, but it does add something to it. It feels like the existence of humor in a sad story helps me see and appreciate the sadness and tragedy even more, and on the other hand, the tragedy of a story will help me feel the optimism that the humor offers. If anything, this is a clue in the writing that both gives a more enjoyable read, but also adds to its realism. Because, at the end of the day, this is how life is, sadness succeeds happiness and vice versa - a mix of happy and sad moments. John Green is very talented in that aspect.

I didn't cry while reading it, but I did find the story rather sad. It was not so much Alaska's death that touched me, because I saw it coming and the way that she died was very predictable even from the first pages. I knew that something bad was going to happen to her sooner or later and that there was probably going to be an accident since they were drinking so much. What did touch me and made me feel devastated was why she left. The revelation about her mother's grave devastated me. I got a peek from the inside of her brain before she died and being able to see the state of mind and psychology of a desperate person right before she dies is both painful and shocking. It is not cleared out if it was a suicide or not, but it still was heart-breaking to learn what she did or thought and how she was driven to her actions. The second thing that touched me was the revelation that Takumi knew some things all along and the fact that he didn't say anything.

The ending was optimistic and left me with hope and I really liked this. It also got me thinking about all the things that Miles was thinking. Questions about life and death, about the afterlife and about the labyrinth... It's almost impossible not to think about all these while reading this book. One thing that I want to keep from all these thoughts is expressed in one of Colonel's quotes: "After all this time, it seems to me like straight and fast is the only way out- but I choose the labyrinth. The labyrinth blows, but I choose it.". By the way, I found many other beautiful quotes in this book.

As for the rating, I did like this book very much, so I gave it 4 stars out of 5. I didn't like it as much as "The fault in our stars", which I also rated with 4 stars, but since I can't give it 3,5 stars or something like this, I will give it 4 as well. I do feel though, that the fault was slightly better than this. To cut the long story short, I really liked it and enjoyed reading it and I would recommend it.