Firstly I would like to apologise for the lack of posts. I've just been such a busy little bee. I've also read quite a few books since my last 'Recent Reads' post. I read Looking For Alaska about two months ago which makes it a not so recent read but it will have to do.
It is actually the the first book by John Green I've read. Which means I am yet to read The Fault In Our Stars. I refused to read it when everyone was doing doing so for the simple reason that I don't enjoy doing what everyone else is doing. I did however watch the movie when it was released which doesn't make much sense. Now that the fuss has died down a bit I decided to give it a try. I am currently half way through it and I'm loving it.
Back to Looking For Alaska, it was absolutely amazing! I either had a grin from ear to ear or tears streaming down my face whilst reading it. Which got my family questioning my sanity.
The style in which the book is written was something I liked. Starting from one hundred and thirty six days before going on until one hundred and thirty six days after. I admit, I was tempted to flip through to 'the day' but I remained strong and I'm very proud of myself. I considered putting in a little spoiler but I decided against it so you better do yourself a favour and read the book.
The story begins with Miles Halter's party as he is about to depart for boarding school. He has no friends and hardly anyone shows up. He studies people's last words and states that his reason for leaving is to seek his own 'Great Perhaps' ( quoting Francois Rabelais' last words: "I go to seek a great perhaps. ")
Upon his arrival at Culver Creek he meets Chip Martin also known as Colonel who gives Miles the nickname Pudge due to his skinny appearance.
Miles also befriends Alaska Young, Takumi and Lara who introduce him to mischievous acts such as drinking and smoking. Miles gets to know Colonel and Alaska better and learns why they are the way they are. Miles develops a crush on Alaska who has a boyfriend in college.
One night Alaska and Miles share a kiss. Alaska gets a phone call from her boyfriend and rushes off but not before saying the words "To be continued" to Miles. They following day the principal makes an announcement to the school that shocks many and nothing is ever the same again.
Favourite Quotes:
"So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane."
"You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present."
"What is an "instant" death anyway? How long is an instant? Is it one second? Ten? The pain of those seconds must have been awful as her heart burst and her lungs collapsed and there was no air and no blood to her brain and only raw panic. What the hell is instant? Nothing is instant. Instant rice takes five minutes, instant pudding an hour. I doubt that an instant of blinding pain feels particularly instantaneous."
