Looking for Alaska by John Green

John Green's books have the same theme: teenagers looking for answers.  Pudge is seeking the "Great Perhaps"; Alaska is seeking forgiveness; the Colonel is seeking a way out of poverty; Takumi is seeking a way to belong.  It's hard to read about young people that are so "lost" and unhappy, like Alaska.  The most difficult thing to do in life is to forgive yourself. You can forgive other people, and other people can forgive you, but it's incredibly hard to forgive yourself if you believe you've done harm to someone you love. Alaska's story is tragic. To feel responsible for the death of your mother is the ultimate burden. I guess we don't know too much about her father, but it's sad that he couldn't help her - or find help for her. She was just a little girl! People should have known she would be deeply affected by witnessing her mother's death, whether she had called 911 or not.

Very realistically, John Green drives home the point that teenagers are self-centered. They think often in terms of themselves - what's important to them; what's meaningful to them; how other's actions relate to them. I was a disappointed in all of Alaska's friends actually. She had shared with them the worst day of her life, and they seemed to acknowledge the awfulness of it - and even realized that is where her self-destruction took root, and yet after the accident, each of them just think of themselves in relation to what she may have been thinking. Really Pudge?? You really think that she would have reacted as strongly as she did that night (early morning) because she kissed you??  These were incredibly intelligent kids - and yet no one even considers her outburst may have been connected to her mother's death - the core of her impulsiveness, drinking, bad choices and sense of guilt which was controlling her life. Again, teenagers often don't think of anything other than how it affects or relates to them.

I loved Pudge's conclusion of how to get out of the labyrinth of suffering. Forgiveness is a powerful thing. I am relieved that Pudge understands that at the end. He won't make the same mistake that Alaska did.

Wendy's Rating: ****