Looking for Alaska
John Green's debut novel Looking for Alaska is a YA coming of age story set at fictional Culver Creek Boarding School in central Alabama, narrated by sixteen year old Miles Halter. Miles, who has spent his Florida high school years memorizing the last words of famous people and feeling chronically friendless, transfers to Culver Creek in search of what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the Great Perhaps. He is befriended almost immediately by his roommate, the Colonel, and their broader friend group, including the brilliant, charismatic, deeply troubled Alaska Young, with whom Miles falls hopelessly in love. The novel is structured as Before and After a tragedy that splits Miles's year in half, and Green uses the structure to explore how teenagers metabolize loss, religion, philosophy, and unanswered questions. The book won the 2006 Printz Award and helped reshape the YA realism category for a generation.
Themes & atmosphere
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What you might want to know about Looking for Alaska
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Miles Halter transfers to an Alabama boarding school looking for what he calls the Great Perhaps. He finds Alaska Young, a brilliant, troubled junior, and her tight friend group. The book counts down to a single night.
Yes. Looking for Alaska has been one of the most frequently challenged books in American schools, primarily for sexual content. John Green has publicly responded to the challenges. The book remains widely read.
Yes. Hulu released an eight-episode Looking for Alaska adaptation in 2019. The show is largely faithful to the novel and developed by Josh Schwartz.
Looking for Alaska was written by John Green, published in 2005 by Speak.
Looking for Alaska is 304 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Looking for Alaska takes most readers 5 to 7 hours to finish.
Looking for Alaska is a standalone novel by John Green, not part of a series.
Looking for Alaska is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.