Summer Assignment Entry Four: Looking For Alaska By John Green

Looking for Alaska, by John Green, is definitely in my top 5 favorite books! It hooked you from the very beginning and continued to surprise you and it kept you wanting to read. The reasons I chose this novel are the fact that it was written by John Green, one of my favorite authors and that it was a romance/action book. I am not the type of girl who likes romance books but when it is paired with action or mystery I really enjoy them. Another reason why I chose this book was the cover. It is plain, but it makes you ask so many questions. For example, "Why the smoke? Why is the cover black? Does that mean something bad may happen (usually darker covers mean a "darker" novel)? What does the smoke have to do with love?" I did have quite a few personal connections with this novel. A few of the connections I had were  feelings of loss. When my great grandfather died, that hit me really hard. It was summer break at the time so my grades did not suffer but it was very hard to finally let go. Another connection I made was to Pudge. He started off as a very shy boy and turned into a more outgoing and loud boy with a little help from his friends. I used to be very shy until I met one of my best friends who broke me out of my shell. Finally, my last connection is with Alaska. She seemed to have many conflicts or stress throughout the school year but when break came she let some of it go and became happier and less worried. I have those same problems as well. I stress about juggling homework and sports and family time and it becomes very overwhelming. It can make you irritable and sometimes moody which Alaska did show. Once break comes, it makes you feel a sigh of relief because you have a more open schedule.

I loved this book so much! I would recommend it to freshman and up. The only reason I recommend that age is because there are curse words and a few inappropriate situations plus the use of alcohol and drugs. If you do not like romance and/or action, then I would not recommend this book to you. If you do not like death or someone being involved in an accident and being killed, then this is not the book for you. If you like all of those things mentioned above, then this will be a great read! You will not regret it. You won't be able to put it down once you have picked it up.