There’s plenty of concepts that I could discuss after reading Looking for Alaska by John Green. However, I found a certain significance in the title of the book that, for me, portrayed the entire point of the novel. Looking for Alaska tells the story in the perspective of Miles, a boy who lacked excitement in his life and chose to attend a boarding school in order to find his “Great Perhaps” that is what makes life dangerously stimulating. Often, the title of a book can be forgotten, left behind in the haze of characters or fascinating events that make up the very plot. For instance, it never would have occurred to me when I first picked up the book that by Alaska, John Green meant the moody, wild, and adventurous girl that Miles would come to fall in love with. One may not be able to fully comprehend the meaning behind the title of a book until they have finished reading every last word. And when I finished reading the last word of Looking for Alaska, I thought the title had two meanings. Miles spent his whole life trying to fill a missing hole in his heart with a grand adventure, or, “Great Perhaps.” Alaska was the adventure he was looking to fulfill, with her wild spirit and sense of adventure that Miles admired. In this way, Alaska could be a symbol for the adventure Miles was looking for and Looking for Alaska could symbolize Miles looking for a “Great Perhaps” to spice up his life. The pivotal point in the plot is when Alaska passes away. The events that follow this devastating turn of events include sincere heartbreak and sadness that lead me to believe that the title Looking for Alaska means that Miles and the others that were close to Alaska never stopped looking for her. Even though she had passed away, they never stopped looking, and never stop trying to further understand the reasoning behind the cause of her death. And although no one can know for sure, her friends search for an answer simply because they loved her, and will never stop loving her. They will never stop looking for Alaska.

A part of the book that some might find to be confusing is why Alaska passed away. It might be confusing because the reasoning behind her death is left unsolved. Only the universe knows for certain why Alaska chose to get into the car in her drunken state, and whether or not the action was done on purpose in the spur of the moment. Although Miles, the Colonel, and Takumi, who were all close friends of Alaska, discovered some key evidence that lead into a possible explanation for what truly happened on the night Alaska died, there was nothing they could do to be one hundred percent positive on the situation. This might be confusing because there is no clear answer. To help clarify these details for someone who is confused, I would say that there isn’t meant to be an exact answer for the truth behind Alaska’s death. John Green elegantly constructed this on purpose to show that life isn’t perfect, and even if you are never able to get true closure on a matter, you never stop looking and trying to understand for the person you loved.

In this novel, you become attached to the characters as they face the ups and downs of love, friendship, and heartbreaking reality. John Green created real, true characters that make the journey of reading that much more enjoyable. What the characters said was also a defining point of their personality, such as this thought-provoking quote said by Alaska: “‘You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you’ll escape it 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’” (Green 54). Not only did I fall in love with the characters of this book, but the individuality of the plot. I thought it was interesting the way Green split the book into two parts: before and after. You have no idea what before is referring to. You can take a guess, but you have no way of knowing for sure until you reach the end of before. At the end of this “before” countdown you reach the pivotal point of the book: Alaska’s death. I thought this style of writing was intriguing, as it left you constantly wondering where the plot is leading to, and why it will occur. The interesting storyline and truthful characters created a unique book that I could not put down.

The most meaningful idea that I took away from reading this book is that there is no end to discovering new parts of yourself and all that you are capable of. A prominent point in the book is that Miles wants an interesting life filled with adventure and change, which is the whole reason he decided to go to a boarding school in the first place. After changing schools and meeting new friends, he discovered a whole new side of himself: a side where he was outgoing and dangerous and completely different from his quiet, boring, unsocial life back at his public school. A side Alaska brought out in him, to give him the “Great Perhaps” he always dreamed of. “The Great Perhaps was upon us, and we were invincible. The plan may have had faults, but we did not.” (103). It was this reason that Miles loved Alaska; he loved her wild spirit and unique beauty and pure individuality. Alaska was in no way perfect, but Miles loved her for her. We can learn from this book that life is short, and discovering yourself and who you really are is the key to being happy, even if for a short while.