Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Furthering the Reading: Links and Displays

1. I have shared this link with a couple of my other posts but it is my favorite one of all because it comes from none other than JOHN GREEN HIMSELF! This is his website/blog and he answers question on question on Looking for Alaska as well as allowing you to ask questions as well! You can also find out more information about his other works, and a short biography on the man of the hour.
http://johngreenbooks.com/alaska-questions/

2. So the second link I would like to share is a video on YouTube by John Green. John Green and his brother Hank Green have a YouTube channel called "vlogbrothers." On this the brothers, at separate times and mostly John Green, talk about things from books to pizza to other random things. On this video though, John Green tells about winning the Printz Award for Looking for Alaska as well as talking about how it was created, published and edited. Don't worry, there's no spoilers and it's not boring, although John Green is a little geeky.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0pz5g5FP0g

3. Here are some of my favorite quotes from Looking for Alaska. John Green has named himself one of my favorite authors with his way to manipulate words, how brilliantly he inserts tone into his writing, and how carefully he crafts the theme and plot to link together just so.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Theme and Summary


Theme:
Death cannot be overcome without support.

Central Ideas of the Text:

• Death
• Overcoming death
• The meaning of life
• Not giving up

Analysis of Development:
Pudge was in love with Alaska so when she dies, he is confronted with all of these questions (see "Ideas" above). He and his friends must deal with death and the injustice that it shows in their lives.

Summary of Part of Text:
One of the unfair parts of the novel is that the reader, as well as the narrator, never learn what killed Alaska, whether it was suicide or a fatal accident. This, in a way, connects the reader to the frustration and confusion of the narrator, Miles.

More information about what John Green has to say about the theme and Alaska's death can be found here: http://johngreenbooks.com/alaska-questions/#process

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Analysis


Plot Questions:

Who is the protagonist? The protagonist of this novel is Miles Halter.

What questions of probability arise in this novel? So far a question of probability for Miles is being thrown into the lake with his body duct-taped.


Characterization Questions:

Evaluate the moral structure of the protagonist. Miles' moral stability is a little uneasy in this novel because as he is inducted into a group of people that seem to make bad choices, Miles goes along with them.


Background Questions:

Summarize the facts of the protagonist's family, gifts, and social position. Mile's family includes himself, his mother, and his father. He has a gift for memorizing the last words of every person in the biographies that he reads. He is also significantly intelligent, although that is not directly stated in the novel. His social position, though not directly stated, seems to be stable as his parents are able to ship him off to a boarding school.



All questions found from: http://www.english.unl.edu
Citation:  "Novel Analysis Questions." Novel Analysis Questions. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Book Recommendations:


Recommendation for Looking for Alaska:

       I would recommend Looking for Alaska by John Green to any reader, young or old, because it is a wonderfully written story with a gripping plot and wonderful characters. Looking for Alaska was published in 2005 so it is a fairly recent book. Author John Green also wrote the novel The Fault in Our Stars which is a critically acclaimed novel and is, like Looking for Alaska, a #1 New York Times Bestseller. Looking for Alaska was so amazingly written and enjoyed by readers and critics alike, it was awarded the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature.

Here is a book recommendation from Barnes and Noble about Looking for Alaska:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/looking-for-alaska-john-green/1100255278?ean=9780142402511


Recommendations for a novel similar to Looking for Alaska:
       
         A book similar to Looking for Alaska that I have read and enjoyed would have to be the Harry Potter series as it starts out with a seemingly normal boy with a seemingly normal life. As the story goes on though, you realize he is not similar to anyone you know and is not very popular at school either. Harry soon finds out he is a wizard and adapts two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, or Alaska Young and Chip Martin. Throughout the novel, Harry finds plenty of conflict and learns to grow and learn.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Reading Skills

Predictions:

1. Of what I have read so far, I predict that Pudge and the Colonel will get revenge in some way on the boys who duct taped Pudge and threw him in the lake.
2. I also predict that something rather large is going to happen involving Alaska as she has been put on the down low for the past several pages.

Questions:
(Questions I could ask the author)

1. What is the Great Perhaps and why is Pudge so keen on finding it?
2. What is Alaska's story? What shaped her as a character?
3. What was the inspiration for the story?

Link:
(Q & A with John Green: CONTAINS SPOILERS)
http://johngreenbooks.com/alaska-questions/

Connections:

Text to Text: A text to text connection that I can think of is the friendship forming between Chip, Alaska, and Miles and the friendship between Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter series.

Text to World: A text to world connection may be being able to see life inside a boarding school for high schoolers and how they go about their daily lives.

Text to Self: A text to self connection could be with all of the characters in the novel and their interest in reading because, I as well, love to read.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Characters

      The characters so far in this novel are Miles "Pudge" Halter and Chip "The Colonel" Martin.  Miles is the protagonist in this novel and Chip plays his faithful sidekick. They meet as roommates at the boarding school and become friends very quickly.

      Miles Halter: is the main character who chooses to leave his family to attend the Culver Creek Preparatory High School for his junior year. His parents are very well-to-do but also very kind.  There is not a lot of development in Miles quite yet as the story is just getting started. He has a particular interest in learning the last words of the people in the biographies he reads.

      Chip Martin: comes from a poor background and is a junior like Miles. He is five-foot, muscular, and has dark brown hair. His parents live in California . Chip received a full scholarship to Culver Creek and can find every country and name it on a map. He tells Miles that his father used to abuse him and how he loves to read books.

      Alaska Young: is a beautiful young lady who captures Miles' attention with her wit, wisdom, and beauty.

  Advancing/ Developing the Plot: Chip advances the plot as he is best friends with Alaska Young, a main character who drives the plot.