John Green really does a spectacular job of writing novels, and "Looking for Alaska" is no exception. The way he sets up the chapters really sets it apart from other books. Green starts the book out with a very minimalist page with one lowercase word in the middle, before. That word gets readers thinking about what lies in wait for them after the before. After that page, the reader finds himself looking at, instead of chapters, how many days "before". For example, the first chapter is "one hundred thirty-six days before".
From the start, "Looking for Alaska" draws you in. Green takes a teenager's life, Miles Halter, and makes it so amusing hilarious, exciting, sad, and romantic that you can't put it down until the book is finished. Even the friends of Miles are captivating. There's The Colonel, who is a mischievous, loyal-to-friends prankster. Then there's Alaska, the unpredictable, fun-loving, much wooed girl of the story. After Alaska dies, and Miles and The Colonel go on a search to find the reason, the reader is motivated to continue reading until he finds out the reason of Alaska's death and the answer to the Question that builds the book, "how do we get out of this labyrinth of suffering". This is a truly phenomenal book, so take a chance and step out into the "Great perhaps".
You're using better language here, but to be truthful, you haven't said anything that I don't already know.
ReplyDelete"John Green really does a spectacular job of writing novels" <---How do you know this, when you've only ever read one of his books?
I said to assume that I'd already read the book - so obviously I know how the chapter set-up works. There's no need to describe it, and it'd be a waste of space to try.
"Green takes a teenager's life, Miles Halter, and makes it so amusing hilarious, exciting, sad, and romantic that you can't put it down until the book is finished." This is so general; you want to avoid statements like this without backing them up. Why was it hilarious? Or amusing? Or exciting? Or sad? It's meaningless unless you explain why.
What did _you_ think about the book? What was the general mood? You explained WHAT the chapter set-up was, but WHY did John Green use that set-up?
What are the implications of Alaska's death? What is the author's final message? You need to ANALYZE and not describe.
For example, you can say that "there's Alaska, the unpredictable, fun-loving, much wooed girl," but that's mere description. It'd be much more meaningful if you analyzed the relationship between Miles and Alaska. Why is he in love/infatuated with her? What is the relationship represent?
Do you think the boarding school life is realistic? What about Alaska's character? What makes their friendships so strong?
Most importantly, what exactly does "The Labyrinth" and "The Great Perhaps" mean?
So tomorrow, rewrite this with more analysis, while answering all the questions.
Whoops - I sound a little too harsh here. Let's just say that you're improving, but you need more emphasis on the analysis and less on the summarizing.
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